Second Chance Month 2023

On March 31, 2023, President Biden issued a presidential proclamation marking April as Second Chance Month. Read the President’s statement.

The Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON) is dedicated to supporting the President’s work to provide second chances to individuals who are currently or previously were incarcerated by the federal justice system. Executive clemency is a powerful tool that can alleviate barriers to reentry, in securing steady employment, safe housing, quality health care, educational opportunities, the right to vote, and loans for a home or business. Executive clemency can also address outdated federal criminal policies, particularly those that disproportionately affected Black and Brown Americans, such as through President Biden’s full presidential pardon of federal and D.C. convictions for simple marijuana possession offenses.

We invite you to join PARDON in celebrating second chances throughout April and beyond by attending an event or by spreading word about the availability of executive clemency.

Second Chance Month events:

• April 12, 2023: Art Open House, open to DOJ employees
• April 21, 2023: A Celebration of Second Chances (watch the recording)
• April 25, 2023: Clemency workshop for returning citizens in the District of Columbia
• April 26, 2023: Pardon Training webinar hosted by the ACLU (watch the recording)
• April 27, 2023: Bureau of Prisons workshop with the Pardon Attorney (visit readout)

Get started with executive clemency:

• Were you convicted in a federal or D.C. court for a simple marijuana possession offense? You may have been pardoned under President Biden’s October 6, 2022, pardon proclamation. See if you qualify and apply for a certificate to establish proof of pardon here.
• Do you have a different type of conviction in a federal or D.C. court? Use the Help Me Choose page to see whether federal clemency might be available to you.