Biden to pardon three and commute 75 sentences
President uses clemency on low-level offenses
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 trying 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 youth 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 each has displayed efforts to rehabilitate themselves.
The clemency announcements, which coincide with national “Second Chance Month,” come as Biden also will announce 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 grant of mercy used to shorten a prison sentence while leaving the conviction intact. Many of Biden’s commutations leave intact home confinement or supervised release terms.
The individuals granted clemency came at the recommendation of the Department of Justice’s pardon attorney, according to senior Biden administration officials. It marks the return of a practice that was largely bypassed by former President Donald Trump, whose clemency requests often came through close aides.
The actions come as Biden faces pressure from criminal justice advocates to take action on police accountability via executive power after legislative efforts have failed. A White House official said Tuesday’s announcements do not supplant the president’s police accountability efforts.