Biden frees 1,500 inmates sent home during COVID-19
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President Biden has taken historic action by commuting sentences for approximately 1,500 individuals who were moved to home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, while also granting pardons to 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent offenses.
The decision, marking the most extensive single-day clemency action in recent history, benefits individuals who have successfully completed at least one year of home confinement following their prison release.
The pandemic’s severe impact on correctional facilities, where infection rates soared to affect 20% of inmates according to AP data, prompted the initial releases.
Biden commutes 1,500 jail sentences, grants pardons for 39 others: 'Largest single-day grant of clemency' pic.twitter.com/L6RXwMoVpy
— 🇺🇸𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇🇺🇸 (@pr0ud_americans) December 12, 2024
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “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.”
The pardoned individuals include notable community contributors, such as a natural disaster response team leader, an addiction counseling deacon, a molecular biosciences doctoral candidate, and a decorated veteran.
This clemency action follows Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter for gun and tax violations. The president faces mounting pressure from advocacy groups to extend pardons to more individuals, including death row inmates, before Trump’s administration begins.
Biden’s administration has already granted 122 commutations and 21 pardons, including blanket pardons for federal marijuana possession charges and violations of former military regulations against consensual gay relationships.
JUST IN: President Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison & placed on home confinement during the pandemic, & is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes, the most ever in a single day.
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A bipartisan group of 35 lawmakers, led by Representative Jim McGovern, is pushing for additional pardons, specifically for environmental lawyer Steven Donziger, who faced legal consequences related to his work with Indigenous communities against Chevron.
While more pardons are anticipated before Biden’s term concludes on January 20, internal discussions reveal the president’s careful consideration of potential precedents, particularly regarding protection against future prosecution.
The president’s power to grant pardons or commute sentences traditionally peaks during a term’s end. This latest action significantly surpasses former President Obama’s previous record of 330 clemencies granted near his presidency’s conclusion.
