Pressley Has Commended Biden for Granting Clemency and Commuting Death Sentences, Urged Him to Keep Going

Press Conference (YouTube) | Photos (Dropbox)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) joined advocates for a press conference on Capitol Hill to renew their calls for President Biden to continue exercising his clemency powers in the final days of his presidency. Their calls come with less than one week remaining before President Biden leaves office.

Congresswoman Pressley has led calls in Congress for President Biden to use his clemency authority to address mass incarceration and has applauded the President for granting clemency to over 1,500 people last month and commended him for commuting the death sentences of 37 individuals on federal death row.

“President Biden has rightfully used his clemency power to change and save lives, and he must continue doing so before leaving office next week,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. “With less than a week remaining in his presidency, we’re calling on him to keep going to address mass incarceration and set families on a path to healing. We need people reunited with their families, not locked in cages. We must move with the urgency this moment demands.”

Joining Congresswoman Pressley and Congresswoman Scanlon at the press conference were DaMareo Cooper, Co-Executive Director of  Popular Democracy, Patrice Willoughby, Chief of Policy & Legislative Affairs at the NAACP, and Fari Ghamina Tumpe of SPACEs In Action.

“President Biden, as your administration draws to a close, so does your window of time to grant clemency to thousands of petitioners,” said DaMareo Cooper, Co-Executive Director of Popular Democracy. “It’s not an understatement to say that this is our final opportunity to save the lives of thousands before the incoming Trump administration doubles down on damaging and deadly carceral policies. Here, you have the opportunity to right historic wrongs, and leave office as a president who led with conscience and compassion. We are calling on you to free them all.”

“I’m proud to stand with Representative Pressley and fellow advocates to call the Biden Administration to action,” said Patrice Willoughby, Chief of Policy & Legislative Affairs at the NAACP. “With just days left in office, the President has the power to cement a legacy rooted in justice and fairness. The NAACP calls on President Biden to pick up the pen and pardon thousands of individuals trapped in prison on technicalities. We won’t stop fighting for what’s right.”

“It has been proven that children who have parents in their lives, thrive academically, are much better socialized, have lesser chances of entering the school to prison pipeline, and are less like likely to suffer from social and emotional disorders,” said Fari Ghamina Tumpe of Spaces in Action. “There are 8,500 families awaiting clemency that are greatly suffering without the presence of their caregivers and loved ones. America was built on the promises of opportunities and second chances. If Hunter Biden gets a full and unconditional pardon, then President Biden, you should free them all. It’s time to right these historical wrongs.”

Footage from the press conference is available here and photos are available here.

Congresswoman Pressley has been a steadfast champion for a more just and equitable criminal legal system and has introduced legislation to fix our nation’s broken clemency system.

On December 23, 2024, Rep. Pressley commended President Biden for commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on death row and re-sentencing them to life in prison.

On December 12, 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on President Biden’s granting pardons to 39 people and commutations to nearly 1,500 people. Earlier that month, on Human Rights Day, Rep.Pressley joined colleagues and advocates for a press conference to renew their calls for President Biden to use his clemency authority to commute the death sentences of the 40 individuals on federal death row and resentence them to a prison term. 

On June 19, 2023, Juneteenth, Rep. Pressley re-introduced the People’s Justice Guarantee, a comprehensive, decarceration-focused resolution that outlines a framework for a fair, equitable and just legal system.

In October 2022, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding President Biden’s executive action pardoning thousands of people for simple possession of marijuana.

In December 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Reps. Cori Bush (MO-01) and Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and grassroots advocates, unveiled the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act, historic legislation to transform our nation’s broken clemency system and address the growing mass incarceration crisis. 

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