Largest day of clemency as Biden commutes 1,500 sentences

Joe Biden has carried out the largest act of presidential clemency on a single day in modern US history, commuting the sentences of almost 1,500 people and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes.

- Ed Pilkington

In a statement issued on Thursday, the White House said that Biden's sweeping act of clemency was designed to "help reunite families, strengthen communities, and reintegrate individuals back into society".

The almost 1,500 commutations ordered by the president all relate to people who were released from prisons and placed in home confinement during the Covid pandemic. Thousands of prisoners were released to their homes as an emergency measure under the Cares Act to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus through federal prisons. Each individual included in the new commutations had been serving their sentences at home for at least a year.

"These commutation recipients have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance," the White House said.