Biden grants clemency to nearly 1,500 people, most ever in a day

Outgoing President Joe Biden said Thursday he had commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others, in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in U.S. history.

The move comes just over a week after the 82-year-old Biden pardoned his troubled son Hunter, something he had previously promised not to do, prompting anger from both sides of the political divide.

"America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances," Biden said in a statement announcing the action. "As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation."

Democrat Biden — who hands over power to Republican Donald Trump on January 20 — is following in the footsteps of many lame-duck presidents who have issued a flurry of acts of clemency in their final days in the Oval Office.

All of the 1,499 people — "the most ever in a single day" — whose sentences were commuted were placed on home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic, the White House said.

Biden said they had all "successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance."

The 39 pardons were all for what the White House called a "non-violent offense" or a "non-violent drug offense."

Those getting relief from the president on Thursday included a "decorated military veteran and pilot who spends much of his time helping his fellow church members."

A nurse "who has led emergency response for several natural disasters" and an addiction counsellor "who volunteers his time" were also singled out for relief.

"I will take more steps in the weeks ahead," Biden said.

  'Retribution' 

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