President Joe Biden on Friday announced he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences as one of his last major moves just days before leaving office.
Biden said the individuals receiving commutations are “serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice” in a Friday statement.
“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who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said.
The move makes him the president who has issued more pardons and commutations than any other U.S. president, Biden said.
The president noted that Congress in recent years has passed the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010, which ended the five-year mandatory minimum sentencing for possessing crack cocaine, and the First Step Act in 2018, which aimed to decrease the federal prison population.
“As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities,”
Biden said. “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.”
He said he is proud of his record on clemency and will “continue to review additional commutations and pardons” before he leaves office on Monday.
