Friday, September 15, 2017






http://www.npr.org/2017/09/14/551053292/white-house-that-often-talks-tough-on-crime-hosts-advocates-for-former-inmates?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

Friday, September 1, 2017

This is a piece by Nkechi Taifa from The Justice RoundTable Convener's Corner.


https://justiceroundtable.org/conveners-corner/ 



August 25, 2017
Convener’s Corner, Nkechi Taifa
Trump Pardoned Arpaio – What we gonna do???

Excuse my language, but I am pissed. Not because Trump pardoned Arpaio — the Executive has an unfettered constitutional right to grant clemency to whoever s/he wishes. I am outraged because we as a progressive community are too often stymied by what the conservative and law enforcement communities think about our thoughts and actions and, as a result, are afraid to go bold. Trump went bold. He cut right through the red tape and pardoned his bigoted buddy.

The handwriting was on the wall toward the end of the Obama administration. The Executive was urged, time and again, to go bold. Instead, although well-meaning, the progressive administration adopted a process on top of an already flawed process. It followed the long-standing but problematic rule of law of deferring to the same agency that prosecuted and imprisoned those now appealing for release. It would likely be the last opportunity for at least four years for people like William Underwood, Michelle West, Leonard Peltier, Mutulu Shakur, Alice Johnson and John Knock to have any hope of release from lengthy incarceration. 

But the progressive administration was stymied by criteria, by prosecutorial veto, by blind adherence to process and procedure, by red tape, and by the time-honored rule of law.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

These are the people serving Life without Parole for marijuana

This is the letter Life for Pot is sending to the United States Sentencing Commission.  These are our comments for submission.






Dear Members of US Sentencing Commission,

The current level of incarceration is not fiscally responsible and it does not speak to justice.  The time for nuanced and incremental sentencing reform is past.  This is a time that calls for bold decisions and bold actions.

I'm speaking for a unique category of offender whose sentences are in no way proportional to the harm of their offense.  These offenders are nonviolent marijuana offenders with no violent priors and no other substance in their charges.  They have also received unconscionable sentences of Life without Parole or defacto life without parole.

These sentences coarsen our culture and foster disrspect for our Criminal Justice System.  At Life for Pot, we were not surprised to see that the offenders who received these mind bending soulless sentences had for the most part been charged with conspiracy and exercised their 6th Amendment Right to trial.  In other words, at sentencing they received the trial penalty.

Law enforcement is well aware of the consequences of a conspiracy charge.  The most benign consequence is that it is a less costly prosecution.  For the defendant, conspiracy charges require that the defendant either accept responsibility for the actions of many over a period of time or go to trial and most certainly receive a sentence of multiple years more than others.

     Denial of relevant conduct should not be considered in determining whether a defendant has accepted responsibility for purposes of 3E1.1.

Marijuana is a substance that has been legalized to some degree in the majority of the states.  It is a substance that is less harmful and less addictive than alcohol yet it continues to be a Schedule I drug on the Controlled Substance Act's schedule.  Billions of dollars are now being invested in business enterprises for marijuana.  It is not reasonable for this substance to continue to be the reason for the arrest of over 500,000 individuals per year, the incarceration of hundreds of thousands and the expenditure of  up to $ 42 billion per  year.

When Clemency Project 2014 was initiated, we believed that nonviolent marijuana offenders with life sentences and de-facto life sentences would receive Presidential Clemency.  That did not happen.  Of the 1,715 individuals  who received commutations, we only found 39 who were nonviolent marijuana only offenders.  It's difficult to understand how sentences of this magnitude were ever deemed appropriate for nonviolent marijuana offenders, but in the current climate of legalization and the establishment of Cannabis businesses, this level of retribution cannot be defended

A maximum sentence of 10 years should be retroactive. 

Beth Curtis MSW


In a just and reasonable world marijuana should not be regulated and there should not be prosecution for it's use.



Thursday, July 13, 2017

Larkin: Reform Clemency NOW !

