WASHINGTON — On Sunday, President Joe Biden granted a posthumous pardon to prominent Black nationalist Marcus Garvey, a figure who significantly impacted civil rights leaders like Malcolm X. Garvey, who was sentenced for mail fraud during the 1920s, was also pardoned alongside a notable Virginia lawmaker and advocates dedicated to immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and gun violence prevention.
Advocates for Garvey’s pardon argued that his conviction was politically driven and intended to suppress his growing influence among those promoting racial pride. Following his conviction, Garvey was deported to Jamaica, his homeland, where he passed away in 1940. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledged Garvey’s pivotal role, stating he was the first to provide a sense of dignity and purpose to millions of Black individuals.
As Biden prepares to leave office, it remains uncertain whether he will extend pardons to individuals criticized or threatened by President-elect Donald Trump. Granting preemptive pardons for potential offenses that could be prosecuted by Trump’s administration would test the limits of presidential powers in uncharted territory.
Biden framed the recent pardons and commutations as reflective of the country’s foundational principles, emphasizing the notion of supporting one another through mistakes. Addressing congregants at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in South Carolina, he stated, “When people we love fall and make mistakes, we pick them back up. We do not turn on each other. We lean into each other. That is the sacred covenant of our nation.”
With this recent action, Biden has set a record for the highest number of individual pardons and commutations granted by a president. Just before this announcement, he revealed the commutation of sentences for nearly 2,500 individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. Additionally, he issued a pardon for his son Hunter, who faced legal issues related to gun and tax charges.
Biden also announced that he would commute the sentences of 37 out of 40 people on federal death row, shifting their sentences to life imprisonment. This move occurs just as Trump, who has favored enforcing capital punishment, prepares to take office. During his presidency, Trump oversaw an exceptional number of executions, particularly in the context of the ongoing pandemic.
A pardon is a formal removal of guilt and punishment, while a commutation reduces or lessens a sentence without exonerating the individual.
Among those pardoned on Sunday are:
— Don Scott, who currently serves as the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in a Democratic-controlled chamber. He had been convicted for a drug offense in 1994 and subsequently spent eight years in prison. Scott was elected to the Virginia legislature in 2019 and later became the first Black speaker. He expressed his gratitude in a statement, describing the pardon as a pivotal moment in his life that taught him the significance of redemption.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, praised Scott’s journey of transformation as inspirational for the community.
— Ravi Ragbir, an immigrant rights activist convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2001. He received a two-year prison sentence and was facing deportation to Trinidad and Tobago.
— Kemba Smith Pradia, who was sentenced to 24 years for a drug offense in 1994. Having become a fierce advocate for prison reform, her sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton in 2000.
— Darryl Chambers, an advocate for preventing gun violence from Wilmington, Delaware, who was formerly convicted of a drug offense and served 17 years in prison. Today, he actively engages in research and writing focused on gun violence prevention.
Additionally, Biden commuted the sentences of two individuals:
— Michelle West, who had been serving a life sentence for her involvement in a drug conspiracy case in the early 1990s. West’s daughter has publicly discussed the emotional toll of growing up with her mother incarcerated. Expressing her filled hopes, she noted that after over 30 years of advocating for her mother’s sentence to be reduced, she finally envisions a bright future for both of them.
— Robin Peoples, convicted of bank robbery in northwest Indiana during the late 1990s, was sentenced to 111 years in prison. The White House noted that under current laws, Peoples would likely face considerably lesser sentences.
