After Hunter Biden’s pardon, Philadelphia criminal justice advocates call on President Biden to pardon more inmates

After President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden from federal charges Sunday night, local criminal justice advocates in Philadelphia are calling on the outgoing president to extend the same gesture to thousands of individuals who have requested their own chance at freedom.

Most of the criticism from advocates stems from the small number of clemency grants that Biden has approved in comparison to previous presidents. And they hope he will use his final weeks in office to issue more.

During Biden’s term, the Office of the Pardon Attorney, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, has received nearly 12,000 requests for clemency, many from individuals in the U.S. prison system, the New York Times reported.

Biden has so far issued 25 pardons and 132 commutations and issued other blanket pardons. This is fewer than the 144 pardons and 94 commutations that President-elect Donald Trump issued during his first administration, including pardons for political allies. Former President Barack Obama granted clemency to 1,597 individuals during his two terms in office, according to White House archives.

Advocates say Biden needs to show others the same consideration he showed his son.

“So while, as a father, I can relate to his decision, I feel like that it’s really unfortunate,” said Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Abolitionist Law Center. “It’s really tragic that he couldn’t find that same empathy for thousands of other people, thousands of others, fathers and parents who have been applying for clemency under his administration.”

For inmates who are waiting for a chance at freedom, Biden’s pardoning of his son feels like “skipping in line,” Holbrook added.

Dwayne Washington, a restorative justice practitioner at DayOneNotDayTwo, a nonprofit focused on youth development and restorative justice, said clemencies provide an opportunity for freed individuals to give back to their communities, including in Philadelphia.

“It’s a lot of men and women who I believe or know are eligible for clemency, and if they were granted clemency it would be an opportunity for Philadelphia and make an impact in a positive manner,” Washington said.

On the federal level, clemency petitions that may be approved are reviewed by several entities, including the U.S. attorney in the jurisdiction where the person was convicted, the deputy attorney general, and the White House. But a president can act unilaterally to issue a pardon for any federal crime or commute a sentence without a recommendation.

Biden previously said he would not pardon his son, who faced sentencing on Dec. 12 for federal gun charges in Delaware and a sentencing in a separate case for federal tax evasion on Dec. 16, but said he ultimately chose to do so because he felt his son was being “treated differently.”

“Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said in a statement Sunday night. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”

White House press secretary Karine-Jean Pierre said Monday that Biden would announce more pardons at the end of his term, a typical practice among presidents leaving office.

But the timeline is a point of frustration for Washington.

“Why is this the cycle … you have to wait until someone is going out to start getting things like pardons and clemency?” Washington said.