Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Smart Again
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Smart Again
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Smart Again
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Hunter got a pardon. Will thousands of drug war victims?

December 3, 2024
in Politics
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
0
Hunter got a pardon. Will thousands of drug war victims?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


President Joe Biden walking with his son, Hunter, in July 2024.Susan Walsh/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

On Sunday, with less than two months remaining in his presidency, President Biden issued a full and unconditional pardon to his son Hunter, convicted in June on three felony charges related to federal gun crimes and on three felony tax offenses in September. Reactions have been mixed: many have criticized Biden, who argues that his son’s convictions were politically motivated, for setting a poor precedent and breaking a promise not to intervene. Others—even some who are not fans of the president—have said that they sympathize with his decision to pardon his son. 

The controversial decision came after Biden repeatedly committed to not using his presidential powers to interfere in his son’s case—and after months in which Democrats on Capitol Hill, as well as advocates, urged Biden to use his clemency power more broadly to free those incarcerated by federal drug policies that unfairly target Black and brown people. Hunter Biden will not spend a day inside a prison cell for his offenses; the same can’t be said for tens of thousands of people serving federal prison time because of disproportionate conviction and sentencing in the starkly racist War on Drugs. Biden can still pardon many of them, or commute their sentences—and set another, more valuable precedent.

Advocacy groups have praised Biden for some drug-related clemencies, like his move in April to pardon 11 people and commute five sentences the ACLU called unjustly long. Biden also issued pardons in October 2022 for everyone convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law—but, as advocates pointed out, that pardon didn’t actually free anyone who was in prison. 

In October, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and seven Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent Biden a letter urging him to commute sentences that exceeded those set by 2018’s First Step Act, a Trump-era criminal justice reform bill that reduced minimum sentences. The Senate letter suggested that thousands would be freed by the action, and called on the Biden Administration to grant categorical relief to those who faced harsher sentencing for crack cocaine than they would have for its powder form. (The White House did not respond to questions about whether Biden would commute such sentences.)

In 1986, the Anti–Drug Abuse Act—drafted by then Sen. Joe Biden—set a hundred-to-one ratio between the amounts of powder and crack cocaine that triggered a mandatory five-year minimum sentence. A 2010 reform made it a still-disproportionate eighteen-to-one. The discrepancy has disproportionately affected the Black community: In fiscal 2021, almost four in five people convicted of trafficking crack cocaine were Black, compared to 25 percent for powder cocaine. Drug Policy Action, a nonpartisan advocacy group, recently called on Biden to commute sentences lengthened by the disparity.

In 2022, Biden’s Justice Department announced that it would no longer differentiate between powder and crack cocaine when seeking charges, a disparity it said had “no basis in science, furthers no law enforcement purposes, and drives unwarranted racial disparities in our criminal justice system.” Advocates praised the move but pointed out that it was temporary, and only applied to new cases. 

The Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit working for the release of all marijuana prisoners nationwide, joined members of Congress in November on the Capitol steps to call on Biden to “rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” as it wrote in an accompanying letter advocating pardons for federal marijuana convictions.

As pointed out by Sarah Gersten, the group’s executive director, to Marijuana Moment, Biden’s justification for pardoning his son was that the justice system had reached an unjust outcome—which, she says, “is certainly the case for the nearly 3,000 cannabis prisoners who remain incarcerated federally for activity that has been widely legalized.”



Source link

Tags: drugHunterPardonthousandsvictimswar
Previous Post

6 questions about Hunter Biden’s sweeping pardon, answered

Next Post

Meghan McCain called out for referring to Hunter Biden as a “nepo baby”

Related Posts

The Senate’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will create a disaster for rural moms and babies
Politics

The Senate’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will create a disaster for rural moms and babies

July 1, 2025
Trump And Kristi Noem Lose It And Threaten To Criminally Prosecute CNN
Politics

Trump And Kristi Noem Lose It And Threaten To Criminally Prosecute CNN

July 1, 2025
Even Senate Republicans Who Voted For The BBB Know It’s Trash
Politics

Even Senate Republicans Who Voted For The BBB Know It’s Trash

July 1, 2025
Ban on AI regulations in Trump’s tax bill carries a huge environmental cost
Politics

