Biden commutes sentences of 2,500 non-violent offenders in a day, sets record

President Joe Biden on Friday commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences in what the White House called the largest single-day act of clemency in US history.

Those whose sentences were commuted were serving "disproportionately long sentences" compared to what they would receive today, Biden said in a statement.

He called the move "an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families."