Biden pardons three, commutes 75 sentences
WASHINGTON – The nation’s first Black Secret Service agent on a presidential detail, now 86 years old living in Chicago, who has worked decades to clear his name for a crime he has said he didn’t commit.
A 51-year-old woman from Houston who served seven years in prison for attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and accomplice – neither of whom faced charges.
And a 52-year-old man from Athens, Georgia, who partners with schools to employ youths at his cellphone repair company, two decades after he was charged with letting pot dealers use his pool hall to sell drugs.
Three convicted felons – Abraham Bolden Sr., Betty Jo Bogans and Dexter Eugene Jackson – are receiving presidential pardons from President Joe Biden, along with 75 others whose sentences the president commuted Tuesday, in the first use of clemency power of the Biden presidency.
All of Biden’s commutations target individuals serving sentences for lowlevel drug offenses, some of whom have served on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many are Black or brown, and the White House said all have displayed efforts to rehabilitate themselves.
The clemency announcements, which coincide with national “Second Chance Month,” come as Biden also announced new actions aimed at improving outcomes for felons who reenter society as part of a broader strategy to reform the criminal justice system. Efforts include $145 million for a federal program to train the incarcerated for future employment and the removal of criminal history in applications for Small Business Administration grants.
“America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” Biden said in a statement. “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities. During Second Chance Month, I am using my authority under the Constitution to uphold those values by pardoning and commuting the sentences of fellow Americans.”
Under the Constitution, the president has the power to grant clemency to forgive convictions. A pardon represents a full legal forgiveness for a crime, removing any remaining prison sentence, probation conditions or unpaid fines as well as collateral consequences to allow felons to vote, hold professional licenses, run for public office or own a gun.
A commutation is a narrower measure used to shorten a prison sentence while leaving the conviction intact.
The highest-profile pardon is Bolden, a former Secret Service agent appointed by then-President John F. Kennedy. In 1964, Bolden was charged with trying to sell a copy of a U.S. Secret Service file. Bolden, who always maintained his innocence, was convicted even though some witnesses who testified against him admitted lying at the request of the prosecutor.
Bolden has said he was the target of retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the Secret Service.