Biden commutes nearly 1,500 sentences in largest one-day clemency

Today, President Joe Biden announced that he will commute the sentences of almost 1,500 Americans for non-violent offenses—the most ever granted in one day. Those affected by the commutations are people released to in-home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, whom some Republicans have pushed to send back to prison. Biden also announced that he would pardon 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes including drug offenses.  

As I previously reported, there has been pressure on Joe Biden to use his clemency power more broadly in the final months of his term—which intensified after he pardoned his son, Hunter. More than 130 civil and human rights organizations have called on Biden to commute the sentences of those on federal death row before he leaves office. Biden has openly opposed the death penalty, and those commutations would prevent the execution of 40 people—who, instead of being killed, would serve out the rest of their lives in prison.      

Groups have also called on Biden to free more people serving time for nonviolent offenses. Drug Policy Alliance, a non-partisan advocacy group, recently asked Biden to commute the sentences lengthened by the racist disparity in sentencing between powder and crack cocaine, which has disproportionately affected the Black community; the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit working for the release of all marijuana prisoners, joined members of Congress in November on the Capital Steps to call on Biden to rectify what they called “draconian sentences given by judges” in an accompanying letter to the president.

In response to today’s announcement, the Last Prisoner Project’s executive director, Sarah Gersten, said in a public statement, “We are heartened to see the President using his clemency power more robustly, and are eager to see more action before he leaves office. It’s clear from the White House’s statement that the administration sees nonviolent drug offenders, and particularly those impacted by unjust cannabis offenses, as a critical category of clemency recipients deserving relief.”

Biden’s announcement implied that more clemencies should be expected, saying that he will “continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances.”