Were you aware that this is “Second Chance Month”? Not to be obscure, but they appear to have a “month” for everything from “Black History Month” to “Hispanic Heritage Month” to “LGBTQXYZ Month.”
I checked the official government calendar, and there doesn’t appear to be an “official” Second Chance Month. April is “National Pickleball Month” as well as “National Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month.” It’s also “English Language Month,” and “National Afternoon Tea Month.”
I hope the person who designed this website gets a second chance to get it right.
Leave it to Biden to create a fake month to serve his political agenda. In this case, he might have done better to forget the whole thing.
As a tribute to Second Chance Month, Biden is granting early release to five crack dealers and commuting the sentences of 11 other drug criminals. What a guy!
“America is a Nation founded on the promise of second chances. During Second Chance Month, we reaffirm our commitment to rehabilitation and reentry for people returning to their communities post-incarceration,” the 81-year-old president said in a statement.
Most of us are all for granting second chances to people, especially if they demonstrate their contriteness. But crack dealers are a different breed. The only just early release would be for them to spend the next ten years working with addicts who fell victim to the poison they were selling. They could split time between working with addicts and working for the families who lost a loved one thanks to the crack dealer’s efforts to get them hooked.
Biden claims that the five crack dealers were convicted of “non-violent” drug offenses. Considering the violence done to the bodies of these drug dealer’s customers, the term “non-violent” is relative.
“We also recommit to building a criminal justice system that lives up to those ideals and ensures that everyone receives equal justice under law,” said Biden.”That is why today I am announcing steps I am taking to make this promise a reality.”
I have no issue with Biden pardoning criminals already released and who have demonstrated genuine rehabilitation.
Biden is pardoning Jason Hernandez, of McKinney, Texas, a 47-year-old who was convicted of several nonviolent drug offenses. Former President Obama commuted his sentence in 2013, and he now runs a nonprofit that turned the store he used to sell drugs in front of to a market that sells affordable quality food.
He is also pardoning Beverly Holcy, of Palatka, Fla., a 59-year-old who pleaded guilty to nonviolent drug offense she committed at 27 and now volunteers at a church and is fully employed.
Other pardon recipients include 58-year-old Jeffrey Alan Lewis from Douglasville, Ga., who pleaded guilty of a nonviolent drug offense at 40 and is now consistently employed, and 50-year-old Bobby Darrell Lowery of Jackson, Miss., who was convicted of a nonviolent drug offense at 25 and now has steady employment.
Removing the conviction from their record will allow them to vote and sit on juries and restore other rights.
“Like my other clemency actions, these pardons and commutations reflect my overarching commitment to addressing racial disparities and improving public safety,” Biden said in the statement.
There are better ways to address “racial disparities” than simply letting drug dealers go back to the streets.