Biden commutes nearly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in the largest single-day act of clemency

President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people released from prison and placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes.

It is the largest one-day act of clemency in modern history.

The sentence remission announced on Thursday is for those who have served a minimum of one year of home confinement after their release.

Prisons were uniquely bad at spreading the virus and some prisoners were partially released to prevent the spread.

At one point, 1 in 5 inmates had COVID-19, according to data kept by the Associated Press.

Biden said he would take further steps in the coming weeks and would continue to review clemency petitions.

The second-highest single-day act of pardon was carried out by Barack Obama with 330 shortly before leaving office in 2017.

“America was built on possibility and the promise of second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As President, I am committed to showing mercy to those who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring the opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contributing to their communities, and especially reducing sentences for non-violent offenders.” It is a great privilege to take steps to eliminate inequities. Guilty of drug offences.”

The pardon follows a broader pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes.

Before the Trump administration takes office in January, Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon a large number of people, including those on federal death row.

He is also considering whether to issue preemptive pardons to people who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and face potential retaliation if he takes office.

White House lawyers said those pardoned Thursday were convicted of nonviolent crimes such as drug offenses and had turned around their lives.

These include a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters; a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counselor and youth counselor; Doctoral student in molecular biology; and a decorated military veteran.

The President had previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons.

He also broadly pardoned people convicted of marijuana use and simple possession on federal lands and the District of Columbia, and former U.S. service members convicted of violating the now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex. Have forgiven.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and 34 other lawmakers are urging the President to pardon environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who has been jailed for three years for contempt of court charges related to his representational work. Was imprisoned or kept under house arrest. Indigenous farmers in lawsuit against Chevron.

Others are advocating for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row inmates. His Attorney General, Merrick Garland, halted the federal execution.

Biden said during the campaign in 2020 that he wanted to end the death penalty but never did, and now, with Trump back in office, it seems likely that executions will resume. During his first term, Trump presided over an unprecedented number of federal executions during the height of the pandemic.

More pardons are coming before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, but it is unclear whether he will take action to protect Trump from potential prosecution over his misuse of power.

The president is taking the idea seriously and has been thinking about it for six months — before the presidential election — but is concerned about the precedent it would set, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press. Will do. On condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.

But those who have received pardons have to accept them. Senator Adam Schiff of New California, who chairs the congressional committee investigating the violent January 6 insurrection, said such a pardon from Biden would be “unnecessary”, and that the president should not spend his waning days in office . There is concern about this.

The President has the power of both pardon, which relieves a person from crime and punishment, or commutation of sentence, which reduces or eliminates punishment but does not absolve them of wrongdoing. It is customary for the President to grant clemency at the end of his term by using the power of the office to expunge records or commute prison sentences.

Before pardoning his son, Biden had repeatedly vowed not to do so.

He said in his statement that the prosecution has been poisoned with politics. The decision prompted criminal justice advocates and lawmakers to put additional public pressure on the administration to use the same power for everyday Americans. This was not a very popular move; According to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only 2 in 10 Americans approved of his decision.