WASHINGTON — On Thursday, December 12, 2024, President Joe Biden took the largest single-day clemency action in modern history, commuting the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals and granting pardons to 39 others. All those pardoned had been convicted of nonviolent crimes.
“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden stated. He explained that many of the 1,500 whose sentences were commuted were serving lengthy terms that would be significantly shorter under current laws, policies, and practices. These individuals had been placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic.
The president’s administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions until his term ends on January 20th. Over 9,400 petitions remain under consideration, according to recent Department of Justice statistics. Biden emphasized his privilege in extending mercy to those who had demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunities for them to contribute to their communities, and aiming to address sentencing disparities for nonviolent offenders, particularly those convicted of drug offenses.
Among the 39 pardoned individuals was 67-year-old Michael Gary Pelletier of Augusta, Maine, who, after pleading guilty to a nonviolent offense, dedicated 20 years to working at a water treatment facility and volunteering with the HAZMAT team. He currently cultivates vegetables for a local soup kitchen and volunteers to assist wounded veterans. Another recipient of a pardon was 49-year-old Nina Simona Allen of Harvest, Alabama, who, after a nonviolent offense conviction in her twenties, earned a post-baccalaureate degree and two master’s degrees, now working in education and volunteering at a soup kitchen and nursing home.
This clemency action followed President Biden’s full pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, on gun and tax charges, and other offenses dating back to 2014. This decision reversed his previous statement that he would not pardon his son, citing the relentless targeting of his son by Republicans as his rationale.
President Biden has previously undertaken other clemency actions, including commuting sentences for simple marijuana possession and use under federal and District of Columbia law, and pardoning former U.S. service members convicted under military law for consensual same-sex relationships—a law since repealed.
Despite these actions, advocates and Democrats have urged Biden to utilize his clemency powers further, particularly on behalf of the 40 men on federal death row before President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office, citing Trump’s expedited executions during his previous term. Analilia Mejia and DaMareo Cooper, co-executive directors of Popular Democracy in Action, stated that Biden should “not stop now,” highlighting the thousands still awaiting freedom and compassion.
A full list of those pardoned for nonviolent offenses, as provided by the White House, is included below:
[List of names omitted for brevity]
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