KINGSHILL, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) – President Joe Biden has pardoned six people who had served time after being charged with murder and drug and alcohol-related crimes, including an 80-year-old woman convicted of murdering her abusive husband. about half a century ago and a man who pleaded guilty to using the phone to deal cocaine in the 1970s.
The pardon, announced Friday, means his felony criminal record has now been cleared. It comes months after the Democratic president pardoned thousands of people convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law. He also pardoned three men earlier this year and commuted the sentences of 75 others.
Biden’s stance on low-level crime, especially low-level drug possession, and how such crime can affect families and communities over the past decades has evolved over 50 years in public service. In the 1990s, he supported felony laws that increased arrest and incarceration rates for drug crimes, particularly for blacks and Latinos. Biden said people are right to question his stance on the bill, but he also encouraged them to look at what they are doing now on crime.
The pardon was announced as the president spent time with his family in St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. The White House says those pardoned are those who continue to serve their communities. He said the pardon reflected Biden’s view that people should get a second chance.
The pardon granted is:
– Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, 80, of Columbus, Ohio. When he was 33 years old, Ibnu Tamas was accused of killing his wife. She testified that her husband beat her, verbally abused her and threatened her. He told jurors he shot her moments after attacking her, while she was pregnant. The judge refused to allow expert testimony on battered woman syndrome, a psychological condition that can develop among victims of domestic violence. Ibn-Tamas received one to five years in prison with credit for time served. Her appeal is among the first by a person with battered woman syndrome, and her case has been studied by academics.
– Charles Byrnes-Jackson, 77, of Swansea, South Carolina. Byrnes-Jackson pleaded guilty to the possession and sale of spirits without a tax stamp when he was 18, and was involved in one illegal whiskey transaction. He tried to enlist in the Marines but was rejected out of confidence.
– John Dix Nock III, 72, St. Augustine, Florida. Nock pleaded guilty to using the property as a grow-house for marijuana 27 years ago. He didn’t plant the plant, but he got six months of community confinement. He now operates a general contracting business.
– Gary Parks Davis, 66, of Yuma, Arizona. When Davis was 22, he admitted to using his phone to deal cocaine. He served a six-month sentence on nights and weekends in the county jail and completed probation in 1981. After the offense, the White House said, Davis earned a college degree and worked steadily, including owning a landscaping business and managing construction projects. She has volunteered at her children’s high school and in her community.
– Edward Lincoln De Coito III, 50, of Dublin, California. De Coito pleaded guilty at age 23 to participating in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy. He was released from prison in December 2000 after serving almost two years. Prior to the offense, De Coito had served with honor in the US Army and Army Reserves and had received numerous awards.
– Vincente Ray Flores, 37, of Winters, California. At the age of 19, Flores consumed ecstasy and alcohol while serving in the Air Force, later pleading guilty in a special military court. He was sentenced to four months in prison, a loss of $2,800 in pay and a reduction in rank. Flores participated in a six-month rehab program that gives enlisted offenders the chance to return to duty after therapy and education. The reduction in rank was reversed, and he remained active, earning medals and other awards for his service.
Reported long from Washington.