Former President Joe Biden ignored recommendations made by his own Department of Justice (DOJ) and commuted the sentences of some violent criminals in his final days in office, according to an internal email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
In his last few days as president, Biden issued a presidential commutation for the drug sentences of almost 2,500 criminals, some of whom had violent backgrounds. Just about 10% of the former president’s list were recommended to receive commutations from Biden from his own DOJ, according to an internal email reviewed by the WSJ.
On the list of individuals Biden described as “non-violent” were several people found guilty of illegally possessing firearms, and two men whose actions resulted in the death of a police officer.
The commutations faced backlash from prosecutors, the WSJ reported, which caused DOJ pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer to address her colleagues.
“While I am a strong believer in the possibility of second chances through clemency, the process by which yesterday’s action was carried out was not what we had hoped and advocated for,” Oyer wrote in the email reviewed by the WSJ.