Outgoing US President Joe Biden said Thursday he had commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others, in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in the nation’s history.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement announcing the action. “As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation.”
With their days in power ticking down, lame-duck presidents often issue a flurry of such acts of clemency, which are only applicable to federal crimes.
The White House said the nearly 1,500 people granted commuted sentences — “the most ever in a single day” — had been serving them at home for at least one year.
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” Biden said.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had launched a campaign urging Biden to take such action, praised the move in a statement.
“We are thrilled that President Biden has allowed people to remain with their families and communities, where they belong,” said Cynthia W. Roseberry, director of policy and government affairs at the ACLU’s Justice Division.
The mass clemency was announced over a week after the president pardoned his son Hunter, something he had previously promised not to do, prompting outrage from both Republican opponents and many Democratic allies.
Hunter Biden pleaded guilty in a tax evasion trial in September and was facing up to 17 years in prison. He had separately been convicted of federal gun charges, for which he was facing 25 years in prison.
The president’s controversial pardon of his son followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, who also gave reprieves on their way out the door to family and well-connected allies.
Bill Clinton, for example, granted a pardon on his last day in office to his half-brother Roger, who had served time in prison on drug charges, while Donald Trump pardoned his son-in-law’s wealthy father, Charles Kushner.
The White House said those getting relief from the president on Thursday included a “a decorated military veteran and pilot who spends much of his time helping his fellow church members.”
A nurse “who has led emergency response for several natural disasters” and an addiction counsellor “who volunteers his time” were also singled out for relief.
“Together, these actions build on the President’s record of criminal justice reform to help reunite families, strengthen communities, and reintegrate individuals back into society,” the White House said.
“The President has issued more sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms.”
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