President Biden commutes sentences of nearly 1,500 people

Magan Crane and Gregory Korte, Bloomberg News on Dec 12, 2024

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of almost 1,500 people, the largest one-day act of presidential clemency. He also issued pardons to 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes, several of whom would get lighter sentences if convicted now, the White House announced Thursday.

The commutations are for people who were placed on home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of an effort to reduce prison populations.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. 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.

The White House did not name the 39 people being pardoned and said the president intends to issue more pardons in the final weeks of his presidency.

This isn’t the first time Biden has issued sweeping pardons or commutations. In 2022, Biden pardoned those convicted of federal simple marijuana possession offenses. A year later, he expanded that relief to include those convicted of use or sale of marijuana, and earlier this year he offered pardons to former military servicemembers convicted of offenses based on their sexual orientation.

Earlier this month, Biden signed a pardon of his own son, Hunter, who was convicted of federal gun charges and had previously pleaded guilty in a separate felony tax case. The president issued the pardon after years of claiming he would not, saying the prosecution of his son was politically motivated. The move was widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans.

President-elect Donald Trump pardoned people close to him during his first term, including Charles Kushner, his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, who he recently nominated to be U.S. ambassador to France. Trump has also suggested he may pardon those convicted of involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol when he retakes the White House.

Biden had been on track to use presidential clemency more sparingly than any president since John Adams. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, the Justice Department lawyers who review petitions from federal convicts, had a backlog of more than 15,000 cases as of Sept. 30.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president has the power “to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States.” That includes the power to grant a full pardon, which restores all civil rights, and to shorten sentences. But it applies only to federal crimes, and the president has no power to commute the sentences of more than 2,000 prisoners awaiting execution for state crimes.

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(With assistance from Josh Wingrove.)