Hakeem Jeffries‚ the House Democrat leader made a bold-request asking the White House to look at working-class pardons (just days after the Presidents son got clemency for his tax and gun issues)
The request from Jeffries comes as Biden has roughly month-and-half to use his pardon powers; focusing on people who got tough sentences for non-violent crimes. “The President should use his high-level of compassion to help working-class Americans whose lives were impacted by over-aggressive prosecutions“ Jeffries noted in his dec-3rd statement
The discussion started after Hunter Bidens pardon which covered his $1.4m tax problem and a gun-charge related to drug use. The Presidents decision covers any possible crimes from early-14 through late-24 - something that got both parties worried about justice-system fairness
Ben Cardin‚ a democrat senator expressed his thoughts: “We need to make sure people trust our courts“
Last fall‚ congress-members sent a letter pointing to unfair jailing numbers:
- Low-income people face harder time
- People of color get longer sentences
- LGBTQ members see more prosecution
- Disabled persons have higher conviction rates
The data shows that nine-of-ten federal inmates are there for non-violent acts
The White House should address longstanding injustice in our legal system