Last week, President Joe Biden made history — and not in a good way — by granting clemency on an unprecedented scale, commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals and issuing 39 pardons in a single day. This marks the largest one-day act of clemency in modern history, surpassing the previous record set by President Barack Obama, who issued 330 commutations during his final days in office.
It should come as no surprise that among the nearly 1,500 individuals whose sentences Biden commuted last week were at least three Democratic politicians and several public officials, including a disgraced former judge infamous for orchestrating a scheme that sent thousands of children to jail in exchange for kickbacks, according to a report by The Daily Caller.
Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan, one of two judges convicted in 2011 for his role in the “Kids for Cash” scandal, had his sentence commuted by Biden. Conahan and another judge received millions from sending children to private detention facilities where they had a business interest.
Several victims of the scheme spoke out against Biden’s decision.
Amanda Lorah, who was wrongly imprisoned, told Fox 59 it was a “slap in the face.” Sandy Fonzo, whose son committed suicide after being placed in detention, said she was “shocked” and hurt.
“Conahan’s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son‘s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power,” Fonzo said in a statement. “This pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer. Right now I am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that this has brought back.”
Even Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) criticized Biden’s decision, calling it “absolutely wrong” and accusing the president of causing “a lot of pain” in his state.
“Governors and presidents have unique power to grant pardons and clemency and commute sentences. It is an absolute power, and it is a power that should be used incredibly carefully,” Shapiro said last week.
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Joe Biden granted clemency to several high-profile Democrats convicted of serious crimes, including former Democratic New York State Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., sentenced to 14 years for bribery and fraud, and former Democratic Florida state senate candidate Anis Blemur, who scammed South Florida’s Haitian community out of $1.6 million. Other recipients included former Democratic Ohio Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, convicted of accepting bribes over a decade, and former Dixon, Ill., Comptroller Rita Crundwell, who embezzled $53.7 million from her city. Obama previously denied Dimora clemency.
Biden defended his clemency decisions, stating that many of those granted relief were serving lengthy sentences that “would have been lower if charged under today’s laws, policies, and practices.” He also insisted that the individuals in question, who were placed in home confinement during the COVID pandemic, “have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”
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