Sat, Feb 17th, 2024 - 2:43pm
April 26, 2022 - 7:42am | By Kyle Cornell
(Washington, D.C.) -- President Biden is using his clemency powers for the first time.
Earlier Tuesday he granted pardons to three non-violent offenders and commuted the sentences of 75 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses. It's part of the roll out of a new second chance initiative designed to help former inmates successfully re-enter the work force. In making the announcement, Biden noted that "America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation."
One of the president's first three pardons goes to Abraham Bolden Sr, an 86-year-old former Secret Service agent. Bolden was the first African American ever to serve on a presidential detail, but he ended up behind bars for trying to sell a copy of a Secret Service file.
A Georgia man convicted of facilitating the distribution of marijuana through his business and a Houston woman found guilty of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine are also receiving pardons.
