Apr.27

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

This Week in Freudenfreude: It's Never Too Late

We've heard a lot this year about potential abuses of the presidential pardon power, courtesy of the fellow who is almost single-handedly keeping the U.S. legal system in business. So, how about we pay some attention to a more appropriate use of that power? Yesterday, Joe Biden issued pardons for 11 people, and commutations for five others, all of them convicted of non-violent drug-related offenses.

Here's the backstory for some of the folks who will be given a second chance, courtesy of the President:

• Jason Hernandez: Convicted when he was still a juvenile, he went back to the store he used to sell drugs in front of, bought it, and now sells affordable, healthy food to locals in the working-class community where the store is located. Which, incidentally, is pretty much also the plot of the movie Clerks 2.
  
  
• Jesse Mosley: Sentenced 23 years ago, at the age of 19, he has built a successful business and gotten involved in fundraising for various charitable causes since getting out of the clink.
  
  
• Alexis Sutton: She got out of prison shortly after turning 30, just a few years ago, and is now working towards a career as a nurse.
  
  
• Katrina Polk: Incarcerated at age 18, she's now 54, has a Ph.D. in public policy, and has a national reputation as an advocate for the elderly.
  
  
• Daequon Charles Davis: He is one of the commutees. Like all five of them, he was busted for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, is going to have his sentence roughly halved, and will still spend the next decade on supervised release.

For the 11 pardonees, of course, their sentence was already completed. Nonetheless, a criminal conviction is the 21st-century version of the scarlet letter, and can be a real drag on a person's life, even after they have paid their debt to society. Meanwhile, the five commutees all paid a pretty stiff price for their crimes (4+ years in the hoosegow), and now will be able to get a start on rebuilding their lives.

This story isn't getting much attention, as is common for presidential pardon news, unless there happens to be something scandalous. That's too bad, because it's useful to keep in mind that most presidents do a lot of fundamentally decent, but relatively low profile, things during their time in office.

Anyhow, congratulations to the 16 people who got good news yesterday, and have a good weekend, all! (Z)