Six individuals have been granted pardons by President Joe Biden.
The White House announced the pardons issued by Biden on Friday.
The first on the list is a 66-year-old man named Gary Parks Davis of Yuma, Arizona.
According to the White House, Davis “pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility (a telephone) to facilitate an unlawful cocaine transaction at age 22.”
He served a six-month sentence on nights and weekends in a county jail and finished probation in 1981.
“After his offense, Mr. Davis earned a bachelor’s degree and worked steadily, including owning his own landscaping business and managing construction projects,” the White House explained.
Davis, over the past decades, has also engaged with his community.
Edward Lincoln De Coito III of Dublin, California, is the second name on the list.
De Coito, a 50-year-old man, “Pleaded guilty to involvement in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy at age 23; his involvement was limited to serving as a courier on five or six occasions,” as the White House explained.
His prison term began in March 1999 and he was later released in December 2000.
“Prior to his offense, he honorably served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserves. In the course of his service, he received numerous awards, including the Southwest Asia Service Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal,” the statement reads.
De Coito went on to work as an electrician for roughly 15 years and then launched a second career as a pilot, according to the White House.
NEW: Pres. Biden grants six full pardons, White House says. https://t.co/J1VTDOfH5F pic.twitter.com/ZUl8oVnifA
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 30, 2022
Vincente Ray Flores of Winters, California, was granted a pardon.
The 37-year-old, at around age 19, consumed ecstasy and alcohol during his service in the military and later pleaded guilty at a special court-martial.
“Mr. Flores was sentenced to four months’ confinement, forfeiture of $700 pay per month for a four-month period, and reduction in rank to E-2,” the White House stated.
It continues, “In exchange for his plea, the convening authority directed his participation in the Air Force Return to Duty Program, which is a six-month rehabilitation program that provides selected enlisted offenders with a chance to return to duty after therapy and education. The convening authority subsequently amended the reduction in rank to E-3.”
Eighty-year-old Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas of Columbus, Ohio, was granted a pardon after being convicted of murder in the second-degree while armed for the murder of her husband.
According to the White House, she was 33 at the time and pregnant.
She “testified that before and during her pregnancy, her husband beat her, verbally abused her, and threatened her.”
Ibn-Tamas was later sentenced to a term of one to five years’ incarceration, with credit for time served.
Charlie Byrnes Jackson, another recipient of a pardon, of Swansea, South Carolina, is a 77-year-old who pleaded guilty to one count of possession and sale of distilled spirits without tax stamps, as the White House explained.
He received a five-year probation sentence in 1964.
Jackson completed the probation in 1969.
Finally, John Dix Nock III of St. Augustine, Florida, previously “pleaded guilty to one count of renting and making for use, as an owner, a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana plants.”
He did not take responsibility for the crime 27 years ago.
“In 1996, he was sentenced to six months’ community confinement in lieu of imprisonment, followed by three years’ supervised release,” the statement reads.
A White House official said 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 official added, “The President remains committed to providing second chances to individuals who have demonstrated their rehabilitation.”
