President Joe Biden has granted clemency to nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders, marking the largest number of pardons and commutations issued by any president in U.S. history. Biden's action aims to address historic sentencing disparities, particularly those stemming from the crack cocaine sentencing disparities of the 1980s, which disproportionately impacted African Americans. While Biden acknowledged the need for correction, he did not directly address his past support for harsher drug sentencing laws.
has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in history, after announcing Friday that he was pardoning nearly 2,500 nonviolent drug offenders.
President Joe Biden speaks during a Department of Defense Commander in Chief farewell ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Arlington, Va.He did not provide additional details as to the exact number of people who would be affected by the clemency action, timelines involved or any of the qualifying criteria used for assessing the pardons.
In the 1980s, Biden supported several bills that increased penalties for drug users, including one that essentially lengthened sentences for crack cocaine users, predominantly African-Americans, as compared to those convicted of using powder cocaine, who were predominantly white.
PARDONS COMMUTATIONS DRUG OFFENSES SENTENCING DISPARITIES PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY
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