Biden's full list of clemency and commutation recipients revealed

The White House released a list of names of the 39 people whom President Biden pardoned, as well as a list of the nearly 1,500 whose sentences he commuted, on Thursday. 

Biden said Thursday that he plans to take more steps during the next few weeks before he exits the Oval Office.

"My Administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to advance equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support rehabilitation and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The list did go into extensive detail as to why each of the 39 pardons was deserved, citing examples of community engagement, professional and academic accomplishments.

Speaking of the nearly 1,500 sentences he commuted, Biden said that their long prison sentences would have been shorter under today's laws. All of those selected had been placed under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, and "have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance."  

Biden has not reserved clemency and commutations for the end of his term. He first granted clemency in April 2022 to 75 people who had been convicted of drug offenses and others who were under home confinement as part of provisions of Congress' pandemic relief bills. That action was followed up by six pardons in December of that same year, consisting of people convicted of alcohol- and drug-related crimes. 

Between April 2023 and April 2024, Biden granted 47 additional commutations and 11 pardons to people under home confinement or convicted of non-violent drug offenses.