1 week Ago By Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of about 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and pardoned 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday are for people who served home confinement sentences for at least one year after they were released.
Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Biden said he would take more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions.
The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017. The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people, including those on federal death row, before the Trump administration takes over in January.
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