In a historic act of clemency, President Joe Biden announced Thursday he is commuting the sentences of 1,500 people and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes, including three Texans.
According to a report from the Houston Chronicle, Mireya Walmsley, 57, of La Porte, Nathaniel Reed, 46, of San Antonio, and Lashundra Wilson, 49, of Arlington, are among the 39 people Biden is pardoning in the largest single-day act of clemency in history.
Walmsley and Wilson both worked in health care. Walmsley earned her nursing license after her conviction and responded to natural disasters including Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey. She also led vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyond her work in health care, Wilson also helped raise funds for nonprofit health organizations. She was convicted as a teenager.
Reed served 20 years in the Air Force after being convicted. He went on to advocate for sexual assault prevention and response and volunteer to train local firefighters.
Beyond saying they were “non-violent” offenses, no further details were provided on their convictions.
Clemency is the authority a president has to pardon, which relieves someone of guilt and punishment. It also includes the power to commute a sentence, which reduces or altogether eliminates the punishment but does not exonerate. It’s ordinary for a president to issue clemency towards the end of their term.
Those pardoned by Biden include people who turned their lives around after being convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Biden is expected to issue more clemency grants before Donald Trump takes office in January of next year.