Biden Commutes 2,500 People on Drugs   01/17 06:24

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was 
commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug 
offenses, using his final days in office on a flurry of clemency actions meant 
to nullify prison terms he deemed too harsh.

   The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for most 
individual pardons and commutations issued. The Democrat said he is seeking to 
undo "disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would 
receive today under current law, policy, and practice."

   "Today's clemency action provides relief for individuals who received 
lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder 
cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes," Biden 
said in a statement. "This action is an important step toward righting historic 
wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals 
the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far 
too much time behind bars."

   The White House did not immediately release the names of those receiving 
commutations.

   Still, Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time before 
President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to "continue to review 
additional commutations and pardons."

   Friday's action follows Biden's commutations last month of the sentences of 
roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home 
confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 
Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. That was the largest single-day act 
of clemency in modern history.

   All of this comes as Biden continues to weigh whether to issue sweeping 
pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly 
targeted by Trump's administration. Though presidential pardoning powers are 
absolute, such a preemptive move would be a novel and risky use of the 
president's extraordinary constitutional power.

   Last month, Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on 
federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks 
before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes 
office. Trump has vowed to roll back that order after his term begins.

   Biden also recently pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his convictions on 
federal gun and tax violations but for any potential federal offense committed 
over an 11-year period, as the president feared Trump allies would seek to 
prosecute his son for other offenses.

   If history is any guide, meanwhile, Biden also is likely to issue more 
targeted pardons to help allies before leaving the White House, as presidents 
typically do in some of their final actions.

   Just before midnight on the final night of his first term, Trump, a 
Republican, signed a flurry of pardons and commutations for more than 140 
people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, rappers Lil Wayne 
and Kodak Black and ex-members of Congress.

   Trump's final act as president in his first term was to announce a pardon 
for Al Pirro, ex-husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, one of his 
staunchest defenders. Al Pirro was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion 
charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2000.