Ban on AI regulations in Trump’s tax bill carries a huge environmental cost

July 1, 2025
Senate version of “beautiful” bill will “kill” America’s clean energy sector, experts say
Politics

Senate version of “beautiful” bill will “kill” America’s clean energy sector, experts say

June 30, 2025
Trump Looming For BBB As Mike Johnson Begs Senate GOP To Change The Bill
Politics

Trump Looming For BBB As Mike Johnson Begs Senate GOP To Change The Bill

June 30, 2025
Next Post
Meghan McCain called out for referring to Hunter Biden as a “nepo baby”

Meghan McCain called out for referring to Hunter Biden as a “nepo baby”

Fox Yakkers Claim Trump Would Have Pardoned Hunter Biden

Fox Yakkers Claim Trump Would Have Pardoned Hunter Biden

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
How a House bill could let Trump label enemies as terrorists

How a House bill could let Trump label enemies as terrorists

November 20, 2024
A new book suggests a path forward for Democrats. The left hates it.

A new book suggests a path forward for Democrats. The left hates it.

March 20, 2025
“A huge net positive”: Controversial “Squid Game” character challenges Western representation ideals

“A huge net positive”: Controversial “Squid Game” character challenges Western representation ideals

December 31, 2024
The Worst, Most Important, Book I Read This Year

The Worst, Most Important, Book I Read This Year

December 21, 2024
Wait, should I bother using antibacterial soap?

Wait, should I bother using antibacterial soap?

January 2, 2025
“Ribbons of Rust” revisits The Beatles’ roots and the sounds that shaped them

“Ribbons of Rust” revisits The Beatles’ roots and the sounds that shaped them

February 13, 2025
“They stole an election”: Former Florida senator found guilty in “ghost candidates” scandal

“They stole an election”: Former Florida senator found guilty in “ghost candidates” scandal

0
The Hawaii senator who faced down racism and ableism—and killed Nazis

The Hawaii senator who faced down racism and ableism—and killed Nazis

0
The murder rate fell at the fastest-ever pace last year—and it’s still falling

The murder rate fell at the fastest-ever pace last year—and it’s still falling

0
Trump used the site of the first assassination attempt to spew falsehoods

Trump used the site of the first assassination attempt to spew falsehoods

0
MAGA church plans to raffle a Trump AR-15 at Second Amendment rally

MAGA church plans to raffle a Trump AR-15 at Second Amendment rally

0
Tens of thousands are dying on the disability wait list

Tens of thousands are dying on the disability wait list

0
The Senate’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will create a disaster for rural moms and babies

The Senate’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will create a disaster for rural moms and babies

July 1, 2025
Sen. Murphy: ‘I Am Shaking With Fury’ Over ‘Monstrous’ GOP Bill

Sen. Murphy: ‘I Am Shaking With Fury’ Over ‘Monstrous’ GOP Bill

July 1, 2025
Trump And Kristi Noem Lose It And Threaten To Criminally Prosecute CNN

Trump And Kristi Noem Lose It And Threaten To Criminally Prosecute CNN

July 1, 2025
Republicans now own America’s broken health care system

Republicans now own America’s broken health care system

July 1, 2025
Even Senate Republicans Who Voted For The BBB Know It’s Trash

Even Senate Republicans Who Voted For The BBB Know It’s Trash

July 1, 2025
“Sinners” is bringing Black American sign language to the mainstream

“Sinners” is bringing Black American sign language to the mainstream

July 1, 2025
Smart Again

Stay informed with Smart Again, the go-to news source for liberal perspectives and in-depth analysis on politics, social justice, and more. Join us in making news smart again.

CATEGORIES

  • Community
  • Law & Defense
  • Politics
  • Trending
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

LATEST UPDATES

  • The Senate’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” will create a disaster for rural moms and babies
  • Sen. Murphy: ‘I Am Shaking With Fury’ Over ‘Monstrous’ GOP Bill
  • Trump And Kristi Noem Lose It And Threaten To Criminally Prosecute CNN
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Smart Again.
Smart Again is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Politics
  • Law & Defense
  • Community
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Smart Again.
Smart Again is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Go to mobile version