U.S. President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of, and granted clemency to, 1,500 individuals, including those convicted of serious corruption and fraud, sparking backlash from citizens and victims alike.
On December 13, President Biden announced pardons for 39 Americans convicted of non-violent offenses and commuted the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals under home confinement. This marks the largest single-day clemency order issued by any U.S. president.
Under the order, around 1,500 individuals who had been released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, having served at least one year of their sentences, will have their sentences commuted and be freed entirely. Biden stated that additional rounds of pardons and commutations would be announced in the coming weeks.
Among those who had their sentences commuted were two former officials: Michael Conahan, a former judge in Pennsylvania who accepted bribes, and Rita Crundwell, a notorious embezzler in Illinois. Both had been convicted for large-scale corruption and fraud and were moved to home confinement during the pandemic.
Former judge Conahan was convicted in 2011 in the "kids for cash" scandal, in which he accepted bribes from detention facilities in exchange for sentencing juveniles to those centers. This case is regarded as one of the most egregious judicial corruption scandals in Pennsylvania’s history.
Conahan’s misconduct, along with that of another Luzerne County judge, led the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to overturn 4,000 juvenile convictions. The implicated judges were also ordered to pay $200 million in restitution to the victims.
One of the juveniles, Edward Kenzakoski, committed suicide while serving a sentence stemming from Conahan’s actions.
Conahan was sentenced in 2011 to 17 years in prison but was moved to home confinement during the pandemic. His confinement was set to end in 2026, but Biden’s commutation ends all supervision of him.
Sandy Fonzo, Kenzakoski’s mother, expressed shock and heartbreak upon learning that Conahan’s sentence had been commuted by President Biden.
"Conahan’s actions destroyed countless families, including mine. My son’s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power for personal gain," Fonzo said. "This pardon is an injustice to all of us still suffering from his actions."
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, stated on December 13 that "I strongly believe President Biden has made a grave mistake, causing immense pain for many people in northeastern Pennsylvania."
Anger and disappointment also arose in Illinois, where Biden pardoned Rita Crundwell, a former comptroller for the city of Dixon, which has a population of 15,000.
In 2012, Crundwell pleaded guilty to embezzling $54 million in the largest municipal fraud case in U.S. history. She was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison, close to the maximum term, and was transferred to home confinement during the pandemic. Before her commutation, she was set to remain on home confinement until 2028.
"When I heard the news, I was utterly shocked and couldn’t believe it. I am deeply outraged and feel betrayed by the federal justice system, the White House, and the President," said Danny Langloss, a Dixon city official.
Langloss, who does not affiliate with any political party, served as police chief when Crundwell’s fraud was uncovered and believes "justice has not been served."
"I don’t like the idea of her freely walking around the city she betrayed and stole from," Langloss said.
President Biden has already faced bipartisan criticism for a controversial pardon earlier this year for his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on 12 counts related to tax and firearm violations.
A Biden administration official stated that the latest clemency round was not a personal decision by the president but the result of a review process for individuals meeting specific criteria, such as good conduct during home confinement. Margaret Love, who served as the U.S. pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, suggested that Biden’s actions are a continuation of policies from the Trump administration.
In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the U.S., Congress passed the bipartisan CARES Act, allowing the federal government to transfer approximately 12,000 prisoners from federal facilities to home confinement. Many of these individuals have since completed their terms of confinement.
"Many of those transferred to home confinement had been convicted of non-violent offenses and were deemed safe for the community. Those upset by President Biden’s clemency should have raised concerns four years ago," Love said.
(Sources: CNN, AP, AFP)
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