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Presidential pardons

Full list of Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons: who they are and why he pardoned them

Outgoing US president Biden issued a batch of pardons on Sunday, as well as commuting two Americans' sentences.

Outgoing US president Biden issued a batch of pardons on Sunday, as well as commuting two Americans' sentences.
Nathan HowardREUTERS

Ahead of his departure from the White House, US president Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he was issuing five pardons on his final full day in office. Biden also revealed his decision to commute the sentences of two Americans who are currently serving lengthy prison terms.

“America is a country built on the promise of second chances,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House, adding: “These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities.”

The beneficiaries of the outgoing president’s pardons include the current speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and a rights activist lauded by Martin Luther King.

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Who has Joe Biden pardoned?

Biden has issued a posthumous pardon to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a civil and human rights leader who in 1923 was sentenced to five years in prison for mail fraud. His sentence was commuted by president Calvin Coolidge in 1927. King, whose birthday is commemorated today in the US, described Garvey as “the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement”.

Biden has also pardoned Delaware man Darryl Chambers, who was jailed for 17 years for a non-violent drug crime in 1998. Since being released, Chambers has undertaken community outreach work in Wilmington - Biden’s home town - in areas such as violence prevention. “Advocates, lawmakers, and his mentees praise him for his commitment to the Wilmington community,” Biden said.

In Portsmouth, Virginia, state lawmaker Don Scott has been pardoned for his 1994 conviction for a non-violent drug crime. Since leaving prison, he has worked as an attorney and now serves in the Virginia House of Delegates, becoming the chamber’s first ever Black speaker last year. “His supporters have highlighted his dedication to public service, his remorse and redemption, and his tireless commitment to improving the lives of those around him,” Biden wrote.

In a statement in the wake of his pardon, Scott thanked Biden for “recognizing my journey of redemption”. “His commitment to second chances is truly remarkable, and he will undoubtedly be remembered as the President who championed redemption and transformation,” Scott added.

Biden has also offered a pardon to the Brooklyn-based immigrant advocate Ravi Ragbir, underling his “efforts to promote justice and human dignity”. In 2001, Ragbir was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars for a non-violent offense.

And in Ashburn, Virginia, the criminal justice advocate Kemba Smith Pradia has been pardoned for a non-violent drug offense that led her to be given a 24-year prison term in 1994. Six years later, her sentence was commuted by president Bill Clinton. Biden highlighted Smith Pradia’s “fierce and courageous advocacy for incarcerated persons and survivors of domestic violence”.

Reacting to her pardon, Smith Pradia said in a statement: “[Biden’s] decision reflects the growing recognition that many of the harsh sentences imposed during the height of the War on Drugs caused immeasurable harm, particularly to women who have experienced intimate partner violence and communities of color.”

Whose sentences has Biden commuted?

In addition to the five pardons above, Biden has commuted the sentences of current federal prison inmates Robin Peoples and Michelle West, explaining that they “have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption”. Both are now due to be freed on February 18. Peoples is serving a 111-year sentence for a crime which, Biden said, “would likely face a significantly lower sentence under current law and policy”. West, meanwhile, has been serving life in prison.

How many people has Biden pardoned as president?

In all, Biden has pardoned 70 individuals since taking office in January 2021, according to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Notably, the 82-year-old handed down clemency to son Hunter in December, pardoning him for recent convictions on federal gun and tax charges.

While his pardon count is the lowest of any US president since George H.W. Bush, according to USA Today’s Jim Sergent and George Petras, Biden has commuted more sentences than any other commander-in-chief in US history: over 4,000. Earlier this month, the Democrat announced the commuting of some 2,500 sentences for non-violent drug offences, describing the prisoners' punishments as “disproportionately long”.

Biden is to be replaced as US president today by the Republican Donald Trump, who is to be sworn in at around 12 noon ET/9:00 a.m. PT.

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