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June 7, 2018
Any suggestions for Prez Trump's "growing list of potential pardons or commutations"?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this ABC News article headlined "Trump’s ‘solo act’ push for presidential pardons likely to grow, WH officials say." Here are excerpts:
The White House has been working to prepare documents for a growing list of potential pardons or commutations under consideration by President Donald Trump, two senior administration officials told ABC News Thursday. "You don't want to be the person empty-handed when he's asking," one of the officials said. "Need to be ready when the boss is ready to go.”
Officials describe the push for pardons as "a solo act," pointing directly to Trump’s pushing for more and more names. White House aides believe Trump is grasping for names he knows like Martha Stewart and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, sources told ABC News, while the aides lobby the president to consider also more unknown Americans who have been behind bars for nonviolent crimes.
The sources said they expect the president's list to grow in the coming weeks. "He's doing it his way and he likes seeing how quick the process has been," one of the sources said. The White House, as ABC News has reported, has been going around the Department of Justice, which is usually heavily involved in such cases.
I sincerely doubt Prez Trump or his aides read this blog and its comments, but one never knows. So, dear readers, with Prez Trump reportedly "pushing for more and more names," let's give him more and more names.
Especially in light of modern marijuana reforms, I hope someone points Prez Trump and his aides to the Life for Pot site which has detailed lists of Nonviolent Inmates (over 62) Serving Life without Parole for Marijuana and Inmates(under 62) Serving Sentences of Life without Parole in Federal Prison for Marijuana. And I cannot help but view John Knock as the first among equals on that list, in part because of the amazing work his sister has done to bring attention to his story and those of other similarly over-sentenced federal defendants.
The amazing Shon Hopwood and FAMM's Kevin Ring has been championing the cause of Matthew Charles (discussed in this recent post), so I am hopeful that his name is already on the radar of folks at the White House. But I know there are thousands, likely tens of thousands, of persons who can make a reasonable case for receiving clemency in the form of a commutation or pardon. I welcome names to be listed and cases to be made in the comments.
UPDATE: This Washington Post WonkBlog piece spotlights a ready source for clemency candidates. The piece is headlined "It’s not just Alice Marie Johnson: Over 2,000 federal prisoners are serving life sentences for nonviolent drug crimes," and it starts this way:
On the advice of Kim Kardashian, President Trump on Wednesday commuted the prison term of Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother, who in 1996 was sentenced to life without parole in federal prison on nonviolent drug and money laundering charges.
It's a somewhat surprising move coming from Trump, a president who has publicly called for executing drug dealers. But Jordan's case underscores how many nonviolent drug offenders are serving life terms in federal prison. According to federal corrections data analyzed by the Sentencing Project, a criminal-justice-reform group, as of 2016 1,907 federal inmates were serving life sentences for drug offenses, which are by definition nonviolent (more on that below).
An additional 103 offenders found guilty of those crimes were serving “virtual life sentences,” which the Sentencing Project defines as sentences of 50 years or more. Under federal law, there is no possibility of parole for crimes committed after Nov. 1, 1987.
June 7, 2018 at 10:33 PM | Permalink
Comments
I remember when you castigated Obama at every turn. Now you heap praise. Pathetic.
Posted by: [email protected] | Jun 9, 2018 7:41:18 AM