President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes.
Three of the 39 are from Texas. Here is what the White House press release said about each person:
LASHUNDRA TENNEAL WILSON – Arlington, Texas
Lashundra Tenneal Wilson is a 49-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to a non-violent offense she committed when she was a teenager.
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In the years since, Ms. Wilson pursued her education and has worked in the healthcare field. Ms. Wilson gives back to the community by volunteering at community health fairs and raising funds for non-profit health organizations.
Ms. Wilson has been praised for her work ethic, trustworthiness, and dependability by community members.
MIREYA AIMEE WALMSLEY – La Porte, Texas
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Mireya Aimee Walmsley is a 57-year-old woman who was convicted of a non-violent offense at the age of 25.
Since her conviction, she has earned an associate’s degree, a nursing license, and a bachelor’s degree. She has maintained steady employment in the healthcare field. Additionally, she has led emergency response teams during several natural disasters (including Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Harvey, and Tropical Storm Allison) and spearheaded vaccination efforts during the H1N1 epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic.
Her contributions to public health have been recognized on numerous occasions. She has been commended for her loyalty, integrity, compassion for people of all backgrounds, and is universally described as honest and steadfast in crisis.
NATHANIEL DAVID REED III – San Antonio, Texas
Nathaniel David Reed III is a 46-year-old man who was convicted of non-violent offenses at the age of 21.
He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years after his conviction, including many overseas deployments, and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant and earned numerous good conduct awards before retiring with an honorable discharge.
Mr. Reed has volunteered for numerous causes benefitting both the U.S. Air Force and the civilian community, such as training local firefighters, teaching fire prevention in various settings, and organizing fire prevention weeks. He has also served as a certified sexual assault prevention and response advocate and has used his experience in overcoming the stigma of his conviction to help mentor fellow airmen.
Friends, neighbors, and former U.S. Air Force colleagues consistently describe Mr. Reed as highly motivated, reliable, patient, family-oriented, trustworthy, patriotic, dependable, upstanding, honest, hardworking, and personable.
The White House says it’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people before the Trump administration takes over in January.
He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office.
