President Biden commutes sentence of Charlotte man convicted of drug crimes 16 years ago
Sixteen years after his conviction and following failed attempts for compassionate release, a 45-year-old Charlotte man was granted clemency by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
Kelvin Beaufort was indicted in 2005 with 24 other men on drug conspiracy charges. He was convicted in 2006. Police arrested Beaufort after finding him with more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 50 grams of crack cocaine, according to court documents.
Beaufort was sentenced to 27 years in prison for conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, but his sentence was amended to 21 years and 8 months, according to the White House. His commuted sentence will expire on April 26, 2023, and he’ll spend the remainder of his time in home confinement.
He originally was sentenced to an additional 20-year term of supervised release, which he’ll have to still serve, White House officials said.
One of his former attorneys, Meghann Burke of Asheville, learned of Biden’s announcement Tuesday from a Charlotte Observer reporter.
“I’m in shock a little bit here,” she said in an email.
Burke recalled how Beaufort’s mother, Johnnie, refused to accept Burke’s advice that it was a long shot to get Beaufort released early.
“This proves that a mother’s belief in her son is worth more than an act of Congress, a grant of clemency by the President and a lawyer’s advice,” Burke wrote. “Kelvin is now living out what it means to be a son, a father, and a free man. He is deserving of this act of compassion and decency.”
Beaufort was 26 at the time of arrest. He’s now 45 and wheelchair-bound after being shot, he says, in 2004 in his house on Central Avenue by an intruder looking for drugs. He’s been on home confinement in Charlotte since September.
Reached at his home in Charlotte, where he has been on home confinement since September, Beaufort said he is thankful for Biden’s commutation of his sentence. But he hopes his case will spur further debate on the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine, which he blames for his lengthy sentence.
“I would love for (Biden) to look deeper into these cases. Crack and powder cocaine have to be treated the same,” he said. “Until that happens, they’ll be people like me every day. We’ll have conversations like this for the rest of our lives. Let’s play fair. Otherwise, you don’t have a chance.”
Beaufort was serving his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution, Oakdale, La., court documents say.
In 2020, Burke filed an emergency compassionate release motion for Beaufort based on his paraplegia and how the underlying health condition made him more susceptible to COVID-19, according to court documents. He also has diabetes, high blood pressure and a family history of sickle cell, the documents say.
Beaufort’s trial judge, U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney of Charlotte, denied Beaufort’s request in 2021, ruling that he didn’t meet the criteria necessary for a compassionate release or home confinement. At the time, the judges in the Western District of North Carolina approved the fewest compassionate release requests of any federal court system in the country.
Beaufort’s initial projected release date was August 25, 2025.
Biden granted clemency to 78 incarcerated individuals, consisting of 75 commutations and the first three pardons of his presidency.
“America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. “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.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 1:19 PM.
