By Fox News (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-20 01:52:58 | Updated at 2025-03-20 15:42:58
14 hours ago
A convicted criminal whose prison sentence was commuted by former President Joe Biden is back behind bars.
Willie Frank Peterson, 52, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2023, and was sentenced to six years and three months in jail. His sentence began on Sept. 13, 2023, according to court records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Per a Jan. 17 executive grant of clemency, Biden commuted Peterson's sentence to 20 months, allowing him to leave custody shortly after.
But on Monday, Peterson was booked for multiple drug-related offensives in Dothan, Alabama. The Dothan Police Department charged Peterson with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of marijuana.
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Willie Frank Peterson, whose prison sentence was commuted by former President Biden in January, was arrested for multiple offenses on Monday. (Dothan Police Department / Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
Peterson was also arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and three firearms-related offenses, per police records.
In the final days of his presidency, Biden showed significant leniency with the number of criminals whose sentences he commuted. He boasted about completing the "largest single-day grant of clemency" on Dec. 12, when he commuted sentences for 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others.
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Willie Frank Peterson is accused of possessing a controlled substance, plus marijuana, in addition to other charges. (Dothan Police Department)
On Jan. 17, he commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 inmates, primarily those convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
"Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes," Biden said at the time.
"With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history."
President Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Jan. 15. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via Reuters)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Dothan Police Department for more information.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
