President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people placed in home confinement during the COVID pandemic and pardoning 39 others convicted of non-violent crimes, including an Oklahoma woman.
The move, announced in a statement Thursday, is the largest single-day clemency measure in modern history, the White House said.
Biden said in the statement that he would “take additional steps in the coming weeks” and continue to review clemency requests to “advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances.”
President Biden pardons Oklahoma woman
Biden said the 39 people he is pardoning have “demonstrated a commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.” Most were convicted of drug offenses.
Shannan Rae Faulkner, 56, pleads guilty to a non-violent drug offense. Here’s what the White House said about Faulkner from Muldrow, Oklahoma:
“After successfully serving her sentence, she continued her education and now works as a counselor and recovery coach with female trauma victims and people with disabilities. Ms. Faulkner also volunteers with organizations dedicated to preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as community-based organizations. Colleagues testify to her inspiring character, her integrity and the remarkable impact she makes on the lives of those she helps.”
Why is Biden granting clemency to so many people?
The actions come less than two weeks after Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for gun and tax crimes, prompting a bipartisan response and criticism from criminal justice activists who argued that others more deserving of reprieve do not have the same family ties.
Biden said many of the 1,499 people whose sentences he is commuting “would receive lesser sentences if charged under current laws, policies and practices,” and that they have “successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have demonstrated that they deserve a second chance. “
Will Biden grant clemency to death row inmates?
As criminal justice groups praise Biden’s latest clemency measures, many are renewing their calls for him to commute the sentences of everyone on federal death row to life in prison.
One of Biden’s campaign promises was to abolish the federal death penalty, and while he didn’t do that, activists say he could still clear death row and prevent President-elect Donald Trump from initiating a series of executions.
During his first term, Trump became the first president in seventeen years to carry out the federal death penalty and oversaw thirteen executions.
“Now is the time to build on this progress by commuting the sentences of every individual on federal death row to life sentences,” said Amy Fettig, acting co-executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution. “By abolishing federal death row, President Biden can protect human dignity, ensure that future administrations cannot weaponize the death penalty, and align our nation with the values of fairness, decency and equality.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: President Biden grants clemency: Oklahoma woman included in 39 pardons
