WASHINGTON – This month, President Joe Biden made headlines by granting a contentious pardon to his son, Hunter Biden.

On Thursday, he followed that with a historic act of clemency, reducing the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who were placed under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent offenses.

At 82 years old and in his final days of presidency, Biden shows no signs of slowing down.

He has vowed to implement “more measures in the coming weeks” while announcing these significant actions aimed at offering a “second chance” to nonviolent offenders, particularly those with drug-related charges, who have demonstrated successful reintegration into society.

As he approaches the end of his term, less than six weeks remain in Biden’s presidency, during which he must consider various political and legal factors in wielding his clemency powers.

In addition, Biden and his senior advisors are exploring potential preemptive pardons for individuals they believe President-elect Donald Trump might pursue for criminal investigations. Representative James Clyburn, a key Biden supporter, suggested this week that Biden consider pardoning Trump regarding his federal charges to “wipe the slate clean.”

Meanwhile, while criminal justice reform advocates welcomed Biden’s recent decisions, they are advocating for him to address all 10,000 pending clemency petitions. Activists and progressive Democrats are also concerned about the future of 40 inmates on federal death row and urge Biden to commute their death sentences, fearing Trump’s potential return would lead to a resumption of federal executions, which were halted during Biden’s presidency.

“With 39 days left in his presidency, President Biden has the opportunity to continue exercising his clemency authority to positively impact and save many more lives of Americans in prison,” remarked Representative Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. “This is not only the right approach but also a moral imperative and crucial for his legacy.”

Biden surpasses former presidents with commutations, but lags on pardons

With his recent clemency actions, Biden has now granted more sentence commutations than any of his predecessors up to this point in their elections. This includes previous pardons he has granted for specific offenses, such as for simple marijuana possession in 2022, and a proclamation this year that pardoned veterans convicted under a military law prohibiting same-sex relations.

However, Biden’s rate of issuing individual pardons— which completely absolve a person of a criminal offense— has been the slowest since at least President William McKinley in 1900, as per Justice Department statistics. He has pardoned 65 individuals to date, putting him behind George H. W. Bush, another one-term president, who had granted 74 pardons. It’s worth noting that pardons often come toward the end of an administration as they can provoke controversy, and Biden has until January 20 to finalize his choices.

Jimmy Carter holds the record for the most pardons in the last 50 years, having issued 534, not including the broad pardon he granted to draft dodgers from the Vietnam War. Franklin Roosevelt leads all presidents since 1900 with 2,819 pardons over his four terms.

The 1,499 individuals whose sentences Biden commuted were beneficiaries of the CARES Act, which allowed the federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer medically vulnerable inmates serving time for nonviolent crimes from incarceration to home confinement.

Biden noted that a significant number of those who received commutations “would qualify for Those being pardoned today have demonstrated that, if charged under current laws and regulations, they would not face the same consequences, and they have managed to reintegrate positively into their families and communities, proving they deserve another chance.

According to him, the 39 individuals receiving pardons have prioritized the strength and safety of their communities. None of these individuals are widely recognized, and the majority were convicted of nonviolent drug offenses.

Clyburn previously praised Biden for pardoning 11 individuals convicted solely of marijuana possession, stating that this action addresses social injustices.

“Those from communities of color and those with limited resources have been disproportionately affected by systemic injustices, and clemency is a powerful tool for the President to correct some of the flaws present in our justice system,” Clyburn remarked.

Margaret Huang, the president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, highlighted that Biden’s actions have brought about justice for those in southern states who face severe penalties due to biased law enforcement practices.

“The shortcomings of our criminal justice system have led to the mass incarceration of people of color across the South, supported by misleading narratives about the supposed benefits of institutionalization for public safety,” Huang added.

While some Republicans have pushed for legislation that would send individuals in home confinement back to prison, there was not widespread GOP backlash against Biden’s recent actions.