Larkin: Reform Clemency NOW !: Since January of 2008, this nationally recognized blog has been dedicated to following the very latest news regarding presidential pardons and the pardon power (or clemency powers) as exercised in each state. Reader comments are certainly welcomed but a premium will be placed on civility, relevance and originality. Please refrain from extended copying and pasting.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Life For Pot - Online : About



Life For Pot - Online : About: Life for Pot Commutation executive clemency commutation for nonviolent marijuana inmates sentenced to life without parole nonviolent marijuana prisoners

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Response to The Man who Ran Obama's Clemency Machine







 This is our response to The Man who Ran Obama's Clemency Machine.  
It was published on The Marshall Project.  
An interview with Neil Eggleston by Maurice Chammah



Life for Pot’s Response too Neil Eggleston – Beth Curtis

Responding to The Marshall Project: 

The Man Who Ran Obama’s Clemency Machine    by: Maurice Chammah



Neil Eggleston’s comments about Clemency Project 2014 shed some light on the reason for the ultimate failure and collapse of this Obama initiative for criminal justice reform. 

For the first five years of Obama’s presidency the federal prison population grew by 19,000 incarcerated people.  On Jan. 2013, the population was 219,298, the highest incarceration rate in history.


Criminal justice organizations, prisoner advocacy groups, criminal defense attorneys, law school clinics, prisoner’s families and various other lobbying groups started the drum beat for sentencing reform and an initiative of Presidential Clemency.  Finally in 2013 it was announced that there would be a clemency initiative that could mean 10,000 or more acts of mercy for incarcerated people who would not be a threat if they were released.  


Those of us with incarcerated loved ones who had sentences that would assure that they would die behind bars now had a reason for hope.  We felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the President and all who were involved in the decision and the process that would lead to our loved ones freedom.  We could hope to have our family member in our daily lives again.  The hope was an ache, but we knew this President had compassion.  It was not to be.  


The lack of commitment became apparent almost immediately.  I have the web site Life for Pot and the nonviolent marijuana offenders that I advocate for waited patiently for their evaluation by cp-14.  Surprisingly some were rejected, and others accepted to the project and were told they would be assigned an attorney.  Those fortunate inmates who were assigned an attorney would sometimes just receive a notification that they were represented and hear nothing more.  We urged them to submit their own and wait.


This is not just a passing interest for me.  I have a 69 year old brother, John Knock, who has two life sentences for a nonviolent marijuana conspiracy.  John was a first time offender and at sentencing the judge stated that there were no victims.  He has been incarcerated for 20 years and never had an infraction.  His prison resume is impeccable.  He is a first time offender.  On January 18, his clemency petition was denied by President Obama.


These are the numbers that tell you about the mercy and compassion of the Clemency Initiative.  The promise was 10,000 or more.

1,715 Commutations granted – we could only find 39 for nonviolent marijuana only offenders.  The rest were denied or left pending.  The USSC said there were 60+ but they included those with other drugs in their charges as long as the major substance was marijuana.  Our criteria are marijuana only.

Over 18,000 petitions for commutation were denied

Over 4,000 petitions for commutation we closed without action

Over 8,000 petitions for commutation were left pending in the Pardon Attorney’s office for the next administration. 



I must reject Mr. Eggleston’s assertion that he had better information and insight than the attorneys, advocates, or families about who was a good candidate for release.  He asserts that he and President Obama looked over all the applicants and rejected all but 1,715.  


Apparently Mr. Eggleston and President Obama based their denials on secret information. That implies that all the nonviolent marijuana offenders that I know who were denied should remain in prison till they die because Mr. Eggleston and President Obama have special information unknown to anyone else?  What are the secrets that gave them confidence to make this Sophie’s Choice?  They missed the point of Clemency.  It is not a legal process but a Constitutional Power given to the President to be compassionate and merciful.  In this endeavor they failed miserably. 

These assertions made by Mr. Eggleston have tainted the character and behavior of all they left behind.  I can only believe this was done in order to burnish the administration’s legacy of compassion at the expense of those they left behind without hope.  


