Biden commutes 1,500 sentences and points 39 pardons in largest single-day act of clemency in historical past
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Joe Biden has issued the single largest act of clemency in modern history, commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people and issuing 39 pardons.
The president announced on Thursday that he is lessening the sentences of thousands of prisoners who were released and placed on home confinement for at least one year during the Covid pandemic.
Biden, who faced backlash after pardoning his own son Hunter from his federal crimes earlier this month, also issued pardons for US citizens convicted on nonviolent crimes who ave shown “successful rehabilitation”.
Presidents can issue pardons – removing a punishment after a court decision – and commutations – a reduction in punishment for a crime – as they see fit for federal convictions, but not for state crimes.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House on Thursday.
He continued: “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”
Biden said his administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to “advance equal justice” and “provide meaningful second chances”.
The incumbent president’s issuing of commutations and pardons dwarfs those granted on a single day by former president Barack Obama, with a combined total of 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017, which marked the second largest single-day act of clemency.
In the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, one in five prisoners contracted the virus, according to a tally kept by the Associated Press.
Some inmates were released and place on home confinement in a bid to curb the spread.
The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people, including those on federal death row, before the Trump administration takes over in January.
He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office.
Those pardoned Thursday had been convicted of nonviolent crimes such as drug offenses and turned their lives around, White House lawyers said. They include a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters; a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counselor and youth counselor; a doctoral student in molecular biosciences; and a decorated military veteran.
The president had previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons. He’s also broadly pardoned those convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, and pardoned former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
Source: independent.co.uk
