President Joe Biden on Friday commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in US history.
Those whose sentences were commuted were serving “disproportionately long sentences” compared to what they would receive today, Biden said in a statement.
He called the move “an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families”.
“With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in US history,” Biden said, adding that he may issue further commutations or pardons before he hands over power to president-elect Donald Trump on Monday.
Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others last month.
