Top House Democrat calls on Biden to pardon ‘working-class Americans’
Top House Democrat calls on Biden to pardon ‘working-class Americans’
Hakeem Jeffries calls for ‘high level of compassion’ towards people in prison after president pardoned son Hunter
and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses
It's a noble idea in principle. But how the hell can a sizeable number of innocent or excessively punished people be pardoned on a case by case basis in the span of under 7 weeks?
This is an extremely impractical idea to implement, and reeks of empty grandstanding in by Jeffries.
It's also entirely too broad to mean much of anything.
The letter noted that the US has disproportionately incarcerated people of color, low-income individuals, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities, and that 90% of the federal prison population was convicted on non-violent offenses.
What are you talking about? If the rich and the powerful get justice why not the rest of us too? Since when has justice been too broad?
He could start today and get through at least 35. I'm betting we'll see less than that though.
Anything would be better than nothing. People are saying democrats should challenge norms. I agree. Get these pardons moving.
Just pardon them all to bankrupt the prison system and realize that while you let a few awful people go free most of the people you pardoned and those around them will have markedly better lives.
The wild thing is that at this point it's hard to argue that special interest lobbies are holding him back. He's got virtually nothing to lose and yet he does nothing aside from making the self-interested play.
It's the bare minimum. We are supposed to have justice for all in this country. Not just justice for Hunter Biden.
How about Biden starts now and focuses on getting as many done as possible. What's this angle of pretending it's too difficult?
"Sorry for the shitty system we're kind of responsible for. Go see Moana 2!"
he can gather a team of lawyers to go through the files and compile a list. lawyers have evolved past the need for sleep, so they have an extra 8 hours a day to go through files. should be doable in 7 weeks.
Or he could gather double the amount of lawyers and they could all sleep at night. Either way.
Bidens lawyers have been sleeping for 4 years. They can do some work for once in their lives.
He pardoned hundreds of people for nonviolent weed offenses and nobody bat an eye, but I'm sure every little bit helps.
Despite these actions, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) notes in a statement that Biden “has yet to release a single person still incarcerated for cannabis through commutation.” Although the pardons granted relief to thousands of people with a conviction on their records, the president’s clemency actions did not address the approximately 3,000 individuals serving time in federal prisons for cannabis related offenses.
He should definitely do more.
The first people the fascists are going to go after will likely be minorities and immigrants in prison.
If Joe Biden pardoning Hunter Biden doesn't bother you then neither should this. This is what we should be calling for, because the justice system isn't fair to anyone, not just Hunter Biden.
Why are people acting like this is too difficult? Biden doesn't have to go through every file himself. Form a small committee of legal experts you respect and take a bite out of what you can.
Why are people acting like this is too difficult?
Because this is lemmy. The only proactive action they support is proactively selling weapons to their favorite person for their favorite activity.
I wouldn't go that far...
“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.
Biden needs to use the insane powers bestowed upon the Presidency to limit the incoming one. Full fucking stop.
This is a terrifying precedent, though. If it becomes demonstratable that a sitting president can ignore the vote and veto the election, then every president from then until the end of time can argue against the "damage" the next president will cause. This was Hitler claiming "emergency powers," and you will immediately have a dictatorship, not a democracy.
I'm not saying another Trump presidency is "fine" by any regard, but I don't believe in being a fascist to prevent fascism.
A straightforward way to protect people from fascists would be to get them out of prisons where they will otherwise be easy targets.
He did. By passing meaningful legislation for 4 years and forgiving student loans.
Then we told him to go fuck himself and re-hired a felon rapist.
He doesn't owe us shit.
He doesn’t owe us shit.
Like fuck he doesn't. He's the fucking president. If he had an ounce of decency, he'd keep fighting fascism 'til the last day of his presidency. That's what having power in a republic means, the duty to use it for the common good.
Anyone with an ounce of decency wouldn't even run for president, let alone get elected
Despite these actions, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) notes in a statement that Biden “has yet to release a single person still incarcerated for cannabis through commutation.” Although the pardons granted relief to thousands of people with a conviction on their records, the president’s clemency actions did not address the approximately 3,000 individuals serving time in federal prisons for cannabis related offenses.
Ask more of your leaders. He in fact does owe us. We live in a democracy.
Be dissatisfied with corruption and nepotism. Otherwise that is all we will get. And we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.
Pardon everyone and burn this place down.
The letter noted that the US has disproportionately incarcerated people of color, low-income individuals, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those with disabilities, and that 90% of the federal prison population was convicted on non-violent offenses.
90% of them are non-violent offenders. I'm not convinced the other 10% would result in the country burning down. They weren't born in prison, but the country still managed to arrest them when they did something wrong. How about we arrest them again if they break the law instead of self-immolating for no reason? Or just pardon the 90% with non-violent offenses.
pardon everyone except the january 6 people
Calm down Joan Baez.
Could he pardon our loans please?
You don't pay much attention to news, huh?
Are you talking about the student loans he wrote off for a small subset of people who needed it?
I'm happy for those who got it, but that's hardly enough progress on this issue for me to give our government praise for it. Nearly all of us in the working class were still better off four years ago than we are now. Biden jacked up interest rates to address "inflation," which increased my mortgage by around $700 a month. That's more than what I pay in student loans, and that's just one example.
Things seems to just get worse slower when dems are in office, not better. IAnd I'm entirely fed up with it.
A true 'Murican (I live among them)
That picture tho
XD They need to give him his aviators, it's way too bright out there for him. I would probably be squinting too lol. edit: typo
He should pardon every undocument immigrant in the US, just to stick it to Trump, any woman charged with any crime under retro-medieval aborton laws, and commute every death sentence under his jurisdiction. But he won't.
I also would like one order of a "full unconditional pardon of any crime that I may or may not have committed, from [date of my birth] to [date of my death], and also pardon all my debts and taxes also effective from the same time period please."
This sounds like a wish list of a Sovcit
Nah, there's no mention of 7 silver coins and the death of the business entity created by the government in their name.
This would have been productive with a blue-ribbon commission and 2 years. But Biden should totally be able to hammer it out one rainy morning.
But Biden should totally be able to hammer it out one rainy morning.
Why not? Democrats should use the power of the government to improve people's lives.
edit: looks like lemmy downtime caused a double post
Democrats should use the power of the government to improve people’s lives.
That would be out of character for them.
He could at least pardon as many as he can get to.
Pardon everyone, make everyone a billionaire, and banish climate change with the last wish.
Why is doing a useful thing to help people always framed as being unreasonable but nepotism is celebrated?
I feel like that if one pardon commits a crime, it will be spun like illegal immigrants where one person's actions defines the group.
How about instead of letting Republicans control the narrative we point out how immigrants have been treated unfairly by the system and tell everyone we think the pardon is a great idea. People are doing it for Hunter Biden why not immigrants?
Too late, should have happened before the election.
The president has the pardon power until the new president is sworn in. Biden pardoned Hunter Biden after the election. We should want democrats to challenge norms to help people beyond just their family and friends.
See Article 2 Section 2.
Section. 2.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript