WASHINGTON, D.C. – FWD.us Executive Director Zoë Towns released the following statement on the importance of President Biden taking bold clemency action in his final months in office:
“As President Biden lays out a vision for the remaining months of his presidency, there is an urgent need to prioritize the use of his clemency power to bring home people currently serving long and outdated federal prison sentences.
“FWD.us is proud to join the growing calls for President Biden to honor and cement his strong legacy on fairness and racial justice by seizing this final opportunity to provide meaningful relief for the thousands of people still serving excessive and racially disparate prison sentences — sentences that would be shorter if they were given today. For decades, presidents have used their clemency power to advance fairness and address injustice. President Obama, for instance, commuted nearly 1,700 sentences through his Clemency Initiative, saving almost 20,000 years in prison sentences. That initiative, alongside other recent criminal justice reforms in red, blue, and purple states, added to the large and growing body of evidence that we can reduce federal sentences safely while addressing racial disparities and expanding badly needed second chances.
“The Biden White House deserves credit for uplifting and championing the importance of second chances. As his presidency draws to a close, President Biden must build on this record and prioritize commuting sentences to bring sons, mothers, uncles, and grandparents home to their families.”
Additional Resources
- Clemency Primer – With the Stroke of a Pen: A Primer on Presidential Clemency
- Clemency & Advancing Public Safety Brief – The Case for Clemency: Reducing Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences and Advancing Public Safety
- Fact Sheet – The Federal Prison Population is at an Inflection Point
