President Joe Biden granted pardons to six people who have been convicted of drug charges and murder.
On Friday, the White House announced that the pardons include a woman who killed her husband, a man who sold untaxed whiskey at age 18, and a former soldier who pleaded guilty to getting high on ecstasy.
“Today, President Biden is granting six full pardons for individuals who have served their sentences and have demonstrated a commitment to improving their communities and the lives of those around them,” a White House official said.
Biden, who is currently vacationing at a donor’s home in St. Croix, has previously said that America is a “nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” hence why he gave pardons to convicted criminals.
“These include individuals who honorably served in the US military, volunteer in their communities, and survived domestic abuse,” the White House official added, “President Biden believes America is a nation of second chances, and that offering meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation empowers those who have been incarcerated to become productive, law-abiding members of society.”
Others included in the pardon are Gary Park Davis, 66, who served a six-month sentence for using a telephone for an unlawful cocaine transaction, Vincent Ray Flores, 37, who plead guilty to using ecstasy and consuming alcohol while serving in the military and was sentenced to four months confinement and paid a fine and 80-year-old Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas who was convicted of second-degree murder after fatally shooting her husband in 1976.
During Biden’s 36 years in the Senate, he was known for cracking down hard on criminal penalties. However, critics of his claim that laws written by the president in the 1980s are largely to blame for mass incarcerations of minors that sent them to prison for life based on marijuana charges.