President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 convicted of nonviolent crimes, the largest grant of clemency by an American president in a single day, the White House announced in a statement on Thursday.
The commutations affect mostly those who had been released from prison and placed in home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. The people who received pardons were convicted of nonviolent crimes, including possession of marijuana.
A pardon wipes out a conviction, while a commutation leaves the guilty verdict intact but reduces some or all of the punishment.
The announcement came two weeks after Mr. Biden issued a pardon for his son, Hunter, who had been convicted of gun possession and income tax evasion. That decision was harshly criticized by both Republicans and Democrats because Mr. Biden had long ruled out clemency for his son.
The White House said that the clemency announced on Thursday represented Mr. Biden’s commitment to “help reunite families, strengthen communities, and reintegrate individuals back into society.”
Mr. Biden, the statement said, is the first president to issue categorical pardons to people convicted of simple use and possession of marijuana, as well as to former service members convicted of violating the military’s former laws against homosexual conduct.
