It is the largest act of clemency carried out in a single day in modern United States history. The decision by Biden, whose term ends in January, is aimed mainly at people who have served sentences of house arrest for at least a year.
United States President Joe Biden this Wednesday amnestied around 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed in home confinement during the covid-19 pandemic.
The North American head of state, whose term ends in January, will also pardon 39 North American citizens convicted of non-violent crimes.
It is the largest act of clemency carried out in a single day in modern United States history. The decision is mainly aimed at people who have served sentences of house arrest for at least one year.
During the covid-19 pandemic, the SARS CoV-2 virus spread throughout North American prisons: one in five inmates became infected, according to a count by the American news agency Associated Press.
Biden said he would take further action in the coming weeks and would continue to review clemency requests.
The second largest act of clemency occurred during President Barack Obama’s administration, with 330 pardons granted shortly before he left office in 2017.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden declared.
“As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring the opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to the good of their communities, and taking action to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders , especially those convicted of drug-related crimes,” he said.
Before, he forgave his own son
The clemency follows a , who was prosecuted for weapons possession and tax crimes.
Joe Biden had said in the 2020 campaign that he wanted to end the death penalty in the United States, but never did so, and now, with Donald Trump as head of state, scheduled executions are likely to resume.
During his first term (2016-2020), Trump authorized an unprecedented number of executions, carried out during the height of the pandemic.
The president of the United States has the power to pardon or commute a sentence, which reduces or eliminates the punishment but does not exonerate the crime.
It is customary for a President to grant clemency at the end of his term, using the power of the office to expunge records or end prison sentences.
Before pardoning his own son, Biden had repeatedly pledged not to do so. In a statement explaining the retreat, he stated that the accusation had been politically motivated.
The ruling prompted criminal justice advocates and lawmakers to exert additional public pressure on the administration to use this same power for “ordinary Americans.”
It was not a popular move: Only two in ten Americans approved the decision, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center poll.
