JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
President Biden made history today. He granted clemency to nearly 1,500 people - the most in a single day in modern history. Biden also issued 39 pardons. These actions follow pardoning his own son, Hunter Biden, and the president says he will have more announcement on commutations and pardons before his administration ends. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram has more on this. She joins us now. Hey there.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Hey there.
SUMMERS: So Deepa, what do we know about this big group of people who received clemency today?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, Juana. So the biggest group that you mentioned was about 1,500 people who got commutations. And that means that their sentences were shortened. So they don't have to serve any more time. And they were all people who were released from prison and placed in what's called home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago.
You'll remember that at the height of the pandemic, prisons were one of the top places where the virus was rapidly spreading. Obviously, it's hard to quarantine - right? - when you're stuck in this enclosed, shared space. And so there were some people who were moved to home confinement on an emergency measure.
But this whole time, there was potential for them to get sent back to prison until Biden's announcement today. And many of them had been serving long prison sentences for crimes that, you know, if they'd committed them today, the sentence would've been much shorter because laws and sentencing guidelines have changed.
SUMMERS: Deepa, anything you can tell us about the people who received pardons today?
SHIVARAM: Right, so that's a separate group. There are 39 people who are not household names. They're not famous people. These are folks from all over the country who Biden says have been working to make their communities better since getting out of prison. And many of those people are women and veterans who were all convicted of nonviolent crimes, including some drug offenses. And several of them are working to help others now who have been incarcerated or those who are struggling with addiction and substance abuse.
SUMMERS: Now, Biden has granted pardons and clemencies before, but this high number all on one day is pretty unusual. How does it compare to past presidents?
SHIVARAM: Yeah, it is unusual. So to put it in context, the last record set for the highest number of clemencies granted in a day was under former President Barack Obama, and he granted 330. So it's a pretty huge jump that Biden made today to about 1,500.
But despite that, you know, big number and that big jump, there are some folks who consider this move pretty low-hanging fruit when it comes to clemency actions that a president can take. And they want Biden to do more. They think that he could've done something like this with the 1,500 sentence - the 1,500 folks who are no longer in home confinement. You know, he could've done this much earlier in his term.
And what many clemency advocates are hoping for is more. And that comes particularly to those who have been charged with distribution of marijuana and the pardoning of the 40 people who are on death row right now. Here's Cynthia W. Roseberry, and she leads the Justice Division of the ACLU.
CYNTHIA W ROSEBERRY: Now, if the president had the will to do it, he could commute the 40 men who are on death row. He could commute thousands of people, thousands of sentences and reunite, you know, many families.
SHIVARAM: And she pointed out to me that in President-elect Donald Trump's first administration, he oversaw the highest number of federal executions compared to other recent presidents. So there's an increased push for Biden to take action for those facing the death penalty.
SUMMERS: Deepa, there's still about a month left in the Biden administration. Has the White House said if they would take that kind of action or any other clemency grants?
SHIVARAM: Well, the president said in a statement that he would be taking more steps in the coming weeks and that his administration is reviewing clemency petitions. But the White House hasn't been very specific on timeline or next steps. It is pretty typical for a president to announce pardons and commutations at the end of their term. And since Biden chose to pardon his son - who was convicted on gun and tax charges - there's been added scrutiny and pressure for him to take action for the thousands of people who are in the criminal justice system who are honestly waiting for a second chance, just like that.
SUMMERS: NPR's Deepa Shivaram. Thank you.
SHIVARAM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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