As Joe Biden’s presidency winds to an end, thousands of people unjustly locked in federal prisons hope that he will keep his promise to free those with cannabis-related convictions and help undo some of the harm caused by the failed “War on Drugs.”

“I think we should decriminalize marijuana, period,” Biden said during a Democratic primary debate prior to the 2020 presidential election. “[A]nd anyone who has a record should be let out of jail, their record expunged, be completely zeroed out.”

Clemency powers grant presidents and governors the ability to decrease sentences or pardon people convicted of crimes at the federal and state level, respectively. Confronting the systemic injustices of the United States criminal legal system would require a dramatic realignment of political will, but in recent months, Biden has made a meaningful statement by using his clemency powers to mitigate some of the harm done.

Last month, Biden announced that he would commute nearly all the sentences of the people on federal death row; instead, they are to serve life sentences without the possibility of parole. This action sent a strong message that the death penalty is a flawed relic that belongs in the history books. Instead of accountability, it offers only punishment and retribution. Evidence shows that it neither deters homicides nor makes communities safer, but does perpetuate racial bias and drain public resources. It is also “error prone” and often ensnares innocent people—since 1973, at least 200 people in both state and federal prisons who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death have been exonerated. Opposition to the death penalty continues to grow, especially among young voters, with support for it currently at a five-decade low.

Thirteen days before Biden announced his sweeping death row commutations, he also granted clemency to nearly 1,500 people—the most ever in a single day—who were released from prison and placed on home confinement under the CARES Act, which took effect in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This action shows faith in the idea that people who have been convicted of crimes deserve a chance to return to their communities and can do so safely.

The United States incarcerates far too many people, and for far too long, when they pose no threat to public safety. As of May 2023, 99.8 percent of the more than 13,000 people who were released under the CARES Act had not been arrested for new offenses. Every day, formerly incarcerated people are proving that, when given second chances, they can rebuild their lives—finding work, reconnecting with their families, and contributing to their communities.

Yet, as his presidency comes to an end, there is more that Biden could do. The federal government does not publish the official number, but the Marijuana Policy Project estimates that there are likely thousands of people incarcerated in federal prisons for convictions related to cannabis, which is now fully or partially legal in more than half of states. Like many laws, cannabis criminalization statutes are disproportionately enforced against people of color. Although white and Black people use marijuana at roughly equal rates, Black people are almost four times—in some states, more than nine times—more likely to be arrested for possession. Some people locked in federal prisons have served decades for drug sentences that would not even be handed down today. They, too, deserve a second chance.

Biden could also look closely at releasing older people from federal prisons. More than 20 percent of the federal prison population is over age 50. Many people who received lengthy sentences decades ago are approaching their senior years, and, if released, it is statistically unlikely that they would commit crimes—research shows that people generally age out of such behavior. One study found that less than one percent of people older than 65 who were released on parole from New York State prisons in 2018 returned to prison for a new conviction within three years.

Research demonstrates that mass incarceration is not the path to public safety, and Joe Biden has wisely used his clemency powers to right some of the wrongs done by the criminal legal system. But there are still far too many people languishing in federal prisons who pose little threat to public safety—not to mention tens of thousands with cannabis-related convictions, hundreds of thousands of older adults, and thousands more awaiting execution dates in state prisons. Biden may only have a matter of days to further the cause of justice, but state governors have the chance to expand their use of clemency powers well into 2025 and beyond. More people deserve a second chance.