WASHINGTON \u2014 President Biden is \u201cexploring\u201d the idea of granting clemency to people who are serving federal prison sentences for drug crimes, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
It would be a dramatic pivot for Biden, who authored some of the nation\u2019s harshest drug laws in the 1980s and \u201990s. In January, then-President Donald Trump freed two men serving life without parole for marijuana dealing<\/a> under Biden\u2019s 1994 crime law.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are working hard every day to reform our justice system in order to strengthen families, boost our economy and give people a chance at a better future,\u201d Psaki said at her daily press briefing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president is deeply committed to reducing incarceration and helping people successfully reenter society. And he said too many people are incarcerated \u2014 too many are black and brown \u2014 and he\u2019s therefore exploring multiple avenues to provide relief to certain nonviolent drug offenders, including through the use of his clemency power.\u201d<\/p>\n Many federal inmates were temporarily released<\/a> due to COVID-19, creating uncertainty about whether they will be forced to report back to prison in the coming months.<\/p>\n Psaki\u2019s remark thrilled clemency advocates who have been pushing for Biden to commute prison sentences and issue pardons early in his term, which is uncommon for presidents.<\/p>\n Leading clemency advocate Amy Povah told The Post that \u201cwe are elated that President Biden has expressed an interest in using his executive clemency power with an emphasis upon drug cases.\u201d<\/p>\n Povah, founder of the CAN-DO Foundation, which advocates clemency for non-violent drug offenders, was influential in lobbying the Trump White House on behalf of inmates.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have over 40 exceptional candidates on the CAN-DO website including many cannabis cases such as Diana Marquez<\/a>, serving 30 years for pot for her first offense. She is on home confinement per the [COVID-19] CARES Act,\u201d Povah said.<\/p>\n As a candidate, Biden said in 2019 that he wanted to release \u201ceveryone\u201d<\/a> in prison for marijuana, but Psaki has referred questions on whether he will do so to the Justice Department, saying it is \u201ca legal question\u201d<\/a>despite the president\u2019s nearly unchecked presidential pardon powers.<\/p>\n Povah, who herself received clemency from President Bill Clinton in 2000 after serving nine years of a 24-year sentence in an MDMA case, said she\u2019s also urging clemency for Michelle West<\/a>, who is serving life for a drug conspiracy, and Pedro Moreno<\/a>, who is serving life in prison for marijuana dealing.<\/p>\n Advocates have had preliminary discussions with the Biden White House counsel\u2019s office, but Biden has not yet issued any pardons or commutations.<\/p>\n![\"President](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/JoeBidenLaw.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024\")