Gov. Josh Shapiro said Friday that President Joe Biden “totally made a mistake” when he commuted the sentence of a former Luzerne County judge “Kids for Cash” scandal.

At an unrelated news conference in Biden’s hometown of Scranton — in a building on Biden Street, no less — Shapiro said he disagreed with the decision President made his commute on Thursday the sentence of Michael Conahan, who was convicted in 2011 of sending children to prison from a private prison in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes.

“Governors and presidents have the unique power to grant pardons and clemency and commute sentences. It is an absolute power, and it is a power that should be used incredibly carefully,” Shapiro said. “I study every single case that comes across my desk involving a pardon, pardon or reduction in sentence, and I take it very seriously. I consider the merits of the case. I consider what happened in the trial. I think about public safety and victims, and all of those aspects factor into my decision.”

“I recognize that because you are here today asking me a question about President Biden’s clemency, outsiders may question these decisions,” Shapiro added. “So I will offer these thoughts as an outsider who is not privy to all the information that he has looked at, but I strongly believe that President Biden was absolutely wrong and has caused a lot of suffering here in northeastern Pennsylvania.”

On Thursday, Biden announced that he would commute the sentences of about 1,500 people in home isolation during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoned 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes.

“As President, I have the great privilege of showing mercy to people who have shown remorse and rehabilitation, restoring the opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to restore the… “To eliminate sentencing disparities for nonviolent offenders, particularly those convicted of drug crimes,” Biden said Thursday.

Biden commutes sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardons 39 in a historic clemency bid

In addition to calling the Kids for Cash scandal a “black eye for the community,” Shapiro said it affected families in a “really deep, profound and sad way.”

“Some children have committed suicide because of this. Families were torn apart,” Shapiro said of the scandal. “There were all sorts of mental health issues and fears that resulted from these corrupt judges deciding they wanted to make money off the back of a child.”

Sandy Fonzo, whose son died by suicide after being sent to juvenile hall, said in a statement on Thursday that the commutation was “deeply painful,” adding, “This pardon feels like an injustice to all of us who still suffer.”

State Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) called the conversion “incomprehensible and indefensible” in a statement late Thursday. “To what extent does ruining the lives of vulnerable children for self-enrichment justify a transition to the presidency?”

Shapiro added Friday that he thought Conahan’s 17-year sentence was “too small.”

“The fact that he was let out for the last few years because of COVID, was under house arrest and now has been pardoned is, in my opinion, absolutely wrong,” Shapiro said. “He should have spent at least the 17 years in prison that a jury of his peers sentenced him to. He deserves to sit behind bars and not walk as a free man.”