Biden grants clemency for nearly 1,500 people, the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of some 1,500 individuals and pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes – marking a broad use of the presidential clemency power just weeks from the end of Biden’s administration.

White House officials are billing Thursday’s move as the biggest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The president, who has come under growing pressure to grant more clemencies before he leaves office, also promised that additional action will be announced in the weeks to come.