President Donald Trump has commuted the sentences of two men convicted of federal marijuana offenses, including one who was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The commutations were issued September 3 as part of a group of 23 pardons and six commutations granted by Trump, according to newly updated federal clemency records.
Kevin Harden, who was prosecuted in the Eastern District of Texas, was sentenced in February 2013 to 360 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.
Trump’s executive grant of clemency commuted Harden’s entire remaining sentence to time served and imposed no further fines, restitution, probation or other conditions. The warrant also directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to immediately release him.
Jerry Haymon, prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia, received a 120-month prison sentence and five years of supervised release in August 2020 for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Trump likewise commuted Haymon’s entire sentence to time served without further fines, restitution, probation or other conditions. His clemency warrant ordered the Federal Bureau of Prisons to immediately release him.
Both warrants invoke the president’s clemency authority under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and state that the grants were acts of the president carried out at his direction.
The two marijuana cases were among 29 clemency actions Trump granted September 3. Federal records list convictions involving firearms, controlled substances, counterfeiting, environmental offenses and other crimes among the remaining recipients.
The actions represent direct presidential relief for two people serving lengthy federal sentences solely for marijuana conspiracy offenses at a time when the federal government continues to classify marijuana as a controlled substance.
