President Joe Biden pardoned six people who had already served their sentences for their crimes, which include drug offenses and second-degree murder, and who became active in their communities after their release.
For its part, the White House said the Democratic president believed in second chances and that those he pardoned had “demonstrated a commitment to bettering their communities and the lives of those around them.”
The people among the presidential pardons are the following: Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, an 80-year-old woman who was sentenced for the murder of her husband when she was 33 years old. During her statement, she said that her husband physically attacked her and threatened her moments before shooting her and taking her life, however, the court did not allow expert testimony on the “battered woman syndrome.”
On appeal, the Ohio woman was sentenced to five years, which was seen as significant for judicial recognition of battered woman syndrome.
Also on the list is Gary Parks Davis, 66, who is from Arizona. The man would have pleaded guilty to using a phone to make a cocaine transaction when he was 22 years old. Davis served a six-month sentence and ended his probation in 1981, since which time he has earned a bachelor’s degree and has volunteered in his community.
Edward Lincoln De Coito III, a 50-year-old California native, pleaded guilty to one count of marijuana trafficking when he was 23, serving one year in prison and has since served in the United States Army and in the Army Reserves.
On the other hand, Vicente Ray Flores was court-martialled when he was about 19 years old for consuming ecstasy and alcohol while on duty in the Army. After being sentenced to four months of confinement, he also participated in a return to service program and remains on active duty, for which he has obtained several honors from the armed forces.
There is no precedent for a US president to use his power to issue a pardon for a military court martial, however, it has not been without controversy.
In 2019, former President Donald Trump pardoned two ex-military officers and reinstated the rank of a third accused of crimes more serious than those of Flores.
In this sense, Charlie Brynes Jackson, from South Carolina, pleaded guilty to an illegal whiskey transaction when he was 18 years old. After completing his parole in 1969. Since that time, he has been active in his community, even helping with the remodeling of his church.
Finally, John Dix Nock III, a 72-year-old Florida man, pleaded guilty to a charge related to a marijuana grow house. He was released from community confinement in 1997 and since then has worked as a general contractor and has helped mentor young people looking to enter a career.
A White House official said that the pardons are granted through a “deliberative process” that was coordinated hand in hand with the Department of Justice.
The six pardons issued by Biden came after he issued a far-reaching pardon for all previous federal crimes of simple possession of marijuana, a move that was criticized by senior officials in his administration as it would affect thousands of US citizens. accused of the same crime.
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