Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people
convicted on nonviolent drug charges
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 [January 17, 2025]
By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was
commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent
drug offenses, using his final days in office on a flurry of clemency
actions meant to nullify prison terms he deemed too harsh.
The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for
most individual pardons and commutations issued. The Democrat said he is
seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the
sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and
practice.”
“Today’s clemency action provides relief for 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powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug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. “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.”
The White House did not immediately release the names of those receiving
commutations.
Still, Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time
before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to “continue
to review additional commutations and pardons.”
Friday's action follows Biden's commutations last month of the sentences
of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home
confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of
39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. That was the largest
single-day act of clemency in modern history.
All of this comes as Biden continues to weigh whether to issue sweeping
pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be
unjustly targeted by Trump’s administration. Though presidential
pardoning powers are absolute, such a preemptive move would be a novel
and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power.
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President Joe Biden attends the Department of Defense Commander in
Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Jan. 16,
2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Last month, Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people
on federal death row, converting their punishments to life
imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of
expanding capital punishment, takes office. Trump has vowed to roll
back that order after his term begins.
Biden also recently pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his
convictions on federal gun and tax violations but for any potential
federal offense committed over an 11-year period, as the president
feared Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other
offenses.
If history is any guide, meanwhile, Biden also is likely to issue
more targeted pardons to help allies before leaving the White House,
as presidents typically do in some of their final actions.
Just before midnight on the final night of his first term, Trump, a
Republican, signed a flurry of pardons and commutations for more
than 140 people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon,
rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black and ex-members of Congress.
Trump's final act as president in his first term was to announce a
pardon for Al Pirro, ex-husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine
Pirro, one of his staunchest defenders. Al Pirro was convicted of
conspiracy and tax evasion charges and sentenced to more than two
years in prison in 2000.
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