“America is a nation with laws and a second chance, redemption and rehabilitation. Elected officials on both sides of the path, leaders of the faith, civil rights defenders and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and must reflect these core values that have enabled safer and stronger communities, “Biden wrote in a statement to CNN on Monday.
“In the second month of the opportunity, I use my constitutional powers to uphold these values by forgiving and changing the sentences of my fellow Americans,” he continued.
Among those Biden will pardon are Abraham W. Bolden Sr., an 86-year-old former Secret Service agent and the first African-American to serve as a presidential detail, according to a White House report. Bolden was convicted on charges of trying to sell a copy of a secret service file, although prosecution witnesses later admitted to lying at the request of prosecutors. According to the information sheet, Bolden claims that he was “ultimately prosecuted in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the US secret services.”
Biden will also pardon Betty Joe Bogans, 51, of Houston and Dexter Eugene Jackson, 52, of Athens, Georgia, for nonviolent drug crimes and commute the sentences of 75 nonviolent drug offenders – a move that a senior official the administration told reporters “reflects the president’s broader commitment to reforming our judiciary and tackling racial differences.”
“The president believes there are (are) too many people serving unnecessarily long sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, a disproportionate number of whom are black and brown,” the official said Monday. “The president is also committed to using his power of pardon to provide relief to long-serving people who can no longer receive it today due to changes in the law, including the First Step Act, which reduced mandatory minimum sentences for some non-violent sentences. drug crimes’.
Then-President Donald Trump was the first US president to observe the second month of the 2018 chance, following a bipartisan congressional resolution. A proclamation from Trump said that in April the United States would emphasize the need to “give people with criminal records a chance at a fair second chance.” The first-step bill, a rare bipartisan achievement under Trump, allows for the early release of nonviolent offenders, eases mandatory minimum sentences, and offers judges flexibility in sentencing.
New initiatives to facilitate re – entry
In line with Monday’s announcement, the Biden administration will also unveil a “comprehensive strategy that extends imprisonment to employment opportunities”, including new programs from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor, the Small Business Administration, the Personnel Management Office, Ministry of Transport, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education and the Ministry of Trade.
In an effort to ease the re-entry efforts of ex-prisoners, the Department of Justice and Labor will provide $ 145 million in funding over the next two years “to provide skills training and individualized employment and re-entry plans for incarcerated people.” in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities and to provide roads for a smooth transition to employment and support for re-entry after release, “according to a White House newsletter.
In addition, the administration will advertise $ 140 million in grants for job training and re-entry programs and order agencies to remove barriers to entry for ex-prisoners to receive federal funding, apply for jobs, and participate in training programs. .
Tuesday’s steps will not replace efforts to draft an executive order aimed at revising criminal justice, a second official told reporters on Monday, who is still in the works. Bipartisan efforts to pursue a comprehensive police reform failed last September due to a number of disagreements, including over qualified immunity.
“While today’s announcement marks important progress, my administration will continue to consider applications for pardon and implement reforms that promote justice and fairness, give a second chance and improve the well-being and security of all Americans,” Biden said in a statement.
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