If you’ve been scrolling through news feeds or caught a snippet of a debate lately, you probably know that presidential pardons are kind of a big deal. They are the ultimate "get out of jail free" card, but they’re also a massive political tool. So, let’s get straight to the point: how many people has President Biden pardoned? By the time he left office in January 2025, Joe Biden had granted a total of 4,245 acts of clemency.
That number is actually wild when you look at history. It’s the highest total of any president since the early 20th century, even beating out FDR. But here is where it gets tricky—and where most people get the numbers mixed up. There is a huge difference between a "pardon" and a "commutation," and Biden used them in very different ways.
The Pardon vs. Commutation Split
Honestly, people use these words like they're the same thing. They aren't. A pardon is like a total wipe of the slate. It restores your rights, like voting or owning a gun, and basically says the government is forgiving the crime. A commutation just cuts the prison sentence short. You’re still a "convicted felon," but you get to go home.
Biden was actually quite stingy with individual pardons for a long time. Over his four years, he issued only 80 individual pardons.
That is one of the lowest numbers for any modern president. For comparison, George H.W. Bush granted 74, and most others granted hundreds. But where Biden absolutely shattered records was in commutations. He issued 4,165 commutations.
He basically spent his final weeks in office opening the doors for people he felt were caught in the gears of an unfair system. On January 17, 2025—just days before the inauguration—he commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people in a single day. It was the largest single-day act of clemency in U.S. history.
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The Marijuana Proclamations (The "Shadow" Numbers)
Wait, what about the thousands of people you heard about who were pardoned for weed?
This is where the stats get confusing. Most official DOJ lists count individual acts of clemency—where a specific person’s name is on a piece of paper. But Biden also issued "categorical pardons" by proclamation.
In October 2022 and again in December 2023, he issued proclamations pardoning everyone convicted of "simple possession of marijuana" under federal law.
- Eligible people: Roughly 6,500 to 7,000 individuals.
- The Catch: This didn't actually release anyone from prison because almost nobody is in federal prison for just simple possession. It was about clearing records so people could get jobs or housing.
- The Military: In June 2024, he also pardoned about 2,000 former service members who were convicted under military law for consensual gay sex during the era when it was a crime.
If you add these "proclamation" pardons to the individual ones, the number of people Biden "pardoned" technically jumps by thousands, but those names don't usually appear on the official Department of Justice "Individual Grants" list.
Why He Did It: The Strategy Behind the Flurry
Biden's philosophy on clemency was pretty clear toward the end. He wasn't looking to help political cronies (well, except for one big exception we'll get to). Instead, he focused on:
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- Sentencing Disparities: He targeted people serving time for crack cocaine who would have received much lighter sentences if they were caught with powder cocaine today.
- COVID-19 Home Confinement: During the pandemic, the CARES Act allowed many non-violent inmates to serve their time at home. Biden eventually commuted the sentences of about 1,500 of these people so they wouldn't have to go back to a cell after successfully reintegrating into society.
- The Death Row Move: In December 2024, he commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates to life in prison. He specifically said he didn't want the next administration to resume executions.
The Hunter Biden Elephant in the Room
You can't talk about Biden’s pardons without mentioning his son, Hunter.
For months, the White House said it wouldn't happen. Then, on December 1, 2024, it did. Biden issued a "full and unconditional pardon" for Hunter, covering any federal crimes he committed or may have committed between 2014 and 2024.
This was a massive pivot. It drew a ton of fire from both sides of the aisle. Critics called it an abuse of power, while the President argued that the prosecution of his son was politically motivated. Regardless of where you stand, it’s the most famous of the 80 individual pardons he signed.
Biden's Legacy Compared to Others
So, how does he stack up?
Biden granted clemency to about 29% of the people who asked. That’s a high "success rate." Richard Nixon granted about 36%, but he had way fewer applicants.
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Trump, by contrast, issued 238 acts of clemency. He focused more on high-profile names, political allies, and people recommended by celebrities. Biden's approach was much more "industrial"—moving thousands of low-level, non-violent drug offenders through the system at once.
What This Means for You (The Actionable Part)
If you or a loved one are looking into the clemency process, here’s what you need to know about the current landscape:
- Pardon Certificates: If you fall under the marijuana possession proclamation, you don't just "get" a pardon automatically in the mail. You have to apply for a certificate through the DOJ's Office of the Pardon Attorney to prove you're covered.
- The Standard Has Shifted: Biden's massive use of commutations for non-violent drug offenses has set a new precedent. Future presidents will be judged against this "11th-hour" flurry of activity.
- State vs. Federal: Remember, the President can only pardon federal crimes. If someone is in state prison for a drug charge, only the Governor of that state can help.
Biden basically used the pardon power as a way to "patch" the criminal justice system where he felt the law was too slow to change. Whether that's a "merciful correction" or "circumventing Congress" is the debate that will keep historians busy for the next thirty years.
To verify if a specific individual was included in these actions, the Department of Justice maintains a searchable database of all clemency recipients. You should check the official DOJ "Grants of Clemency" page, which is updated periodically to reflect the final actions of the administration.