More than 60 members of Congress have written to Joe Biden calling on him to use his presidential clemency powers to reunite families, address unfair sentencing policies and address the scourge of mass incarceration, which they say is eroding “the soul of America.” .
Biden has 61 days before he leaves the White House, during which he can pardon or commute the sentences of incarcerated Americans. The letter, signed by a number of prominent Democratic politicians and led by progressive politicians Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, urges Biden to act while he still can.
“Now is the time to use your clemency power to right unjust and unnecessary sentencing laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences imposed by judges,” the letter demands.
Biden’s clemency power is one of the most concrete tools he has during the paralyzed period of his presidency. During his term in the White House, he has already granted 25 pardons and 132 commutations, including to people imprisoned for simple possession of marijuana and to several military personnel court-martialed for their sexual orientation.
But he could have a much bigger impact if he chose to. There are currently more than 12,000 petitions for commutation and almost 4,000 requests for clemency on his desk.
“There are so many people today serving long sentences for victimless crimes. That is astonishing and something needs to be done about it,” Clyburn said at a news conference outside the Capitol on Wednesday.
Clyburn’s participation in the call could carry weight for the president. The congressman is widely credited with helping Biden secure the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2020 primaries.
In their letter, the congressmen urge Biden to focus on categories of prisoners who they believe especially deserve his help. That includes the 40 men currently on federal death row who face the threat of immediate execution once Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Other groups of inmates highlighted by the group include women who have been coerced into crime or self-defense by violent domestic partners, and women serving long sentences because of the varying sentencing rules surrounding crack cocaine. In 1986, Ronald Reagan introduced harsher penalties for crack than for the powder form of the drug, even though the only difference in chemical composition is baking soda.
Crack was typically more widely used by black people and powder cocaine by white people. The Biden administration addressed inequality in 2022 by leveling sentences, but the change did not help those already incarcerated.
“The mass incarceration crisis is one of our country’s greatest failures,” said Pressley, whose father was imprisoned as a child due to his drug addiction. “President Biden was elected with a mandate to make compassionate change, and he now has the power to do that.”
