President Joe Biden announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
The individuals were serving “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice,” a White House statement says.
The act is the largest single-day act of clemency.
Biden noted in the statement that he has “issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.”
“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said. “As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities. This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars. I am proud of my record on clemency and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons.”
In December, Biden issued 39 pardons and commuted nearly 1,500 sentences. At the time, the move was the largest single-day act of clemency in U.S. history.
Biden said the commutation recipients were “placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic” and have “successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”
A White House fact sheet on the December action described those being pardoned as “parents, veterans, health care professionals, teachers, advocates, and engaged members of their communities.”
Biden also pardoned his son, Hunter, on December 1. “I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden said of the pardon, arguing that Hunter had been treated differently than others facing similar charges, particularly regarding gun and tax offenses.
