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Abraham W Bolden Sr, who was convicted in 1964, has been pardoned
The first African American to serve on a presidential security detail is among three people to have been pardoned by US President Joe Biden.
Abraham W Bolden Sr, 86, was convicted in 1964 on bribery charges.
The White House also announced that the prison sentences of 75 others – most of whom were serving time on low-level drug offences – have been shortened.
The US constitution grants presidents the authority to forgive convictions or shorten sentences.
Tuesday’s grants of clemency are the first of the Biden administration.
“America is a nation of laws and second chances, redemption, and rehabilitation,” the president said.
“Helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism [repeat offending] and decrease crime.”
The three people to be pardoned are Mr Bolden, from Chicago, Illinois; Betty Jo Bogans, 51, from Houston, Texas; and, Dexter Eugene Jackson, 52, from Athens, Georgia.
Who is Abraham Bolden?
Bolden was appointed to President John F Kennedy’s Secret Service detail in 1961, aged 26.
That made the former highway patrolman the first black man to guard a US president.
According to him, Mr Kennedy once introduced him as “the Jackie Robinson of the Secret Service” – a reference to the first African American to play professional baseball.
In 1964, Mr Bolden was fired from the Secret Service after being charged with trying to sell a government file in exchange for a $50,000 bribe.
He denied the allegations, asserting he was being framed for attempting to expose misconduct within the agency.
Among his accusations were that Secret Service agents drank heavily on the job, missed shifts, and used their official vehicles to transport women or visit bars. He also said he had faced racial abuse from co-workers.
He raised money for his legal defence through a series of piano recitals in Chicago.
Following a hung jury in his first trial, he was convicted at his second and sentenced to 15 years – even though some witnesses said they had been pressured into lying by prosecutors.
Mr Bolden served 39 months in federal prison, with a two-and-a-half year probation. (BBC)
