Biden grants clemency to over 1,500 individuals in historic single-day action

President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals who were released from prison during the Covid-19 pandemic and placed on home confinement.

Additionally, he issued pardons to 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, marking the largest single-day act of clemency in modern US history. 

The commutations apply to individuals who have spent at least one year in home confinement since their release, a measure initially taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 in overcrowded prisons.

Biden stated his administration is committed to granting mercy to those who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation. "America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances," Biden said, emphasizing his focus on addressing sentencing disparities, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses. 

The clemency recipients include individuals who have significantly contributed to society since their convictions. Among them are a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters, a decorated veteran, a doctoral student in molecular biosciences, and a church deacon working as an addiction and youth counsellor. 

Biden's action builds on his prior grants of clemency, including 122 commutations and 21 pardons. He has also pardoned individuals convicted of marijuana possession and former service members penalized under now-repealed military laws against consensual same-sex relations. 

Advocacy groups are urging Biden to extend clemency to others, including federal death row inmates. Attorney General Merrick Garland had paused federal executions, aligning with Biden's 2020 campaign pledge to end the death penalty—a promise yet to be fulfilled. With Trump set to return to office, advocates fear the resumption of federal executions, a hallmark of his previous term. 

Lawmakers have also called for clemency for Steven Donziger, a lawyer who represented Indigenous farmers in a lawsuit against Chevron and was imprisoned for contempt of court. 

Thursday's pardons come as Biden faces pressure to issue additional clemency measures before leaving office on 20 January. Some have speculated he may consider preemptive pardons for individuals involved in investigations of Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, though Biden is reportedly cautious about the precedent this would set. 

Biden defended his decision to pardon his son, Hunter, for gun and tax crimes, citing political bias in the prosecution. He has been encouraged to extend similar considerations to others deserving of a second chance. 

Presidents traditionally grant clemency at the end of their terms, using this power to offer relief to individuals and address systemic inequities. Biden has pledged further action in the coming weeks.