CNN
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President Joe Biden granted clemency to nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders in his final days in office, focusing on sentencing disparities for crack-related crimes.
“Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving sentences disproportionate to the sentences they would receive today under the law, the current policy and practices,” Biden said in a statement Friday. “Today’s clemency brings relief to people who have been sentenced to lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for crimes drug-related. »
The clemency ruling will benefit federal prisoners convicted of crack-related crimes, who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to those convicted of powder cocaine offenses, reflecting changes in the law aimed at reducing disparities racial.
In 2021, the Biden administration has become a strong advocate for reforming the Anti-Drug Act of 1986, a law signed by President Ronald Reagan. The strict drug policy has led to thousands of people of color, particularly black people, being incarcerated for decades or life for crack-related offenses, according to the Justice Department.
The law imposed an automatic five-year sentence for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, while 500 grams of powder cocaine carried the same sentence.
Since the November election, criminal justice reform groups have been eagerly awaiting the type of massive leniency for drug offenses in Biden’s latest announcement.
However, Biden’s first major pardon after the election was personal and not part of any political agenda: the controversial and unconditional pardon of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted last year of 12 tax crimes and related to firearms.
Later in December, Biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 people already under house arrest due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But it didn’t free anyone from prison or address drug sentencing disparities, which are a top priority for criminal justice groups.
Some liberal-leaning activists were increasingly concerned that their clemency priorities, particularly related to racial justice, would go unaddressed before Trump took office for his second term. But Biden addressed some of those concerns with Friday’s announcement and his other recent decision to commute nearly all federal death sentences to life in prison.
Many of these civil rights and social justice organizations celebrated the commutations.
“These latest pardons will forever define President Biden’s legacy of justice,” Zoë Towns, executive director of the criminal justice reform group FWD.us, said in a statement Friday. “President Biden’s latest acts of leadership in bringing relief, justice and mercy to thousands and, above all, drawing attention to the harms of extreme punishment,” the statement continued.
Shaneva McReynolds, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said in a statement that her group “has long advocated” for Biden to address these sentencing disparities, and that “we are excited for the individuals and families who received help today.”
This story has been updated with additional reporting.