President Joe Biden is receiving pressure from Democrats in Congress to cut the sentences of thousands of federal prisoners in jail for drug crimes before he departs the White House, Politico reported on Wednesday.
A letter was sent recently to Biden from seven members of the Senate Judiciary Committee including Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., urging the president to commute sentences that would have been less severe under the First Step Act, which was passed in 2018 during President-elect Donald Trump's first term.
That law reduced mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses, but they did not apply to those who were already convicted for those crimes.
Led by Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Democrats are requesting that Biden categorically reduce the sentences of these offenders to match what they would have received under the new law, which in some cases would free them from prison.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who signed the letter, said "this administration has the opportunity to deliver justice to incarcerated people who were sentenced under overly harsh mandatory minimums that the bipartisan First Step Act corrected,” adding that the president "should heed our call and use the power of executive clemency while he has it.”
In addition, the letter also urged the president to reduce the sentences of those convicted for crimes connected to crack cocaine who would face less time in jail if those crimes involved powder cocaine, Politico reported.
The letter also asked Biden to restart an initiative by President Barack Obama, which granted clemency to almost 1,700 people who had certain qualifications.
Although the letter was sent a few weeks before Election Day, concerns have intensified among Democrats, because even though Trump signed the bill, he later signaled that he regretted positioning himself as a reformer for criminal justice.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.