(DCWatchdog.com) – In the very last second of his presidency, Joe Biden has made the shocking move of granting five more pardons, including one to the late civil rights leader Marcus Garvey.
See the tweet below!
This controversial action has sparked debate among conservatives who question whether such pardons truly serve justice or are merely symbolic gestures.
Biden announced pardons for five individuals and commuted the sentences of two others, emphasizing the importance of second chances.
He claims to have issued more pardons and commutations than any other president, a claim that some conservatives view as an attempt to curry favor with certain voting blocs.
Biden’s actions come as part of a broader justice reform strategy that focuses on nonviolent offenses, yet critics argue this overlooks more pressing issues, The Hill stresses in a report.
A posthumous pardon was granted to Marcus Garvey, convicted of mail fraud in 1923.
Many believe Garvey’s conviction was politically motivated, a tactic to silence his influential leadership in promoting racial pride.
Biden’s pardon could be seen as acknowledging Garvey’s historical impact, but for some, it fails to resonate with more immediate national concerns.
“He was the first man, on a mass scale and level to give millions of black people a sense of dignity and destiny,” the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said of Garvey, ABC News notes.
Among those pardoned is Don Scott, speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, for a 1994 nonviolent drug offense, and Darryl Chambers, a gun violence prevention advocate, for a 1998 offense.
Both have since made significant strides in their careers and communities, according to Biden’s statements.
However, critics argue these individual stories, while inspiring, don’t justify broad sweeping pardon policies.
“My journey — from being arrested as a law student to standing here today as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 405-year history — is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of second chances,” Scott said in a statement.
Garvey founded the Black Star Line and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, both pillars in the African-American community, yet his deportation and subsequent death in Jamaica left enduring questions about the fairness of his trial.
While his pardon might symbolically rectify past errors, the focus may be better placed on current systemic issues that remain unresolved under Biden’s administration.
Biden’s actions extend beyond pardons; he also commuted sentences for Michelle West and Robin Peoples.
Conservatives may view these actions as insufficient without accompanying measures addressing other facets of justice reform.
As President, Biden has focused clemency actions on nonviolent offenders, commuting several death row sentences to life imprisonment.
However, a pardon issued for Hunter Biden draws both skepticism and critique regarding preferential treatment within the justice system.
United States President Joe Biden has issued a posthumous pardon for Jamaica’s first National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, nearly 101 years after his 1923 conviction for mail fraud—a case long criticised for its racial and political overtones. #GLNRToday
📸: Contributed pic.twitter.com/SSjONF1qgZ
— Jamaica Gleaner (@JamaicaGleaner) January 19, 2025
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