By Bianca Flowers
(Reuters) – After President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, he needs to extend the same grace to thousands of people wronged by the U.S. judicial system, a growing chorus of civil rights activists and lawmakers say.
Defense attorneys and civil rights groups are ramping up efforts to highlight compelling cases, working in conjunction with state legislators to draft letters to the White House and launching digital campaigns urging action to commute sentences or issue pardons for Americans they believe are wrongly convicted or serving excessive terms for nonviolent offenses.
The White House is discussing the idea of broader pardons after Hunter, including those convicted of non-violent drug offenses and people civil rights groups have identified as unjustly incarcerated, sources say. A senior administration official said there will be a number of pardons for people who have served long sentences and are non-violent.
A broader pardon would not be unprecedented: a year ago, Biden pardoned thousands of people with federal marijuana charges.
Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, told Reuters, “there are multiple conversations taking place” among a coalition of organizations to push Biden for clemency before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, on Tuesday called on Biden to pardon some “working-class Americans.”
The Congressional Black Caucus has worked with the NAACP and is in favor of clemency, particularly because of the disparate incarceration rate of African Americans.
“The Congressional Black Caucus has worked on legislation from the First Step Act to the executive orders dealing with federal offenses dealing with marijuana. These are areas that we believe should be high priority for the president to consider,” Democratic House member Steven Horsford told a press briefing.
Biden signed an unconditional pardon for his son on Sunday and said he believed Hunter had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president’s political opponents. Hunter was prosecuted for tax offenses and charges related to possession of a firearm.
Civil Rights attorney Jarrett Adams said Biden’s pardon is another example of “politics robbing the judicial process of justice.”
Adams has been advocating for the release of two Black men, Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson. They were sentenced to life in prison in Virginia for the murder of a police officer, despite a jury finding them guilty only of selling crack but not of the killing. The sentence was based on a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows judges to consider actions for which a defendant was found not guilty when determining their sentence for other charges.
The two men initially pleaded guilty to murder, which Adams said was due to advice from their attorneys at the time, as they were facing the death penalty.
Adams, who is their attorney, is working with state legislators in Virginia to pressure the White House for the expedited release of the two men.
“I’m the last beacon of hope that they have– so I’m a part of their pain and struggle,” said Adams, who himself was wrongfully convicted at 17 years old and sentenced to 28 years in prison. “We’re begging that President Biden provides (these families) some relief they deserve.”
Black and Hispanic Americans disproportionately receive harsher sentences for minor and non-violent offenses compared to their white counterparts, studies have found. Experts say systemic biases in policing, prosecutorial discretion, and sentencing guidelines contribute to these disparities, perpetuating cycles of inequality.
Some Republicans believe that any announcement by Biden of blanket pardons would undermine the criminal justice system and could further tarnish his reputation after pardoning his son.
“There shouldn’t be a Roman emperor who goes, thumbs up, thumbs down,” said Republican consultant Jon Fleischman. “These people have been through the criminal justice system and they should abide by the outcome of that system.”
Democratic U.S. House member Ayanna Pressley is pushing for Biden to act soon, instead of waiting until the last days of his administration.
“Who knows what barriers or hurdles, procedurally that he could be met with,” if he waits until January, she said.
Historically, presidents often wait until the end of their terms to issue clemency, leaving open the possibility that Biden could take significant action later. Brian Kalt, a law professor who specializes in presidential pardons, said the use of pardon power has diminished in modern history due to political polarization.
“Anything that he does is going to be opposed by half the country,” Kalt said. “But if he does something that offends his own side, that’s what really can make a difference to his legacy.”
(Bianca Flowers in Chicago, Gabriella Borter in Washington, Additional reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Kat Stafford and Alistair Bell)
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