Biden Grants Clemency to Nearly 1,500 People in Largest Single-Day Act: 39 Pardons and Nearly 1,500 Commutations
President Joe Biden announced in Washington on December 12 that he was pardoning 39 people who have shown successful rehabilitation and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people serving long prison sentences. The White House said the actions represent the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.
According to the White House statement and fact sheet, the nearly 1,500 people receiving commutations were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year, and have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities; many of them would receive lower sentences if charged under today's laws, policies and practices. The 39 people receiving pardons were convicted of non-violent crimes, including drug offenses, and, the White House said, have turned their lives around and shown a commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.
Biden said in the statement that America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances, and that as President he has 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 added that he will take more steps in the weeks ahead and that his Administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances. The White House noted that Biden is the first President ever to issue categorical pardons to individuals convicted of simple use and possession of marijuana and to former LGBTQI+ service members convicted because of their sexual orientation, and that he 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. (Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于华盛顿的白宫北面正景。DJTechYT 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The north front of the White House in Washington. Photo by DJTechYT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
