Weekly Message 12/9/2024

The call on a father to protect his son or daughter is a powerful one.  It is however important to acknowledge that  other fathers – who are not the president -- have sons and daughters caught in the criminal justice system. 

"I was in prison and you came to visit me."  -  Matthew 25:36

Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter unleashed a torrent of criticism.  In his pardon statement, the President wrote that he hoped “Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”   The call on a father to protect his son or daughter is a powerful one.  But other fathers – who are not the president -- have sons and daughters caught in the criminal justice system.  Biden might gain more sympathy if he extended his mercy to others in addition to his son.

To date, Biden has been remarkably parsimonious in the use of his pardon authority.  He has issued only 28 pardons since becoming president and only 132 commutations of sentences.  According to the Justice Department the president has received over 10,000 pending petitions for commutation of sentences and nearly 1300 requests for pardons.  

The president’s power to pardon is extraordinary.  As the Supreme Court ruled in Ex Parte Garland in 1866, the power of the pardon “conferred by the Constitution upon the President is unlimited except in cases of impeachment.”  It may be exercised at any time, before legal proceedings, during them, or after conviction and judgment.  If granted before conviction, it prevents any penalties from attaching.  If granted after conviction, it removes all penalties from the pardoned and “restores him to his civil rights.  It gives him a new credit and capacity.”

 This extraordinary power endows the president with the ability to extend mercy.  What’s clear is that there are obvious candidates to whom this mercy should be extended.

As a man of faith who believes in the sanctity of life, President Biden surely should begin by commuting the federal death sentences of the 40 prisoners on death row to life imprisonment. 

Given the bipartisan efforts to curb the mass imprisonment that resulted from discriminatory mandatory sentencing practices that are now being rolled back, the president should pardon to those convicted of marijuana distribution offenses and give permanent relief to those already released under the CARES Act, the emergency pandemic measure that provided temporary release to vulnerable incarcerated people.  Similarly, he could commute the sentences of the imprisoned elderly who are ineligible for compassionate release.

Many legislators and commentators have urged the president to pardon and thereby protect those who are targets of Donald Trump’s retribution – from Dr Fauci to Liz Cheney and Jack Straw, with some suggesting that Trump himself receive a pardon for his many crimes.

More compelling is the cause of those who lack the resources or fame to defend themselves.  The President should offer pardon en masse to those who are or were previously granted protected status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the DACA children who know no other home but the United States, have lived productive lives, have spouses or children who are US citizens or who have served honorably in the US armed forces. 

The mass incarceration that exploded at the turn of the century ended up as the new Jim Crow, with African Americans and Latinos suffering disproportionately from discriminatory policing and sentencing.  Hundreds of thousands served their sentences but remain marked as offenders, even after the country has moved to legalize marijuana, to curb excessive mandatory sentences, and to revise discriminatory laws.  

As early as 2016, my son, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. called on President Obama to issue a mass pardon of former inmates who have served their time.  This would remove the stigma that haunts them as they seek employment, education or housing, and in some states, makes it impossible for them to vote and enjoy the rights of full citizenship.   This act – pardoning those who have served their time -- would be, as Jesse Jr. wrote, an historic commitment to redemption, and would mark the president as “the greatest Christian president ever to serve.”  

The quality of mercy is not strained if it is extended widely to those deserving.  The president’s action to protect his son is a human response, but so too would be extending his power to pardon and commute – to forgive and redeem – to the sons and daughters of other fathers. 

The president’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters to expect more pardons before the end of the president’s term.  He would be wise to extend this extraordinary grant of mercy not only to those who are famous but to the many who have earned a clean slate.