Biden Commutes 1,500 Sentences in Historic Clemency Move
President Biden has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals and pardoned 39 others, marking the largest single-day act of clemency in modern U.S. history. The commutations apply to those serving long sentences that would be shorter under current laws, while the pardons are for nonviolent offenders who have rehabilitated. Biden plans further clemency actions before leaving office, amid calls to address sentencing disparities and mass incarceration. This follows his controversial pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, and previous categorical pardons for marijuana offenses and LGBTQ+ military convictions.