section_path: Presidency (2021–2025)/Domestic policy/Pardons and commutations
section_name: Pardons and commutations
paragraph_text: Pardons and commutations
  
  Biden issued more individual pardons and commutations than any other president. On October 6, 2022, he pardoned all Americans convicted of "small" amounts of cannabis possession under federal law. On December 22, 2023, he pardoned Americans for cannabis use or possession on federal lands regardless of whether they had been charged or prosecuted. On December 12, 2024, in the largest single-day clemency act in history, Biden granted clemency to about 1,500 nonviolent felons in home confinement who had previously been released from prison. The act generated controversy, as it included felons such as Michael Conahan, a judge involved in the kids for cash kickback scandal, and Rita Crundwell, a comptroller responsible for the single largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. The Biden administration said the offenders who received clemency "deserve a second chance" and were selected based on meeting certain criteria in a uniform decision. On December 23, 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. On his last day in office, Biden commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier, convicted of murdering two FBI agents, to house arrest.
  
  Biden issued more individual pardons and commutations than any other president. On October 6, 2022, he pardoned all Americans convicted of "small" amounts of cannabis possession under federal law. On December 22, 2023, he pardoned Americans for cannabis use or possession on federal lands regardless of whether they had been charged or prosecuted. On December 12, 2024, in the largest single-day clemency act in history, Biden granted clemency to about 1,500 nonviolent felons in home confinement who had previously been released from prison. The act generated controversy, as it included felons such as Michael Conahan, a judge involved in the kids for cash kickback scandal, and Rita Crundwell, a comptroller responsible for the single largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. The Biden administration said the offenders who received clemency "deserve a second chance" and were selected based on meeting certain criteria in a uniform decision. On December 23, 2024, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. On his last day in office, Biden commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier, convicted of murdering two FBI agents, to house arrest.