Biden commutations give thousands of nonviolent drug offenders another chance

President Joe Biden began his fourth-to-last-day in office by announcing the commutations of prison sentences for thousands of nonviolent drug offenders. The presidential action makes Biden the president with the most pardons and sentence commutations in the nation’s history, a fact he touted in a statement Friday morning.

“Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice,” Biden said in a statement. “With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.”