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...2-12-fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-clemency-for-nearly-1500-americans.md
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| --- | ||
| date: '2024-12-12' | ||
| modified_time: 2024-12-11 19:56:48-05:00 | ||
| published_time: 2024-12-12 05:15:00-05:00 | ||
| source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/12/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-clemency-for-nearly-1500-americans/ | ||
| tags: statements-releases | ||
| title: "FACT SHEET: President\_Biden Announces Clemency for Nearly 1,500\_Americans" | ||
| --- | ||
|
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| *Today’s announcement will commute the sentences of close to 1,500 | ||
| individuals who were placed on home confinement and will pardon 39 | ||
| individuals convicted of non-violent crimes* | ||
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| Today, President Biden announced that he is granting clemency to nearly | ||
| 1,500 Americans – the most ever in a single day – who have shown | ||
| successful rehabilitation and a strong commitment to making their | ||
| communities safer. The President is commuting the sentences of close to | ||
| 1,500 individuals who were placed on home confinement during the | ||
| COVID-19 pandemic and who have successfully reintegrated into their | ||
| families and communities. He is also pardoning 39 individuals who were | ||
| convicted of non-violent crimes. These actions represent the largest | ||
| single-day grant of clemency in modern history. | ||
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| Together, these actions build on the President’s record of criminal | ||
| justice reform to help reunite families, strengthen communities, and | ||
| reintegrate individuals back into society. The President has issued more | ||
| sentence commutations at this point in his presidency than any of his | ||
| recent predecessors at the same point in their first terms. He is also | ||
| the first President ever to issue categorical pardons to individuals | ||
| convicted of simple use and possession of marijuana, and to former | ||
| LGBTQI+ service members convicted of private conduct because of their | ||
| sexual orientation. In the coming weeks, the President will take | ||
| additional steps to provide meaningful second chances and continue to | ||
| review additional pardons and commutations. | ||
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| Americans receiving relief today include: | ||
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| - A decorated military veteran and pilot who spends much of his time | ||
| helping his fellow church members who are in poor health or unable | ||
| to perform strenuous tasks; | ||
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| - A nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters | ||
| and who helped spearhead vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 | ||
| pandemic; and | ||
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| <!-- --> | ||
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| - An addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people | ||
| find their purpose, make better choices, and refrain from | ||
| destructive behaviors and gang involvement. | ||
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| As the President has said, the United States is a nation of second | ||
| chances. The President recognizes how the clemency power can advance | ||
| equal justice under law and remedy harms caused by practices of the | ||
| past. | ||
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| The nearly 1,500 individuals who received commutations today have been | ||
| serving their sentences at home for *at least* one year under the | ||
| COVID-era CARES Act. These Americans have been reunited with their | ||
| families and shown their commitment to rehabilitation by securing | ||
| employment and advancing their education. The 39 individuals receiving | ||
| pardons today were convicted of non-violent crimes, including drug | ||
| offenses, and have turned their lives around. These individuals are | ||
| parents, veterans, health care professionals, teachers, advocates, and | ||
| engaged members of their communities. Many of them have used their | ||
| experiences in the criminal justice system to inspire and encourage | ||
| others. | ||
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| **<u>Individual Clemency Actions Throughout the Biden-Harris | ||
| Administration</u>** | ||
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| The President is intent on granting clemency to individuals convicted of | ||
| non-violent crimes who were sentenced under outdated laws, policies, and | ||
| practices that left them with longer sentences than if the individuals | ||
| were sentenced today. | ||
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| To address these injustices, President Biden has taken several bold | ||
| clemency actions throughout his Administration, including: | ||
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| - In April 2022, the President granted clemency to individuals with | ||
| various drug-related offenses and some individuals on CARES Act home | ||
| confinement. In total, he granted three pardons and 75 | ||
| commutations. | ||
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| - In December 2022, the President granted clemency to recipients with | ||
| various drug- and alcohol-related offenses. In total, he granted six | ||
| pardons. | ||
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| - In April 2023, the President granted clemency to recipients on CARES | ||
| Act home confinement. In total, he granted 31 commutations. | ||
|