There is one secret that most of us know, that the White House and the Pardon Attorney did not address.  That secret is that most nonviolent offenders who receive sentences of life without parole were charged with conspiracy and went to trial.  A conspiracy charge does not require definitive evidence, but only the testimony of those testifying for a plea or for part of the forfeiture.  If you exercise your sixth amendment right to trial you receive the trial penalty.  This charge allows the Prosecutor to tell the story.

In the spring of 2016 at a White House Briefing, it was obvious to many of us that the promise of clemency was waning and The Administration was pivoting to reentry as the major emphasis for time and money.  


The White House would not pay attention to any effort to expedite the clemency project by granting clemency to categories of inmates.  Many individuals and groups implored them to take this approach so that they would not fail the thousands who placed their trust in their concept of mercy.  The White House and Justice Department did not seem to even understand the concept as it had been used in the past.  Heels were dug in, and fates were sealed. 

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Life For Pot - Commutation

Life For Pot - Commutation: Life for pot commutation john knock, craig cesal, paul free, antonio bascaro, larry duke, billy dekle, jeff mizanskey, Life for Pot marijuana, clemency, commutation,

Life for Pot talks about the failure of Clemency Project 2014.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Letter to President Obama

Letter to President Obama: Since January of 2008, this nationally recognized blog has been dedicated to following the very latest news regarding presidential pardons and the pardon power (or clemency powers) as exercised in each state. Reader comments are certainly welcomed but a premium will be placed on civility, relevance and originality. Please refrain from extended copying and pasting.

The Times: Ready for Blanket Clemency

P.S Ruckman at Pardon Power puts it in Perspective

The Times: Ready for Blanket Clemency: Since January of 2008, this nationally recognized blog has been dedicated to following the very latest news regarding presidential pardons and the pardon power (or clemency powers) as exercised in each state. Reader comments are certainly welcomed but a premium will be placed on civility, relevance and originality. Please refrain from extended copying and pasting.

Friday, December 9, 2016


Dear President Obama






The measure of mercy and compassion will not just be measured by the number of commutations granted, but also by the number and nature of those left behind.


Alexander Hamilton Federalist No.74 
“The criminal code of every country partakes so much of necessary severity, that without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel“Humanity and good policy conspire to dictate, that the benign prerogative of pardoning should be as little as possible fettered or embarrassed.”
On these accounts, one man appears to be a more eligible dispenser of the mercy of government, than a body of men.

These are People serving Life for Pot
 Case for Clemency for a Category of Offenders

Life without parole for nonviolent offenders is a sentence that is out of sync with the European Community, human rights organizations and most countries governed by the rule of law.  We lose our status as a fair and just society when we continue to be an outlier in this particularly harsh form of punishment.  It is indeed a sentence of walking death that coarsens our culture in multiple ways.
A category clemency for these offenders should be on the table and when the announcement of a project to greatly expand the use of clemency was made, many believed there was hope to correct this egregious length of punishment for thousands serving life without parole or de facto life sentences.

Categories within this Category

These suggested categories are for nonviolent marijuana offenders and those serving disparate sentences for crack cocaine.  The current process needs consistency and this suggestion would remediate the overly aggressive sentences that have been given to these two groups as a result of the aggressive war on drugs.
Most all of these sentences were given to those who were charged with conspiracy and exercised their sixth amendment right to trial.  In the last 15 years “the fundaments of law, society and governance have changed extraordinarily.  These LWOP sentences have become irreconcilable without a present sense of basic fairness and justice, because of the sea change in attitudes toward life sentences without parole.
A Singular Category – Nonviolent Marijuana Offenders

There has also been a sea change in societal beliefs about the benefits of marijuana and its potential for harm.”
“Looked at through the present prism of the historic rise in prison populations the unaffordable, burgeoning costs of LWOP sentences; the disproportionality of sentencing for drugs; the growing public sense that the drug wars have been a public policy disaster; and, among the majority of Americans, a sense of the relative harmlessness of marijuana, these LWOP sentences are legally and factually unjustifiable.  

