President Biden is using his final days in office to grant clemency to nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders, focusing on addressing sentencing disparities for crack cocaine-related crimes.
President Joe Biden is granting clemency to nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders in his final days in office, placing a spotlight on sentencing disparities for crack cocaine-related crimes. Biden announced the decision Friday, stating, 'Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice.
' He added, '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who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes.' The clemency decision will primarily benefit federal prisoners convicted of crack cocaine-related crimes. These individuals have been serving sentences significantly longer than those convicted of powder cocaine offenses, reflecting a shift in the law aimed at diminishing racial disparities. The Biden administration has been a strong advocate for reforming the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, a law signed by President Ronald Reagan. This strict drug policy, according to the Justice Department, led to the mass incarceration of thousands of people of color, particularly Black people, for decades or life for crack-related offenses. The law mandated a five-year automatic sentence for possessing 5 grams of crack cocaine, while 500 grams of powder cocaine carried the same penalty.Criminal justice reform groups have been eagerly anticipating a mass clemency for drug offenses like the one announced by Biden. However, Biden's first major clemency action after the November election was personal and outside of any policy agenda: the controversial and unconditional pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted last year of 12 tax and gun crimes. In December, Biden commuted the sentences of 1,500 individuals already under house arrest due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But this action did not release anyone from prison and did not address the drug sentencing disparities that have been a top priority for criminal justice groups. Some liberal activists had expressed concern that their clemency priorities, particularly those concerning racial justice, might be overlooked before Trump took office for his second term. Biden addressed some of these anxieties with Friday's announcement and his previous decision to commute nearly all federal death row sentences to life in prison
CLEMENCY DRUG OFFENSES CRACK COCAINE SENTENCING DISPARITIES JOE BIDEN CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
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