President Biden Must Demonstrate Commitment to Second Chances and Racial Equity by Using Clemency Authority
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rachel Hooper, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement urging President Biden to secure his legacy by generously exercising clemency authority:
“Every outgoing president has an opportunity to demonstrate moral leadership to do right when the letter of the law may be doing harm. Imprisonment for a crime has too often come with sentences that are not doing public safety any service but are harming people and their families. The civil rights community calls on President Biden to exercise his clemency authority with compassionate clarity to help deserving individuals rebuild their lives and reunite with their families. There are many individuals to whom the president can extend this power, including the roughly 4,000 people in federal custody for marijuana offenses and the nearly 1,500 people who remain on home confinement due to the 2020 CARES Act. President Biden, who campaigned on taking action to address the federal death penalty, can also commute the sentences of the 40 people remaining on federal death row to life sentences.
“Clemency actions demonstrate a commitment to second chances for returning citizens who have already paid with their freedom a debt owed and who deserve rehabilitation. They also help to advance racial justice by rectifying unjust and inequitable sentences. Previous initiatives like the Obama-Biden clemency initiative were historic and set a high bar for justice and mercy. President Biden now has the chance to build his own legacy and to be a leader in exercising this powerful authority.
“It is no secret that over the past five decades, U.S. criminal-legal policies have driven an increase in incarceration rates that is unprecedented in this country’s history and unmatched globally. Currently, the United States imprisons or supervises nearly 5.5 million people, making it a world leader in incarceration. The racial inequities rooted in slavery and discrimination that permeate every aspect of our lives today are likewise present in our criminal-legal system. The Bureau of Prisons reports that nearly 39 percent of its current population is Black and 29.1 percent is Hispanic, an enormous disparity given that both groups combined represent only about one third of the nation’s population. We believe that President Biden has an important opportunity through clemency to address some of these racial disparities in our criminal-legal system and in our nation’s history of long and harsh criminal sentences. By granting clemency, President Biden can highlight the urgent need for reforms that prioritize rehabilitation over retribution and establish a solid foundation for broader, systemic change.”
As of December 1, 2024, the Biden administration granted 26 pardons and 135 commutations. By contrast, President Trump granted 144 pardons and 94 commutations, President Obama granted 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations, and President Bush granted 189 pardons and 11 commutations.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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