WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn (S.C.-06) released the following statement on President Joe Biden providing clemency for nearly 1,500 individuals in home confinement and pardons for 39 individuals convicted of non-violent crimes:
“I applaud President Biden for pardoning 39 people with non-violent convictions and commuting even more,” said Rep. James E. Clyburn. “This grant of clemency and restoration of rights is a significant step forward. Many people of color and moderate means have been disproportionately burdened by systemic injustices and clemency is a potent tool in the president’s toolbox to remedy some faults in our legal system. We have a leader in President Biden who is committed to tackling these injustices and has done that work in earnest.”
In November, Rep. Clyburn co-led a letter alongside Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.-07) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (Penn.-05) to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration. In their letter to President Biden, the lawmakers praised the president’s efforts to create a fair and just criminal legal system by pardoning 11 people convicted of simple marijuana possession.
