In a historic act of clemency, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals and granted 39 pardons on Thursday, marking the largest single-day use of presidential clemency in modern U.S. history. The move underscores Biden’s commitment to criminal justice reform and offering second chances to nonviolent offenders.
The commutations apply to individuals who were released from prison to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since served at least a year under those conditions. Many of these releases aimed to mitigate the rapid spread of the virus in overcrowded facilities, which saw 1 in 5 prisoners infected at the height of the pandemic.
Biden’s Vision for Mercy and Reform
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden stated.
“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.”
Biden emphasized his administration’s focus on addressing sentencing disparities, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses.
A Diverse Range of Pardons
The individuals pardoned range from 36 to 75 years old and include men and women convicted of crimes such as drug offenses, fraud, and theft. These recipients have demonstrated significant rehabilitation, with examples including a doctoral student in molecular biosciences, a decorated military veteran, and a church deacon turned addiction counselor.
Among the pardoned is Trynitha Fulton, a former teacher from Louisiana convicted of payroll fraud in 2008. Reflecting on her pardon, Fulton shared:
“The pardon gives me a sense of freedom… limiting my ability to live a full life.”
Advocacy and Future Clemency
Biden’s clemency follows intense advocacy from groups urging him to address the federal death row cases and pardon figures like Steven Donziger, a lawyer imprisoned for contempt of court while representing Indigenous farmers in a case against Chevron.
While Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, paused federal executions, Biden has yet to fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty, a stance increasingly urgent as Donald Trump’s return to office could resume executions.
Political Implications
Biden’s clemency arrives amid controversy over his pardon of Hunter Biden, his son, for gun and tax crimes. The decision drew mixed reactions, with only 2 in 10 Americans supporting it, according to a poll by AP-NORC. Criminal justice advocates hope Biden will expand his focus to broader groups of Americans before his term ends.
Clemency encompasses both pardons, which relieve guilt and punishment, and commutations, which reduce sentences without exonerating the offense. Historically, presidents often use clemency powers in the final days of their term.
Biden’s act eclipses the previous record set by Barack Obama, who granted 330 commutations on a single day in 2017
