Biden pardons 39 people, commutes sentences of 1,500 others

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he was pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 others who were serving long prison terms.

The moves come over a week after the president signed an unconditional pardon for his son Hunter.

Officials said last week that the White House was listening to demands for Biden to extend the same grace to thousands of people wronged by the U.S. judicial system.

Biden said the people he granted clemency would have received shorter sentences if charged under today's laws, policies and practices.

Sources had told Reuters last week that the pardons being discussed included those convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and people identified by civil rights groups as unjustly incarcerated.

"As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses," Biden said.

The president added that he will take more steps in the weeks ahead and that his administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions.

The commutations announced were for those who were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the spread of the virus, experts say, rather than many individuals civil rights groups have been advocating for.

"We want Biden to look at those people and consider using his power even more in the upcoming weeks," said Tierra Bradford, senior program manager at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, one of the leading Democrats behind a letter to Biden last month urging him to issue clemency to Americans with nonviolent offenses, commended the president for taking "meaningful and historic action."

Her statement noted that he could take further steps to exercise his power during his remaining 39 days in office.

The White House said the clemencies granted by Biden were the most ever in a single day.

"The president takes this very, very seriously, and is going to review all options, especially ... the clemency petitions," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he would act on his first day in office to pardon rioters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, further building expectations for a broad granting of clemency.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Bianca Flowers in Chicago; editing by Mark Heinrich, Philippa Fletcher, Mark Porter and David Gregorio)