President Biden grants 1 pardon, 19 commutations for Texans

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - President Joe Biden has granted the first three pardons of his term, including giving clemency to a Texas woman convicted on drug-related charges but who went on to become a pillar of her community.

Among those being pardoned is Betty Jo Bogans who was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Houston after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice, neither of whom were detained or arrested.  At the time of her conviction, Bogans was a single mother with no prior record, who accepted responsibility for her limited role in the offense. Bogan received a seven-year sentence. In the nearly two decades since her release, the now 51-year-old has held consistent employment, even while undergoing treatment for cancer, and has focused on raising her son.

Also granted pardons were:

- Abraham Bolden Sr., 86, the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail. In 1964, Bolden, who served on President John F. Kennedy's detail, faced federal bribery charges that he attempted to sell a copy of a Secret Service file. His first trial ended in a hung jury.

Following his conviction in a second trial, key witnesses admitted lying at the prosecutor's request. Bolden, of Chicago, was denied a retrial and served several years in federal prison. Bolden has maintained his innocence and wrote a book in which he argued he was targeted for speaking out against racist and unprofessional behavior in the Secret Service.

- Dexter Jackson , 52, of Athens, Georgia, was convicted in 2002 for using his pool hall to facilitate the trafficking of marijuana. Jackson pleaded guilty and acknowledged he allowed his business to be used by marijuana dealers.

After Jackson was released from prison, he converted his business into a cellphone repair service that employs local high school students through a program that provides young adults with work experience. Jackson has built and renovated homes in his community, which has a shortage of affordable housing.

President Biden also commuted the sentences of 75 others -- including 19 Texans -- for nonviolent, drug-related convictions.

Those granted commutations in Texas are:

Sharon Louise Boatright - Richardson, Texas
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.Sentence: 190 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (December 16, 2013); amended to 188 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (July 15, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement

Lori Jean Cross - North Richland Hills, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (September 12, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement.

Deborah Ann Dodd - Forney, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectible amount of methamphetamine or 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 19, 2015).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement.

Nova Neal Finau - Fort Worth, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (Northern District of Texas).
Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (March 31, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement.

Stephanie Hernandez - Dallas, Texas
Offense: Distribution of a controlled substance (Northern District of Texas).
Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (April 21, 2017).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in home confinement.

Brittany Krambeck - Fort Worth, Texas
Offense: Maintaining drug involved premises; structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements (Northern District of Texas).
Sentence: 220 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release (October 29, 2010).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2024.

Ramola Kaye Brown - Huntsville, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and less than 50 kilograms of marijuana.
Sentence: 145 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (September 15, 2015).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Mark Richard Burton - Odessa, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and/or 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.
Sentence: 121 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $15,000 fine (March 16, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Nickolas Cano - Amarillo, Texas
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.
Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release (September 5, 2014).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Catalina Davis - San Antonio, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 6, 2014); amended to 151 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 31, 2015).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Julio Garza - Edinberg, Texas
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine.
Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (May 13, 2010).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022.

David Charles Jenkins - Beaumont, Texas
Offense:
1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
2. Violation of supervised release.
3. Production of counterfeit access devices.
Commutation Grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Rosamaria Lucero - New Braunfels, Texas
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting.
Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (February 13, 2018).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Quang Nguyen - Houston, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants.
Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 30, 2017).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Aaron Ponce - Odessa, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a controlled substance, 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (July 11, 2013).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022.

Rose Trujillo Rangel - Waco, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a schedule II-narcotic-drug-controlled substance.
Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (April 14, 2008).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022.

Alejandro Reyna - Brownsville, Texas
Offense: Importation of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (January 16, 2014); amended to 180 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (February 26, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

Fermin Serna - Rio Grande City, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance.
Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release (November 9, 2007).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on August 24, 2022.

James Darrell Walker – Lubbock, Texas
Offense: Distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
Sentence: 327 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (August 21, 2006); amended to 262 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (June 9, 2016).
Commutation Grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023.

The White House announced the clemencies Tuesday as it launched a series of job training and reentry programs for those in prison or recently released.

Many of those who received commutations have been serving their sentences on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several were serving lengthy sentences and would have received lesser terms had they been convicted today for the same offenses as a result of the 2018 bipartisan sentencing reform ushered into law by the Trump administration.

"America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation," Biden said in a statement announcing the clemencies. "Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, faith leaders, civil rights advocates, and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and should reflect these core values that enable safer and stronger communities."

Biden's grants of clemency also come as the administration has faced congressional scrutiny over misconduct and the treatment of inmates in the beleaguered federal Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for inmates serving sentences of home confinement.

Biden, as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, helped shepherd through the 1994 crime bill that many criminal justice experts say contributed to harsh sentences and mass incarceration of Black people.

During his 2020 White House run, Biden vowed to reduce the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. and called for nonviolent drug offenders to be diverted to drug courts and treatment.

He also has pushed for better training for law enforcement and called for criminal justice system changes to address disparities that have led to minorities and the poor making up a disproportionate share of the nation's incarcerated population.

Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, granted 143 pardons and clemency to 237 during his four years in office.