Clemency is the only solution to what has become an abiding injustice.”
When Eric Holder talked about 10,000 Commutations,  the suggestion that our sentences are harsh, lack forgiveness and mercy and do not fit the crime was not a new concept.  Careful observers of our criminal justice system had been chattering about this fact for 20 years. 
Justice Kennedy Speaks Out: ABA Association, Aug. 3, 2003
We hope that both the members of Congress and the Bush administration were paying attention last weekend when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a tough-on-crime Reagan appointee, decried harsh and inflexible sentencing policies. Justice Kennedy was speaking for legal experts from across the political spectrum when he said the current rules misspent America's criminal justice resources by locking up people for irrationally long amounts of time.
Mark Mauer, Rayan King, & Malcolm Young,   The Meaning of Life 2004
Mark Osler & Rachel Barkow Restructuring Clemency: The Cost of Ignoring Clemency
 A Plan for Renewal 10, 2014

After Attorney General Holders announcement, many advocates for these unfortunate citizens serving these egregiously long sentences began to ramp up their support for the inmates who now had hope for a second chance for freedom.  These people who now had hope were the nonviolent drug offenders who were sentenced to assure that they would die in Federal Prison hand cuffed to a hospital bed.  Their families were energized by this promise of clemency and reached out to social media, print media, criminal reform advocacy groups, criminal defense attorneys and the political establishment.

The recent letter sent to President Obama signed by a coalition of advocates asking for expedited clemency for groups suggests categories to be considered.  This is a category that could be easily supported. John Legend letter to President Obama in Rolling Stones asks for category clemency.  At the Justice Roundtable, Nkechi Taifa has written about The Fierce Urgency of Now to describe the need for category commutations.
 
The measure of mercy and compassion will not just be measured by the number of commutations granted, but also by the number and nature of those left behind. 

Examples of Nonviolent Marijuana Offenders with Life Sentences
 John Knock  11150-017
PO Box 3000
White Deer, PA. 17887
Circuit:                        11th
Age:                             69                  
Charges:                       Conspiracy to import, distribute and      




Priors:                           None
Incarcerated since        1996 Sentenced Jan. 2001
Trial or Plea:                Trial



        Craig Cesal                  52958-019  Clemency Denied
Terre Haute FCI
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN. 47808

Circuit:                         11th
Age:                              57
Charges:                       Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
Priors:                          trespassing – while in college
Incarcerated Since:      March 2002
Trial or Plea:                Neither – Wanted to take back plea after 1 day – sentenced without trial or plea
Health Issues:              Craig is a brittle diabetic and has a back injury from working for Unicorr




  
          Michael Pelletier            11109-036
Terre Haute USP
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN. 47808

Circuit:                         1st
Age:                             60
Charges:                       Conspiracy to distribute
Priors:                          2 prior marijuana offenses
Incarcerated Since:      2006
Trial or Plea:                Trial
Health Issues:              Michael has been in a wheel chair since the age of 11 as a result of a farm accident



             Hector McGurk              25843-102
FCI Tucson
PO. Box 23811
Tucson AZ. 85724
Circuit:                         4th
Age:                             57
Charges:                       Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute conspiracy to money launder
Priors:
Incarcerated Since:       7/3/2003
Trial or Plea:  Trial –     1st       12/2004           hung jury        4/13/2005 convicted
Health Issues:               diabetes


https://www.lifeforpot.com/inmates-over-62.html
             Paul Free                        42234-198
USP Atwater
PO Box 01900
Atwater, CA. 95301
Circuit:                         6th
Age:                             66
Charges:                       Conspiracy
Priors:                          Marijuana 1976
Incarcerated Since:      1994
Trial or Plea:                Trial



Ferrell Scott                             27797-177            Clemency Denied
USP Allenwood
PO Box 3000
White Deer, PA. 17887
Circuit:                         4th
Age:                             53
Charges:                       Conspiracy -possession
Priors:
Incarcerated since:       2007
Trial or Plea:                Trial            

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

FLASH: Shocking 'Inside Scoop' on Turkey Pardons !

