The pardons freed no prisoners, but the White House says they will ease the burden of a criminal record.
President Joe Biden expanded a categorical pardon today for low-level marijuana offenders convicted on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, a move the White House says will ease the burden of a criminal record for thousands of people.
«Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,» Biden said in a White House press release. «Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.»
In October of last year, the White House announced categorical pardons for those convicted of simple possession of marijuana on federal lands. Today’s announcement expands the eligible offenses.
Biden also commuted the sentences of 11 nonviolent drug offenders serving sentences that were much longer than they would have been if the prisoners had been sentenced today.
