WASHINGTON — President Biden used his clemency powers Wednesday to order the early release of five people imprisoned for dealing crack cocaine in recognition of Second Chance Month — while making no headway on fulfilling a campaign promise to release “everyone” in prison for marijuana offenses.
“America is a Nation founded on the promise of second chances. During Second Chance Month, we reaffirm our commitment to rehabilitation and reentry for people returning to their communities post incarceration,” the 81-year-old president said in a statement.
“We also recommit to building a criminal justice system that lives up to those ideals and ensures that everyone receives equal justice under law. That is why today I am announcing steps I am taking to make this promise a reality.”
Biden, who wrote or cosponsored some of the nation’s harshest federal drug laws in the 1980s and ’90s, said that he chose to issue commutations to the five crack offenders because they would have been given more lenient sentences today — continuing a long-running effort dating to the Obama administration to identify and retroactively reduce such sentences.
It’s unclear why Biden chose to free none of the estimated 2,700 federal marijuana-dealing inmates, as he promised to do at a Democratic primary debate in 2019.
In recent public remarks, Biden has indicated that he believes his mass pardon in 2022 for people incarcerated for simple marijuana possession — of whom none were actually in prison — fulfilled that pledge, though cannabis advocates say they understood “everyone” to mean dealers as well.
Biden also pardoned 11 people who had already finished their sentences — restoring various rights such as the ability to vote and own guns — in recognition of the month focused on rehabilitation.
“I am using my clemency power to pardon 11 individuals and commute the sentences of 5 individuals who were convicted of non-violent drug offenses,” Biden said.
“Many of these individuals received disproportionately longer sentences than they would have under current law, policy, and practice. The pardon recipients have demonstrated their commitment to improving their lives and positively transforming their communities. The commutation recipients have shown that they are deserving of forgiveness and the chance at building a brighter future for themselves beyond prison walls.”
Thus far most of Biden’s clemency recipients appear to have been selected through the Justice Department’s pardon attorney office — as opposed to former President Donald Trump’s practice of soliciting ad hoc input from friends, advisers and advocacy groups.
“Like my other clemency actions, these pardons and commutations reflect my overarching commitment to addressing racial disparities and improving public safety. While today’s announcement marks important and continued progress, my Administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms in a manner that advances equal justice, supports rehabilitation and reentry, and provides meaningful second chances,” Biden said.
