WASHINGTON – President Biden on Tuesday issued three pardons and 75 changes to prison sentences in his first pardon donations since taking office.
All exchanges and two of the three pardons went to people convicted of federal drug crimes.
“Today I forgive three people who have demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and strive every day to return and contribute to their communities,” Biden said in a statement.
“It also changes the sentences of 75 people serving long sentences for non-violent drug crimes, many of whom were under house arrest during the COVID pandemic – and many of whom would have received lower sentences if convicted. a crime today, thanks to the bipartisan First Step Act.
Biden pardoned former Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden, 87, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 1964 for bribery. He was the first black man assigned to a presidential security item.
Biden also pardoned Houston resident Betty Joe Bogans, 51, who received a seven-year sentence in 1998 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and Georgia resident Dexter Jackson, 52, who pleaded guilty in 2002. that he allowed sweat dealers to use his property. Jackson runs a phone repair company.
Fifty-eight of the 75 sentence changes are due to take effect in 2023, with most of these recipients technically under house arrest by then.
Biden pardoned former Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 1964 for bribery. Bettmann Archive
A White House spokesman told The Post that the decision to postpone the entry into force for many cases was in line with the practice of some previous administrations. He added that “these grants, which reduce the sentences of non-violent drug offenders, will have a significant impact on people’s lives.”
“President Biden has issued more sentence changes at this early time in his presidency than any of his last five predecessors at the same time in their first term,” the official said. “President Biden has moved quickly to express his deep commitment to reforming our judiciary, tackling racial differences and giving a second chance to people who work hard to turn their lives around. At the same time, this is only the first tranche. The president and his team will continue to consider petitions from nonviolent drug offenders for additional pardon donations.
Biden is responsible for some of the harshest national drug laws, but he focused before the 2020 campaign in support of criminal justice reform. He even said he wanted to release “everyone” in the marijuana prison.
Only five people imprisoned exclusively for marijuana receive a commutation sentence, and some will spend more time behind bars.
Jose Colunga of Nebraska, who received a 20-year sentence in 2010 for the marijuana trade, will now be released in October 2023, according to a White House report – instead of the expected release date in 2027. Texas resident Fermin Serna , who received a 20-year sentence, will expire in August 2022, not 2030.
There are approximately 2,700 federal prisoners imprisoned for marijuana. AP / Idaho State Journal, Doug Lindley
Stacey Demers of Constable, New York, and Carrie Lee of Georgia, who received a 10-year sentence in 2016 for potting, will be under house arrest for one year, as will Quang Nguyen of Houston, who received a 10-year sentence. sentence. in 2017
There are about 2,700 federal prisoners with marijuana, and many high-level cases have failed.
It was not immediately clear what role external lobbying played in pardon grants.
An administration official told reporters Monday night that “the Justice Department is making recommendations to the president and the president is considering those recommendations,” which would be a break from the Trump era when pardon advocacy groups and influential people routinely won over the president .
On his last day as president, Donald Trump released two prisoners who are serving life without parole for marijuana under the Biden’s three-strike policy..EPA / DAVID MAXWELL
The official said Biden “understands that too many people are serving very long sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, so he is using his power of pardon as a way to try to deal with it.”
Biden advocates and is the author of extremely severe penalties for drug crimes in the 1980s and 1990s. He lobbied for a 100: 1 reversal of the discrepancy between sentences between crack cocaine, which is more commonly used by blacks, and cocaine powder. And Biden’s 1994 law included $ 12.5 billion in grants to encourage states to pass “truth in conviction” laws that require prisoners to serve most of their sentences.
Many drug dealers also received federal life sentences under the three-strike policy extended by Biden’s 1994 crime law. Former President Donald Trump released two inmates on his final day in office without a marijuana replacement. .
Biden’s 1994 law gave drug dealers federal life sentences under the three-strike policy.Getty Images
Whether Biden’s 1994 law contributed to the “mass imprisonment” of minorities – including the sending of black prisoners to heaven – was a matter of heated debate during the 2020 elections.
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that the law “helps boom in prison construction” and that “while some states have already begun to pass tougher penalties, the law rewards states for these decisions by providing powerful incentives. for others to accept them. ”
The total number of prisoners in the United States increased from less than 1.6 million in 1995 to more than 2 million in 2002.
In a fiery speech in the Senate, Biden said in 1994: “Every time Richard Nixon said ‘Law and Order’ when he ran in 1972, the Democrats’ coincidence or response was’ Law and Order with Justice ‘- whatever whatever it is. meant. And I would say, “Lock the SOBs.”
Cornell West said Biden was responsible for the mass imprisonment as a result of his 1994 Boston Globe criminal law through Getty Images
Even some of Biden’s supporters broke his record during the presidential campaign.
Left-wing activist and philosopher Cornell West, who reluctantly supported Biden in 2020, said in an interview: “When [Biden] he says [the 1994 law] did not contribute to mass imprisonment, I tell him that he must remove his symbolic crack pipe. “
Radio host Charlamange So God told during a TV interview “When [Biden] was at the Breakfast Club, another part of this interview that people miss is that I asked him about the ’94 crime bill, and the ’94 crime bill is the catalyst for mass imprisonment in this country. And he said that this is not the crime bill, but the mandatory minimum sentence of 86 years. But I say to myself, “Joe, you wrote it too.”
Alice Johnson was serving a life sentence until she was released from prison by Trump.AP / Evan Vucci
The 1986 Biden Act resulted in a life sentence for Alice Johnson, a notorious former prisoner and lawyer released from prison by Trump at the urging of Kim Kardashian.
Trump has sought to reach black voters in the 2020 election by campaigning for his first-step bill, which limits some of Biden’s policies, including reducing the sentence for a third strike to 25 years in prison.
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