What happened
President Joe Biden Thursday commuted the sentences of 1,499 people and granted 39 pardons. The White House called it the “largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history.”
Who said what
Those whose sentences were commuted had been released from prison to home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic. They have “successfully reintegrated” into their communities and “shown that they deserve a second chance,” Biden said, and many would have received “lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies and practices.” This group of convicts had been of “particular concern” to advocates, The New York Times said, as some congressional Republicans are pushing legislation that “would have forced them to return to prison.”
The 39 pardons, which fully wipe out convictions, went to people convicted of nonviolent crimes, particularly drug offenses. All have shown a “commitment to making their communities stronger and safer,” Biden said. “None are household names,” USA Today said.
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After pardoning his son Hunter before he was sentenced for gun and tax offenses, Biden has been under pressure to pardon “broad swaths of people, including those on federal death row, before the Trump administration takes over in January,” The Associated Press said. Prior to yesterday’s announcement, Biden had been “relatively constrained in his use of the presidential act of forgiveness,” the Times said.
What next?
Biden “said he would continue to review clemency petitions in the coming weeks,” The Wall Street Journal said. Commuting all federal death sentences to life in prison is one of the moves “under active discussion.” Donald Trump is a “staunch supporter” of “capital punishment,” The Washington Post said.
