Biden Commutes 1,500 Sentences, Grants 39 Pardons — Pot Prisoners Included — Marks Single-Day Record
President Joe Biden announced the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president, commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals and pardoning 39 others convicted of nonviolent offenses.
The measure, announced on Thursday, comes two weeks after after Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden.
“As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses,” Biden said in a statement.
Most of those granted commutations were people incarcerated when the COVID-19 pandemic began and were moved to home confinement as prisons became hotspots for the virus. Since then, their advocates and family members expressed concern that these individuals might be …