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Joe Biden commutes 2,500 'disproportionately long' drug offenses in final presidency days

US President Joe Biden pardons Peach, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, alongside Chair of the National Turkey Federation John Zimmerman and his son Grant during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 25, 2024. DREW ANGE

US President Joe Biden pardons Peach, the National Thanksgiving Turkey, alongside Chair of the National Turkey Federation John Zimmerman and his son Grant during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 25, 2024. DREW ANGE

President Joe Biden announced Friday he is commuting 2,500 criminal sentences for nonviolent drug offenses that he described as "disproportionately long" compared to modern-day sentences.

Biden said that the latest round of commutations is going to individuals who received lengthy sentences based on "discredited" and "outdated" sentencing practices, including distinctions between crack and powder cocaine. as a senator, Biden helped craft a 1986 bill which gave someone who sold 5 grams of crack cocaine the same punishment as a 500-gram-powder-cocaine seller.

 

President Joe Biden is pictured at the Oval Office during an interview with USA TODAY Washington Bureau chief Susan Page.
President Joe Biden is pictured at the Oval Office during an interview with USA TODAY Washington Bureau chief Susan Page. Josh Morgan, Josh Morgan / USA TODAY NETWORK Via Imagn Images

 

The 100:1 disparity meant street-level sellers got harsher sentences than wholesale dealers, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which concluded Black offenders suffered were hit with the most severe sentences under the regime. In 2010, Congress reduced the ratio to 18:1.

"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," Biden said Friday.

The latest commutations build on the president's other acts of clemency in his final weeks of office. On Dec. 1, Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, who had been convicted of gun- and tax-related offenses after a jury trial in one case and a guilty plea in another. On Dec. 12, he granted 39 pardons to people convicted of nonviolent crimes and commuted 1,499 sentences. On Dec. 23, Biden commuted the sentences of most federal death row inmates to life in prison – 37 of the 40 prisoners.

"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history," Biden touted in a Friday statement following the latest commutations.

Incoming President-elect Donald Trump signed into law the First Step Act during his first presidency, which reduced the sentences of thousands of inmates and was acknowledged by Biden in the Friday announcement. However, Trump campaigned for his upcoming presidency on a call for executing drug dealers.

The latest round of clemency might not be Biden's last. He said Friday that he will "continue to review additional commutations and pardons."

Contributing: Kristine Phillips - USA TODAY Network

Author: Editors Desk, Aysha Bagchi

Source: USA Today

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