Updated December 12, 2024 at 18:10 PM ET
President Biden on Thursday announced he is commuting the prison sentences for nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 others in what the White House said was the largest act of clemency in a single day in modern presidential history.
The 1,500 people had been serving long prison sentences that would have been shorter under today's laws and practices. They had been on home confinement since the COVID pandemic and Biden said they had successfully reintegrated into their communities.
The White House released brief biographies of the 39 pardoned individuals. Most committed non-violent drug offenses in their late teens and early 20s. Many served in the U.S. military and all are active in their communities, either through church or volunteer work — including helping others with addiction recovery and navigating life after incarceration.
Even before Thursday's announcement, Biden had issued more commutations than any other recent president by this point in their first term, the White House said.
Biden has also issued categorical pardons to people convicted under federal law of simple use or possession of marijuana, and to LGBTQ+ people who had been convicted because of the sexual orientation while serving in the military.
Clemency advocates say Biden could do a lot more
The last record set on number of clemencies granted in one day was by former President Barack Obama, who issued 330 in a single day in 2017, as his administration was wrapping up.
Biden's nearly 1,500 commutations is a big jump. But clemency advocates want the president to do more, particularly when it comes to his pardon power for people facing the death penalty.
Rachel Barkow, a law professor at New York University, told an event hosted by the Law and Journalism Project on Wednesday — the day before Biden's clemency actions — that commuting the sentences of those on home confinement is "the easiest, lowest hanging fruit for a presidential grant because they are out, they are law-abiding."
She expressed concern that it would be the limit of Biden's clemency actions.
"I'm a little worried that he's only going to do that and he's going to try to make it out like that's some big deal when that's not a big deal at all. That's not even the bare minimum," she said.
Barkow said she's sympathetic that Biden couldn't pass many criminal justice reform efforts through a divided Congress. But clemency is one area where he can take action, and he hasn't done enough, she said.
"The clemency power is something that you can fairly assess the president by because they don't need anybody's help. That is just a question of their will. They just need the will and a pen," Barkow said.
Some want Biden to commute death sentences
When President-elect Donald Trump was in office the first time, he oversaw more federal executions than past presidents. Cynthia Roseberry, who leads the justice division at the American Civil Liberties Union, said she is hoping Biden commutes the sentences for the 40 people who are currently facing the death penalty.
"If the president had the will to do it, he could commute the 40 men who are on death row. He could commute thousands of people, thousands of sentences, and reunite many families," Roseberry said of Biden.
Democratic lawmakers, including Biden ally Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., have also been calling on Biden to take action for those on death row. The president ran his campaign in 2020 saying he would abolish the federal death penalty but has taken few steps on it since.
The White House has not commented on whether it's something under consideration. But Biden said he plans to take more steps in his remaining weeks in the White House.
"My 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," Biden said in his statement on Thursday.
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