House Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to grant more pardons and commutations before his administration ends Monday, Jan. 20. The lawmakers said the president should focus on nonviolent drug offenders, women who committed crimes against abusers and those with sentencing disparities for similar crimes, like powder and crack cocaine offenses.

“Every single pardon, every single commutation, every single life matters. So President Biden must keep going,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., said.

The lawmakers said President Biden should thoroughly review the more than 10,000 pending commutation applications. They contend there are many incarcerated individuals who do not pose a threat to society.

“Mass incarceration continues to be a stain upon the soul of our country, ravaging our communities, destabilizing families and exacerbating generational trauma,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said.

There are three laws in particular that advocates blame for what they describe as harsh sentences for federal crimes — the 1984 crime bill, 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the 1994 crime bill. President Biden either co-sponsored or voted in favor of each one as a senator.

“The current president was a part of creating the problem of mass incarceration. And like, we’re not even blaming him, because that time there was a demand,” DeMareo Cooper, with the Center for Popular Democracy, said. “But like all of us, we can learn from our mistakes.”

Before he became president, Biden expressed regret for writing and supporting the legislation. During an event in 2019 he referred to the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine in federal sentencing.

“It was a big mistake that was made,” Biden said. “We were told by the experts that ‘crack, you never go back,’ that the two were somehow fundamentally different. It’s not. But it’s trapped an entire generation.”

“Clemency is paramount in criminal justice. This tool, which is granted to the president, equips him with the ability to bring about fairness to Black lives that have been affected by bad policy,” Patrice Willoughby, with the NAACP, said.

Clemency advocates also point to the many inmates who give back to society. There are more than 1,000 California inmates fighting wildfires in the LA region. They are paid up to $10 per day plus $1 per hour on duty.

“Risking their lives to save lives, only to return to a jail cell at night,” Pressley said. “Now I think that makes the case, if we need it anymore, of people who should not be incarcerated, who should be reunited with their families.”

President Biden has granted approximately 65 full pardons and thousands of commutations during his four years in office.