Happy Thanksgiving


 
FLASH: Shocking 'Inside Scoop' on Turkey Pardons !: Since January of 2008, this nationally recognized blog has been dedicated to following the very latest news regarding presidential pardons and the pardon power (or clemency powers) as exercised in each state. Reader comments are certainly welcomed but a premium will be placed on civility, relevance and originality. Please refrain from extended copying and pasting.

Monday, November 7, 2016

Obama's Clemency Grants, Denials, Closings

Obama's Clemency Grants, Denials, Closings: Since January of 2008, this nationally recognized blog has been dedicated to following the very latest news regarding presidential pardons and the pardon power (or clemency powers) as exercised in each state. Reader comments are certainly welcomed but a premium will be placed on civility, relevance and originality. Please refrain from extended copying and pasting.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Pivot Back to Clemency - Fulfill the Promise of Mercy and Compassion

When Good News may be Very Bad

 Craig is a first time nonviolent marijuana offender who received a sentence of Life without Parole in the 11th Circuit, Northern District of Florida.  Craig has been incarcerated for 14 years and is 57 years old.

This week Craig Cesal's sentencing Judge made his own motion and reduced Craig's sentence from life to 30 years.  Craig was told that the judge reduced his sentence in light of the "drugs minus two" reduction that took effect in 2014.  Craig was told this by his case manager.  

A little over a year ago Craig filed a petition for Presidential Clemency.  As part  of the process to receive  clemency, the Office of the Pardon Attorney must send a copy of his petition to his prosecutor and his judge.  Under Eleventh Circuit law, Craig is not actually eligible for drugs minus two reduction because his computed guideline offense level was beyond the  pot limit of the chart.  

Other circuits allow a judge to start at level 43, the top of the chart and move downward when calculating a reduction.  Craig was waiting to file until the Eleventh Circuit adopted this rule.  If the Eleventh Circuit adopts this Craig could be eligible for a sentence in the 20 year range.  

One of the main reasons for granting  clemency is that there is no other option for sentencing relief as the patitioner does not qualify for sentencing relief from legislation that has passed or legislation that is pending.  Craig clearly did not qualify, but did fit into the category for clemency with a hopeless sentence of life without parole for a nonviolent marijuana offense  - He was charged with conspiracy and chose to exercise his Sixth Amendment right to trial. 

It appears that the Pardon Attorney sent Craig's clemency petition to the AUSA in the Northern District of Georgia for comment prior to granting clemency.  Apparently, the AUSA made the request to the judge as Craig did not make the request for sentencing reduction.  Additionally,  in the 11th Circuit Craig would not be eligible for a reduction in sentence based on drugs minus two.  If Craig does not take this he is not allowed to petition for relief under drugs minus two again even when the 11th Circuit adopts the sentencing chart of other Circuits.  

Craig now may be denied clemency because he was granted sentencing relief through drugs minus two, but Craig is a diabetic and reducing his life sentence to 30 years will give him a release date when he is 74 years of age.  This is beyond his life span.  Thus - Craig will be a statistic - An inmate who was granted a sentencing reduction through sentencing reform legislation, but still will most likely be incarcerated till death.  

This was all done in an irregular and not at the request of Craig.  This is a sentence that does not fit the crime for a first time nonviolent marijuana offender.







Friday, August 5, 2016

Friday, July 29, 2016

Mandatory Minimums, Maximum Punishment

 Charles Koch Institute supports Sentencing Reform and Sentencing Relief



Mandatory Minimums, Maximum Punishment: Thanks to tireless help from Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Weldon Angelos received a sentence reduction on the 55 years he faced for selling marijuana while carrying a firearm.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

An Open Letter to the President

 P. S. Ruckman at Pardon Power posted this Letter to the President.

Release Non-Violent Drug Offenders  There are thousands who should receive Clemency.

An Open Letter to the President

Friday, June 10, 2016

Life With Out Parole





life without parole life without parole clemency commutation for a systemic, category or group nonviolent drug offenders with life without parole