Biden Commutes Sentences of Close to 2,500 People Convicted of Nonviolent Drug Charges

By: Andrew P. Cooper, Esq., LL.M.

Earlier this morning, President Biden announced that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, using his final days in office to issue clemency actions intended 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who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement.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.”

The White House did not release the names of those receiving commutations, however, President 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.”

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.”

In 2021, the Biden administration became a vocal advocate for reforming the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, a law signed by President Ronald Reagan. The strict drug policy led to the incarceration of thousands of people of color, specifically Black people, for decades or for life for crack-related offenses, according to the Justice Department. The law imposed an automatic five-year sentence for possessing 5 grams of crack cocaine, while 500 grams of powder cocaine carried the same penalty.

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.