Biden pardons nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders
"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history"
US President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences, three days before he leaves office. In an announcement on Friday, Biden said he had now issued more individual pardons and commutations "than any other president in US history".
The president said today's clemency action affected individuals "who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes." As a US Senator from Delaware during the 80s and 90s, Biden authored many laws during the 1980s and 1990s as part of the War on Drugs, which set the stage for the significant sentencing disparities we see to his day to develop.
The commutations add to Biden’s sweeping use of his clemency powers as he prepares to leave office. In recent weeks, he has also commuted the sentences of nearly all prisoners on federal death row and set what was a single-day record of 1,500 commutations for those moved to home confinement during the pandemic.
Cynthia W. Roseberry, director of policy and government affairs at the ACLU’s Justice Division, made the following statement; “We are thrilled with President Biden’s decision to commute nearly 2,500 sentences today. We have long advocated for the use of clemency to heal communities by returning loved ones to their families and to address the harms of our broken criminal legal system. This decision reflects the growing recognition that harsh drug sentencing laws tear communities apart by incarcerating people who otherwise would benefit from second chances and supportive services. Today’s decision, and the other acts of clemency over the last several weeks, are major steps towards remedying the shameful criminal legal policies of our past and building a more just future."
“While we celebrate this progress towards justice, we know there is more we must do to repair the harm of the war on drugs and push for a criminal legal system rooted in fairness and humanity. The disparity between crack and powder cocaine remains 18:1, despite the substances being chemically identical. Congress must act swiftly to pass the bipartisan EQUAL Act, which would end the disparity once and for all," the statement continued.
