President Biden’s final replacement list was released Friday afternoon, listing the names and ID numbers of nearly 2,500 inmates whose sentences were reduced by the president’s action.
This latest round of commutations solidifies Biden’s position as the president with the highest number of pardons and commutations granted to individuals. Persons from the list, it is stated in the press release from president biden, found that they received disproportionately harsh sentences for drug-related crimes compared to the sentences they would receive today.
“Today’s clemency action provides relief to 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who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement Friday. “As Congress has recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time to equalize these disparities in sentencing.”
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The new list of commutations comes after Biden already set a record for the largest single-day presidential pardon last month, when he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who had been under house arrest during coronavirus pandemic and are mostly charged with non-violent drug-related crimes, according to the White House.
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After last month’s commutations, several Democrats called on Biden to issue more pardons and commutations for people serving long sentences. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who was among those pressuring Biden to take action, applauded the president at his event on Friday.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley called the death penalty “racist” in a statement praising President Biden’s clemency decision (Getty Images)
“Today, President Biden is taking another historic, transformative and compassionate step toward healing and family reunification by reducing the sentences of thousands of individuals serving unjustly long sentences—a direct result of failed drug war policies,” Rep. Pressley said.
“With this action, President Biden…shows the power of pardons in addressing the injustices of our criminal justice system. I thank President Biden for taking bold action and continuing to use pardons to change and save lives. This is what we call because this is the kind of leadership that this moment demands. This will be a defining part of President Biden’s legacy.”
