President Joe Biden Commutes Sentences of 1,500 and Pardons 39 Americans
President Joe Biden has announced the commutation of sentences for approximately 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he has pardoned 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes, making it the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.
The commutations are for individuals who have served out their home confinement sentences for at least one year. Prisons were particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, with one in five prisoners contracting the virus at one point. Biden stated that he will continue to review clemency petitions and take more steps in the coming weeks.
The pardoned individuals range in age from 36 to 75 and include a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters, a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counselor and youth counselor, a doctoral student in molecular biosciences, and a decorated military veteran. The group also includes Trynitha Fulton, a 46-year-old Louisiana resident who pleaded guilty to participating in a payroll fraud scheme while serving as a New Orleans middle school teacher. She was sentenced to three years of probation in 2008 and has since earned a master’s degree and works with a nonprofit organization.
Biden has previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons, and has also pardoned those convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, as well as former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.
Advocacy groups are urging Biden to pardon federal death row prisoners and others who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes. The president has also been considering issuing preemptive pardons to those who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and are facing possible retribution when Trump takes office. However, it is unclear whether Biden will take action to guard against possible prosecution by Trump.
