For anyone who thinks it’s a good idea to go soft on crime, here is a perfect example of why it’s a terrible idea. Meet Brandon Council, a murderer who ruthlessly gunned down two innocent women during a 2017 bank robbery. After being sentenced to death in 2019, you’d think he’d at least have the decency to shut up. But nope—thanks to President Biden’s latest brilliant move to commute his sentence to life without parole, Council now feels perfectly justified in asking for a “compassionate release.” Yes, he really had the nerve to file the motion.

Council’s legal motion, filed just days after Biden saved him from a well-deserved date with the executioner, claims that solitary confinement has caused him “unjustifiable psychological harm” since 2019. He’s calling it torture as if anyone’s buying that after he executed two women without blinking an eye. Donna Major, 59, and Katie Skeen, 36—his victims—didn’t exactly get a chance to ask for some compassionate treatment, did they? Their lives were cut short in cold blood during his robbery.

Of course, this whole “compassionate release” thing isn’t just a legal trick—it’s a slap in the face to the victims’ families. Betty Davis, Skeen’s mother, called Council and Biden “low-lifes.” And honestly, who could blame her? Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates basically says, “Justice? Eh, who needs it?” The families are left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives while Council—who took two innocent lives without a second thought—gets to sit there whining about how hard his time in prison is. It’s absolutely infuriating.

Council’s crimes were far from ambiguous. His cold, emotionless murders were captured on security footage, forcing the victims’ families to relive the horror in court. It’s difficult to argue for “compassion” when the evidence of his brutality is so unmistakably clear. So, it’s hard to sell “compassion” when the evidence of his brutality is right there.

But hey, why stop at just letting him dodge the death penalty? Compassionate release is meant for inmates who are terminally ill or physically incapacitated—not for healthy murderers who just don’t like the limitations of their cells. If we allow Council to get away with this, we’re essentially sending a message that committing heinous acts, evading punishment, and then complaining about one’s prison conditions is an acceptable path.

Justice isn’t just about handing out punishment—it’s about making sure the punishment actually fits the crime. Letting Council off the hook? That’s not justice; that’s a slap in the face to anyone who still believes in accountability.