TRANSCRIPT
Jarrett Adams is a civil rights lawyer in the US - and he's been increasingly unhappy since US President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden.
"We have a vast amount of folks who are affected adversely by the criminal justice system and politics from the beginning, through the end, literally. And when you're representing folks who have similar situations to what Hunter Biden was in, but they don't get that relief, it's demoralising."
Joe Biden has repeatedly said the pardon to his son was appropriate because he believed Hunter's prosecutions were largely politically motivated.
Mr Adams is now one of a growing chorus of civil rights activists and politicians who say that Joe Biden needs to extend the same grace to thousands of people wronged by the U.S. judicial system.
He's raised the case of two black men, Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson, who were sentenced to life in prison in Virginia for the murder of a police officer, despite a jury finding them guilty only of selling drugs but not of the killing.
"Two men in Waverly, Virginia were duped into taking guilty pleas for a murder of a police officer they did not commit. Evidence has surfaced that clearly exonerates them and it's supported by former law enforcement who investigated the case from the very beginning.”
The sentence was based on a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows judges to consider actions for which a defendant was found not guilty when determining their sentence for other charges.
Mr Adams says these two defendants should not be being punished in the way they have been.
"So I look at this and I look at Hunter Biden's case and I see the parallels. I see the similarities. And so now we use this as another chip to say, you know, President Biden, the same issues you saw in a case with your son are the same issues that played in the case of Terence and Ferrone. Their parents as well want mercy and relief, but you have the presidential power to do it, not them."
Studies have indicated that black and Hispanic Americans disproportionately receive harsher sentences for minor and non-violent offenses compared to their white counterparts.
Other experts say systemic biases in policing, prosecutorial discretion, and sentencing guidelines contribute to these disparities, perpetuating cycles of inequality.
Angela Rye - the CEO of Impact Strategies, a political advocacy firm - says that has to change.
"There are too many Black people who risk their lives, too many people of colour who risk their lives, too many people, period, who risked their lives to see justice be stagnant."
For Cicley Gay, the board chairwoman of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, presidential pardons can play an important role in race relations - just as the pursuit of representation on the other side of the legal ledger has done.
"I mean, President Biden has appointed 61 black judges with 39 of those being black women who are now serving lifetime appointments on the federal bench, right. And so we recognise that there have been steps that have been made towards progress for Black people, but there's a whole lot more to do."
A senior administration official has said there will be a number of pardons for people who have served long sentences and are non-violent but the details of those cases remain unknown.
And the White House is also considering a range of pardons for current and former public officials who it says could be targeted by the incoming Trump administration.
Trump's pick for FBI Director, Kash Patel, has repeatedly vowed retribution against critics of the president-elect.
He's a long time loyalist, having faithfully attended Trump's New York hush money trial.
"I am honored to be here in support of Donald J. Trump. He is being victimised."
Karine Jean-Pierre hasn't confirmed whether top officials are considering pre-emptive pardons for officials likely to be in the Trump White House's sights.
But she has indicated President Biden and senior officials have been alarmed by their rhetoric - and their pursuit of Hunter Biden.
"Republicans said they weren't going to let up, weren't going to stop. Recently announced Trump appointees for law enforcement have said on the campaign that they they were out for retribution. And I think we should believe their words. We should believe what they say."
Meanwhile, for Angela Rye, and others, time is of the essence as Biden's presidency draws to a close.
She says there are many people outside of the political sphere who deserve the same compassion extended to Hunter Biden - but so far, the president's record has been abysmal.
"Joe Biden has the least number of pardons of any president next to Richard Nixon. That cannot be so... So my expectation of this president is that he comes to terms with the fact that there are people who are counting on him to pursue justice, to pursue pardons for the thousands of people who need them."