“At this stage, I’m not surprised by anything anymore,” stated Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. in an interview with Fox News. “I’m still processing the Hunter Biden situation after he assured the American public he wouldn’t take this route.”

Calls from the left for federal death row commutations

Ever since Trump’s recent election victory, activists in the field of criminal justice have increased their demands for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row inmates and fulfill his campaign promise from 2020 to abolish the federal death penalty. Following Thursday’s announcement, these calls have intensified.

During Trump’s first term, his administration conducted 13 executions in the last six months, marking the first time in 17 years a presidential administration implemented the federal death penalty. Trump has expressed intentions to resume and even broaden federal executions to include drug offenders.

A coalition of 134 groups dedicated to civil liberties, human rights, and social justice delivered a letter to Biden on Monday urging him to commute all death row sentences. Rep. Pressley and other House Democrats held a press conference on Wednesday advocating for the same cause.

“Although today’s announcement is great news, there is still much work to be done in the weeks remaining of President Biden’s term,” commented Cynthia Roseberry, who directs policy and government affairs in the justice division of the ACLU. “We earnestly call on President Biden to utilize his powers to rectify the failures of the nation’s death penalty by commuting death row sentences.”

Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus and civil rights activists are also urging Biden to grant a pardon to Marilyn Mosby, the former state attorney for Baltimore City, who was convicted this year on charges of perjury and mortgage fraud connected to a home loan application. Her supporters claim that Mosby, who insists on her innocence, was unfairly targeted politically by the Trump administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on whether Biden will take action to commute the sentences of individuals on federal death row. She mentioned that Biden and his team will continue to consider clemency petitions “as standard practice.”

She also indicated that Biden aims to “continue advancing criminal justice reforms that promote fairness and justice, enhance public safety, support rehabilitation and reintegration, and offer significant second chances.”

When asked about the large number of others seeking clemency, Jean-Pierre highlighted that Biden has taken “numerous actions” beyond the most recent clemency announcements.

Potential for blanket pardons remains a topic

A more sensitive political decision for Biden will be whether to grant blanket pardons to protect individuals targeted by Trump.

Implementing such a move could provoke immediate backlash, especially from Republican quarters, especially as Biden faces scrutiny over his broadly defined pardon for Hunter Biden, which was not only aimed at alleviating his son’s current legal issues but also to protect him from possible future charges from Trump’s Justice Department.

Several Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey from Massachusetts, are publicly supporting these preemptive pardons due to concerns over Trump’s past threats towards his political adversaries and his recent appointment of longtime associate Kash Patel as FBI director in place of Christopher Wray, who stepped down on Wednesday.

Individuals that may be included on such a preemptive pardon list include retired General Mark Milley, whom Trump has labeled a traitor deserving the death penalty; former Republican Representative Liz Cheney, who Trump has stated should “be jailed” for her involvement in the inquiry into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots; Dr. Anthony Fauci, who faced extensive criticism from Republican lawmakers concerning his actions during the COVID-19 response; and California Senator Adam Schiff, referred to as “the enemy within” by Trump for his significant role during Trump’s first impeachment.

In a weekend interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump stated that certain members of the House committee who investigated his actions on January 6, 2021, should “go to jail.”

On Thursday, Rep. Bennie Thompson, who previously chaired the committee, expressed that he would consider accepting a preemptive pardon from Biden, fearing that Trump might initiate a criminal investigation against him.

However, the idea of granting preemptive pardons to individuals who haven’t been formally charged with any offenses presents various legal challenges. This could potentially impact Biden’s decision, according to legal analysts. Accepting a pardon might imply an admission of guilt. Some Democrats are also concerned that Biden could set a concerning precedent for future pardons, allowing Trump to pursue similar actions.

Press Secretary Jean-Pierre did not dismiss the idea of blanket pardons when asked if it was a possibility.

“He’ll be having discussions with his team; he will consider clemency requests,” she informed reporters on Thursday. “He’ll look at all available options. That’s all I can say for now.”