House Judiciary Subcommittee to hold oversight hearing on clemency and office of Pardon Attorney

As detailed at this official webpage, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is holding a hearing tomorrow titled "Oversight Hearing on Clemency and the Office of the Pardon Attorney."  Interestingly, as detailed via this witness list, Representative Ayanna Pressley will be the first witness.  This press release from Rep. Pressley's office may provide a preview of what she plans to talk about:

Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), along with Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Congressman David Joyce (OH-14), and Congressman Kelly Armstrong (ND-AL) urged Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer to release disaggregated demographic data on the more than 17,000 pending clemency applications to better understand the current broken clemency process and address its impacts on constituents and communities....

In their letter, the lawmakers asked Pardon Attorney Oyer to provide a report by June 7, 2022 on all pending clemency applications detailing applicant demographic data, month and year of application submission, representation by an attorney, type of clemency request, type of relief sought, type of offense(s), and office currently reviewing application....

In December, Rep. Pressley, along with Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and grassroots advocates, unveiled the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency (FIX Clemency) Act, historic legislation to transform our nation’s broken clemency system and address the mass incarceration crisis. 

This new Bloomberg piece, headlined "Lawmakers Press DOJ on Backlog of 17,000 Clemency Petitions," provides some context for this letter:

Some advocates for clemency say it can be used to address racial inequity in the criminal justice system. Black inmates account for 38.3% of the federal prison population, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, despite making up only 13% of the US population.

Between 2012 and 2016, Black men received 19.1% longer sentences for the same federal crimes as White men, according to a 2017 US Sentencing Commission report. Another 2017 report from National Registration of Exonerations found Black people are more likely to be wrongfully convicted than White people and receive longer sentences.

“Every application represents a person, a family, and a community,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “And every delayed response represents a miscarriage of justice, a dysfunctional process, and a policy failure in desperate need of repair.”

I suspect Rep. Pressley's testimony to start this oversight hearing could prove to be real interesting.  And, following here, the hearing schedule sets out this all-start set of witnesses:

• William “Bill” Underwood, Senior Fellow, The Sentencing Project
• Andrea James, Founder and Executive Director, The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
• Jason Hernandez, McKinney, Texas
• Nkechi Taifa, Founder, Principal and CEO, The Taifa Group LLC
• Rachel E. Barkow, Vice Dean and Charles Seligson Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law NYU School of Law
• Mark Osler, Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Saint Thomas School of Law
• D. Michael Hurst, Jr., Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
• The Honorable Morris Murray, Prosecuting Attorney, Defiance County, Ohio

UPDATE:  As of the morning of the hearing, one can find the written testimony of all the scheduled witnesses at this official House Judiciary webpage.  The testimony makes for interesting reads, though the professional history of the witnesses make what they have to say generally predictable.