Joe Biden issues six criminal pardons to individuals charged for drug offenses and 2nd-degree murder

January 1, 2023

President Joe Biden issued six pardons for crimes ranging from drug or alcohol offenses to one case of 2nd-degree murder. The President issued the pardons on Friday.

One pardon was particularly notable as it pardoned Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, 80, who was convicted of 2nd-degree murder when she was 33 years old.

Ibn-Tamas was convicted of killing her husband with a gun after a "heated argument" in 1976. Ibn-Tamas claimed that her husband had attacked her and was physically abusive, so she retaliated by killing him.

At the time, the legal system wasn't sympathetic to her defense, and she was sentenced to serve between one and five years in prison. President Biden's pardon finally recognizes Ibn-Tamas's defense and ends a lifetime of uncertainty.

The White House issued a statement on the pardons saying, "President Biden believes America is a nation of second chances, and that offering meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation empowers those who have been incarcerated to become productive, law-abiding members of society."

The president's pardons seek to wipe the slate clean for a limited number of Americans who have made mistakes. No doubt those who received a pardon are extremely grateful to have their name cleared.