President Biden on Thursday announced pardons for 39 people and commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 others, with a focus on those who were under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sweeping act of clemency came as Biden has been under pressure to pardon individuals after he granted one for his son, Hunter. The president in a statement said he would take more steps in the weeks ahead before he leaves office.
“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 White House said it was the largest act of clemency in a single day in modern history.
Biden announced pardons for 39 individuals who he said had successfully rehabilitated their lives and contributed to their communities. They were each convicted of non-violent crimes, the White House said, and included a military veteran, a nurse who led natural disaster responses and an addiction counselor.
The roughly 1,500 individuals who had their sentences commuted had been under home confinement for at least a year under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a law passed in 2020 during the pandemic that allowed for extended home confinement for certain prisoners when COVID-19 was rampant. The Associated Press reported that at one point, one-in-five prisoners had the virus.
“These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance,” Biden said in a statement.
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, Biden had issued 122 commutations and 21 pardons, and he offered sweeping clemency to those convicted of marijuana use on federal lands.
He has faced growing pressure in his final weeks in office to use his presidential pardon powers, with advocates ramping up their efforts after Biden’s controversial decision to pardon his son.
The president had for months insisted he would not pardon Hunter Biden, who was convicted on gun charges and pleaded guilty to federal tax charges earlier this year. But he reversed course earlier this month, arguing that his son’s cases had been influenced by politics.
Some Democrats have suggested Biden should preemptively pardon individuals who might be targeted by the incoming Trump administration, such as members of the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Others have called for him to grant clemency to those on death row.
“I will take more steps in the weeks ahead,” Biden said Thursday. “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.”
