President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders on Friday, marking the largest clemency action in U.S. history. Biden aimed to address sentencing disparities and overly harsh penalties, particularly for crack versus powder cocaine offenses and outdated drug crime enhancements.
“This action helps correct historic wrongs and provides individuals the opportunity to reunite with their families and communities,” Biden said. The White House has not released the names of those granted clemency but promised additional reviews before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday.
Biden’s clemency efforts also include commuting 1,500 pandemic-era home confinement cases, pardoning 39 nonviolent offenders, and commuting 37 federal death row sentences. The president controversially pardoned his son Hunter Biden preemptively, fearing targeted prosecutions under the Trump administration.
Trump, an advocate of harsher penalties, has vowed to reverse Biden’s changes to federal capital punishment policies. Biden may issue further pardons in his final days, following historical precedent.
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