Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted on nonviolent drug charges

President Joe Biden listens to a question from a reporter after walking out of St. John's Church in Washington, Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, using his final days in office on a flurry of clemency actions meant to nullify prison terms he deemed too harsh.

The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. The Democrat said he is seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice.”

“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement. “This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars.”

Hours after the original announcement, the White House released the names of the 2,490 individuals receiving commuted sentences. Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to “continue to review additional commutations and pardons.”

Kara Gotsch, executive director of the advocacy group The Sentencing Project, said in a statement that the debts of those sentenced under the old crack cocaine policies had long been paid.

“Cruel and excessive prison sentences that have overwhelmingly harmed Black communities have been the cornerstone of federal drug policy for generations. Today’s commutations from President Biden are a welcome relief for countless families who have endured punishments for loved ones that far exceed their utility,” Gotsch said.

The move comes as Biden continues to weigh whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s administration. Though presidential pardoning powers are absolute, such a preemptive move would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power.

Shaneva D. McReynolds, president of FAMM, also known as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said that Biden “is leaving office with a lasting legacy on criminal justice reform.”

“With today’s announcement, he has set a standard for presidential clemency and addressed decades-long injustices in our criminal justice system,” McReynolds said in a statement.

Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel of the Last Prisoner Project, said Biden’s action offers “hope — not just for those freed today, but for all the individuals still incarcerated for cannabis and their families that have been impacted by the War on Drugs.”

Friday’s announcement follows Biden’s commutations last month of the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. That was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

Also, last month, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. Trump has vowed to roll back that order after his term begins.

And Biden recently pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations but for any potential federal offense committed over an 11-year period, as the president feared Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other offenses.

If history is any guide, meanwhile, Biden also is likely to issue more targeted pardons to help allies before leaving the White House, as presidents typically do in some of their final actions.

Just before midnight on the final night of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed a flurry of pardons and commutations for more than 140 people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black and ex-members of Congress.

Trump’s final act as president in his first term was to announce a pardon for Al Pirro, ex-husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, one of his staunchest defenders. Al Pirro was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2000.

Will Weissert, The Associated Press