President Joe Biden salutes while boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on Dec. 27, 2022.(MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP)
President Joe Biden pardoned six individuals Friday – four of whom were convicted on drug charges, one who failed to pay a distilled spirits tax and one who shot a husband who had abused her while she was pregnant.
None of the six is currently incarcerated, but the presidential pardons allow the people, all of whom have subsequently served in the military or in their communities, a chance to start the new year with a clean record."President Biden believes America is a nation of second chances, and that offering meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation empowers those who have been incarcerated to become productive, law-abiding members of society," a White House official said in a statement detailing the pardons.
"The President remains committed to providing second chances to individuals who have demonstrated their rehabilitation – something that elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree our criminal justice system should offer."
The Biden administration had made moves to address what officials say is an unfair criminal approach to drug-related infractions. In October, Biden pardoned thousands of individuals convicted of simple possession of marijuana, and the administration said it would also look at whether marijuana should be considered in the same legal category as heroin and LSD.In mid-December, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed federal prosecutors to stop charging and sentencing disparities when it comes to powder cocaine and crack cocaine. It takes a substantially smaller amount of crack cocaine than powder cocaine to trigger a mandatory minimum sentence upon conviction, and the disparity has punished communities of color at a higher rate.
The pardon recipients include:
Gary Parks Davis of Yuma, Arizona: Davis, now 66, served a six-month sentence for a cocaine transaction offense when he was 22. He has since participated in many civic and community works, the White House said.
Edward Lincoln De Coito III of Dublin, California: De Coito served as a marijuana courier on five or six occasions and pleaded guilty to involvement in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy when he was 23. Now 50, he had served honorably in the military prior to his offense and has a second career as a pilot.
Vincente Ray Flores of Winters, California: Flores consumed ecstasy and alcohol at age 19 while he was serving in the military, pleading guilty at a special court martial. Now 37 and having served four months confinement, a reduction in rank and a financial penalty, Flores is a decorated active-duty service member and is involved in numerous charities.
Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas of Columbus, Ohio: Ibn-Tamas, now 80, was convicted of second-degree murder after shooting her abusive husband when she was 33. According to Ibn-Tamas' testimony, her husband beat her, verbally abused her and threatened her before and during her pregnancy and right up until the moment she shot him. The court did not then allow evidence of "battered woman syndrome," and her case ultimately became a subject of numerous academic studies about the syndrome.
Charlie Byrnes Jackson, of Swansea, South Carolina: When the 77-year-old Jackson was 18, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession and sale of distilled spirits without tax stamps and was sentenced to five years' probation – a sentence that deprived him of his dream to enlist in the United States Marine Corps.
John Dix Nock III of St. Augustine, Florida: Nock pleaded guilty 27 years ago of making a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana plants, although he personally played no role in the grow-house conspiracy. He served six months' community confinement and paid the government the value of the home he had rented to his brother. Now 72, Nock operates a general contracting business and mentors young contractors.
Biden's pardons Friday are in addition to three pardons he issued in April. Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued the highest number of pardons in modern history – 2,819 in his three terms – according to an analysis of Justice Department data by the Pew Research Center.
Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, ranks second from the bottom in the number of pardons issued, with 143. George H.W. Bush, who like Trump served a single term, pardoned 74 individuals.
The pardons are separate from sentence commutations, whereby the president declares an individual's sentence completed but does not erase the crime itself. Biden has issued dozens of commutations during his time in office, most frequently for drug-related crimes.
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