The transfer marks the most important single-day act of clemency in trendy historical past.
President Joe Biden mentioned on Jan. 17 that he’s commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people, marking the most important single-day act of clemency in trendy historical past.
The most recent pardons are being granted to individuals who have been convicted of non-violent drug offenses and who’re serving “disproportionately lengthy” sentences in comparison with these they’d obtain right this moment beneath present legislation, coverage, and follow, Biden mentioned in a press release revealed by the White Home.
The earlier weight ratio of 100 to 1 meant that 5 grams of crack cocaine, for instance, was handled as equal to 500 grams of powder cocaine for sentencing functions.
“At the moment’s clemency motion supplies aid for people who acquired prolonged sentences based mostly on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, in addition to outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden mentioned. “As Congress acknowledged by the Truthful Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it’s time that we equalize these sentencing disparities,” Biden mentioned.
With this newest motion, Biden has now issued extra particular person pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. historical past.
“This motion is a vital step towards righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and offering deserving people the chance to return to their households and communities after spending far an excessive amount of time behind bars,” Biden mentioned. “I’m happy with my file on clemency and can proceed to overview further commutations and pardons.”
Biden Pardons Hunter, Loss of life Row Inmates
In December 2024, Biden mentioned he was pardoning 39 folks and commuting the sentences of almost 1,500 others who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes resembling drug offenses. The president mentioned on the time that these commutation recipients have been positioned in dwelling confinement throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and “have efficiently reintegrated into their households and communities and have proven that they deserve a second likelihood.”
Biden has advocated for an finish to the loss of life penalty on the federal stage in america apart from restricted instances of terrorism and hate-motivated mass homicide.
He commuted 37 sentences, leaving three federal inmates dealing with execution: 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; Dylann Roof, who shot and killed 9 folks at a church in South Carolina in 2015; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.
The Related Press contributed to this report.