Biden’s Farewell Act: 1,500 Pardons, Four Indian-Origin Individuals Get a Second Chance

Washington (The Uttam Hindu): US President Joe Biden has announced pardons for 1,500 prisoners, including four Indian-origin Americans. The move is part of a series of important decisions before the end of his term, reflecting his efforts to reform the US justice system and give convicts a second chance.

President Biden issued a statement saying that America is based on the principle of "prospects and second chances". He said, as President, I have the privilege to pardon those who repent of their actions and are ready to rejoin society. Especially those convicted of drug-related crimes have been given priority in this pardon. The President said that under this decision, the punishment of 39 criminals has been pardoned, and the process of reducing the sentence of about 1500 people is going on. This step is being seen as the largest pardon ever given in a day. Biden clarified that most of the criminals who received pardon were not involved in violent crimes.

The four Indian-Americans who have been pardoned include Meera Sachdeva, Babubhai Patel, Krishna Mote and Vikram Dutta. Meera Sachdeva was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for fraud and was also fined $8.2 million. Earlier, Biden had also pardoned his son Hunter Biden using his special powers. Hunter was accused of tax evasion, illegal possession of weapons, misuse of government money and giving false testimony. This move by President Biden may revive the discussion on the issue of the US prison system and prisoner rehabilitation, which has been a major priority of his administration.