Victims of two major corruption schemes in Pennsylvania and Illinois are angry that Joe Biden granted clemency to the perpetrators.

Biden announced Thursday that he would commute the sentences of 1,500 convicted felons. White House officials justified the move by saying those convicted “deserve a second chance.” The move follows Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, which drew sharp criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats.

Those pardoned include a Pennsylvania judge and an Illinois con man. Neither will leave prison – both have already been granted early release and placed under house arrest during the Covid-19 pandemic – but now they can move freely without electronic tracking devices.

The Biden administration reportedly told CNN that those pardoned were not hand-selected but met predetermined criteria for release. The requirements for inclusion on the list include, among other things, that they have demonstrated good behavior during house arrest.

Conahan’s house arrest was scheduled to end in 2026.

Former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan was convicted in the infamous “Kids for Cash” scandal in 2011. The scheme worked like this; Conahan took bribes from for-profit detention centers in exchange for sending undeserving minors to the detention centers.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ultimately overturned 4,000 juvenile convictions as a result of the scandal. Conahan and another Luzerne County judge involved in the scheme were also ordered to pay $200 million to victims, the Associated Press reported.

To be clear, Conahan sent children behind bars to get bribes from private prison facilities. Some of his victims did not survive the subsequent trauma.

Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward Kenzakoski died by suicide after being jailed under the plan, said she was “shocked” and “hurt” by Biden’s decision to release the judge.

“Conahan’s actions have destroyed families, including mine, and my son’s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power,” Fonzo said Voice of the citizensa local news agency. “This pardon feels like an injustice to all of us who still suffer. Right now I’m processing the pain that came back from this and doing my best to come to terms with it.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also criticized the move.

“I firmly believe that President Biden absolutely made a mistake and caused a lot of suffering here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said Friday during an unrelated news conference.

Fraud victims in Illinois were similarly frustrated when they learned that Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of the city of Dixon, had been released.

In 2012, Dixon pleaded guilty to participating in a $54 million embezzlement scheme that was then considered the largest municipal fraud case in U.S. history.

Her house arrest was originally scheduled to last until 2028.

“When I heard the news, I was in complete shock and disbelief, I was outraged and felt a complete sense of betrayal by the federal judiciary, the White House and the president,” Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss told CNN on Friday.