I Beg Your Pardon

On Tuesday, President Biden exercised his presidential clemency powers for the first time in his presidency, issuing 3 pardons and 75 commutations, all of whom were convicted of drug offenses or other non-violent crimes. Still, there are 18,000 petitions for clemency still pending.

We speak with Austin Sarat, professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, to explore the history of how presidents have used clemency powers in the past, why the process serves so few, and if President Biden might meet his campaign promise of criminal justice reform by using the powers of clemency going forward.