Biden granted the first pardons of his presidency

• President Joe Biden granted the first pardons of his presidency.
• Biden issued three pardons, one of them for a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent.
• The president also commuted the sentences of 75 people.

US President Joe Biden granted the first three pardons of his term and commuted the sentences of 75 other people, as reported on Tuesday, April 26, by several media outlets, including Fox 9, USAToday, CNBC and The Associated Press.

Biden granted pardons to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent who was convicted for bribery after trying to sell a copy of an agency file. He also granted pardons to two other people convicted of drug-related charges but who have gone on to become important members of their communities, the AP reported.

Biden granted the first pardons of his presidency

In addition, Biden commuted the sentences of 75 people for non-violent drug offenses. The White House announced the pardons on Tuesday, coinciding with the launch of a series of training and re-employment programs for people incarcerated or recently released, the AP report explained.

According to the AP, many of those who have seen their sentences commuted served part of their sentences under house arrest due to the Covid pandemic. Several had long sentences that would have been shorter had they been convicted today for the same crimes. This, following a 2018 bipartisan reform enacted by the Trump administration.

“USA is a nation of laws and second chances”

«America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,» said Biden in the statement announcing the pardons. “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities.”

One of those pardoned was 86-year-old Abraham Bolden Sr., who was the first black Secret Service agent on a presidential detail. In 1964, Bolden, who was part of President John F. Kennedy’s staff, faced federal bribery charges for trying to sell a copy of a department file. His first trial ended without a jury decision, the AP report explained.

Who else received clemency?

Following his conviction in a second trial, the AP reported, key witnesses admitted lying at the request of the prosecution. Bolden, who was denied a retrial, spent several years in federal prison. He has maintained his innocence and wrote a book in which he claims that he was harmed for exposing racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service.

Another pardon went to 51-year-old Betty Jo Bogans who was convicted in 1998, in Texas, of possession with intent to distribute crack after attempting to transport the drug for her boyfriend and his accomplice. Bogans, a single mother with no record, received a seven-year sentence. After leaving prison, she has maintained a steady job, including during cancer treatment. She has also raised a son. The AP added that the latest pardon was for 52-year-old Dexter Jackson of Athens, Georgia. He was convicted in 2002 for using his pool room to facilitate marijuana trafficking, a crime to which he pleaded guilty. When he was released he turned his business into a cell phone repair service that employs high school students through a program that allows them to gain work experience. In addition, he has built and renovated homes in his community, which has helped make rents more affordable.

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