“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars,” he continued.
The decision puts Biden thousands of cases ahead of all other presidents who have issued acts of clemency during their terms.
“With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in US history,” Biden said.
There are 1,947 people awaiting to be pardoned once they complete their sentence and around 6,625 cases awaiting commutation after Friday’s decision, according to Jan. 13 statistics from the Department of Justice.
“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement.
At the end of December, he chose to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row – helping them escape execution and sending them to prison for life without parole instead.
The president added that he is “proud of his record on clemency” and said he will “continue to review additional commutations and pardons” ahead of his final full day in office on Jan. 19.