Tennessee’s GOP governor is pardoning 43 more people. He stresses it’s not like what Biden did
Associated PressNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee on Friday announced he is pardoning 43 people who have served out their sentences, stressing that his actions are “very different” than President Joe Biden’s recent wave of commutations. But this time around, Lee specifically noted that he chose not to shorten any sentences — known as commutations — in his yearly announcement of clemency actions around Christmas. The governor’s office said none of the people he pardoned Friday have had an active criminal sentence for at least five years, including probation or parole. The clemency actions follow an election cycle in which Republicans nationally leaned on tough-on-crime messaging, which has also been a focal point for Tennessee’s Legislature in recent years.
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Biden pardons 11 people and shortens the sentences of 5 others convicted of non-violent drug crimes
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