Biden freed a Florida man in his final days in office. A year later, the state pressed charges — for the same crime |

Oscar Freemond Fowler was a free man for only four days. The convicted felon, whose federal prison sentence was commuted during the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency, was released from custody on February 19, only to be rearrested for the same crime less than a week later — this time on state charges. In October 2023, Fowler was charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon and for possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it after a 9mm pistol, 29 rounds of ammunition, cocaine and methamphetamine were found in his Florida home. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. About two years later, Fowler was one of nearly 2,500 people whose sentences Biden commuted. Once he was released, however, his freedom did not last long. What happened to Fowler is not new, and it’s a move that has happened before, most famously to former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon. That’s in part because federal pardons and commutations don’t cover local charges, meaning defendants can be charged again for the same crime under state law, experts say. “It’s completely plausible to be arrested for the same underlying acts on the state

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