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| - In December 2023 and April 2024, the President granted clemency to | ||
| individuals sentenced for non-violent drug offenses. In total, he | ||
| granted 11 pardons and 16 commutations. | ||
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| These individual actions have helped to transform these individuals’ | ||
| lives and positively impact their communities. Federal convictions make | ||
| it difficult to secure housing, jobs, educational opportunities, | ||
| benefits, and health care; all essential to living a healthy and | ||
| productive life. Through his use of the clemency power, President Biden | ||
| has taken steps to unlock doors of opportunity that would have otherwise | ||
| remained closed to these recipients, who deserve a second chance. | ||
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| **<u>Categorical Clemency Actions throughout the Biden-Harris | ||
| Administration</u>** | ||
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| In addition to these individual clemency actions, President Biden has | ||
| issued a number of categorical pardons to certain groups of people. The | ||
| President has used categorical clemency more than any of his | ||
| predecessors, which has allowed him to widely and systemically respond | ||
| to historic injustices. His bold and unprecedented categorical actions, | ||
| broadly outlined below, include the following: | ||
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| - In October 2022, the President issued a full, complete, and | ||
| unconditional categorical pardon for the offense of simple | ||
| possession of marijuana. | ||
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| - In December 2023, the President issued another proclamation that | ||
| expanded earlier relief for the offenses of simple possession of | ||
| marijuana, attempted simple possession of marijuana, or use of | ||
| marijuana, regardless of whether the individual had been charged | ||
| with or prosecuted for the offenses on or before the date of the | ||
| proclamation. | ||
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| - In June 2024, the President issued a full, complete, and | ||
| unconditional categorical pardons to certain former military service | ||
| persons convicted of offenses based on their sexual orientation, | ||
| specifically unaggravated offenses based on consensual, private | ||
| conduct with persons age 18 and older occurring between May 31, | ||
| 1951, and December 26, 2013, as well as attempts, conspiracies, or | ||
| solicitations of such conduct. | ||
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| The President’s categorical approach to clemency has also inspired | ||
| leaders across the country to take similar action. Over ten states and | ||
| localities, including Maryland and Massachusetts, have issued | ||
| categorical clemency for marijuana convictions, impacting hundreds of | ||
| thousands of people and allowing individuals to move past their | ||
| convictions and move on with their daily lives. | ||
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| While today’s announcement marks important progress, there is more to | ||
| come. President Biden will continue to review clemency petitions and | ||
| deliver criminal justice reform in a manner that advances equity and | ||
| justice, promotes public safety, supports rehabilitation and reentry, | ||
| and provides meaningful second chances. | ||
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| \### |
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...e-confinement-and-pardons-for-39-individuals-convicted-of-non-violent-crimes.md
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| Original file line number | Diff line number | Diff line change |
|---|---|---|
| @@ -0,0 +1,34 @@ | ||
| --- | ||
| date: '2024-12-12' | ||
| modified_time: 2024-12-11 19:02:36-05:00 | ||
| published_time: 2024-12-12 05:15:00-05:00 | ||
| source_url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-providing-clemency-for-nearly-1500-individuals-on-home-confinement-and-pardons-for-39-individuals-convicted-of-non-violent-crimes/ | ||
| tags: statements-releases | ||
| title: "Statement from President Joe\_Biden on Providing Clemency for Nearly 1,500\ | ||
| \ Individuals on Home Confinement and Pardons for 39 Individuals Convicted of Non-Violent\_\ | ||
| Crimes" | ||
| --- | ||
|
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| America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. As | ||
| President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who | ||
| have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for | ||
| Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their | ||
| communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for | ||
| non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses. | ||
|
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| That is why, today, I am pardoning 39 people who have shown successful | ||
| rehabilitation and have shown commitment to making their communities | ||
| stronger and safer. I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 | ||
| people who are serving long prison sentences – many of whom would | ||
| receive lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies, and | ||
| practices. These commutation recipients, who were placed on home | ||
| confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated | ||
| into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a | ||
| second chance. | ||
|
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| I will take more steps in the weeks ahead. My Administration will | ||
| continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the | ||
| law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and | ||
| provide meaningful second chances. | ||
|
|
||
| \### |