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.

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

https://www.lifeforpot.com/john-knock.html

 John Knock  11150-017

PO Box 3000

White Deer, PA. 17887

Circuit:                        11^th

Age:                             69                  

Charges:                       Conspiracy to import, distribute and      

Priors:                           None

Incarcerated since        1996 Sentenced Jan. 2001

Trial or Plea:                Trial

https://www.lifeforpot.com/inmates-under-62.html

        Craig Cesal                  52958-019  Clemency Denied

Terre Haute FCI

PO Box 33

Terre Haute, IN. 47808

Circuit:                         11^th

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

  

https://www.lifeforpot.com/inmates-under-62.html

          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:                         4^th

Age:                             57

Charges:                       Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute conspiracy to money launder

Priors:

Incarcerated Since:       7/3/2003

Trial or Plea:  Trial –     1^st       12/2004           hung jury        4/13/2005 convicted

Health Issues:               diabetes

             Paul Free                        42234-198

USP Atwater

PO Box 01900

Atwater, CA. 95301

Circuit:                         6^th

Age:                             66

Charges:                       Conspiracy

Priors:                          Marijuana 1976

Incarcerated Since:      1994

Trial or Plea:                Trial

https://www.lifeforpot.com/inmates-under-62.html

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            

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.

FAMM - » Honoring All Veterans On Veterans Day

FAMM - » Honoring All Veterans On Veterans Day

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.

Drug War Stories wrote this piece about Offenders serving sentences of Life for Pot

http://drugwarstories.com/stories/warriors/life-for-pot-beth-curtis/

FAMM FACTS 1 FINAL Sept 26 FINAL 4

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.

Craig's Profile

Toobin on Hearst: The Train Wreck Continues

 Interesting and Cleaver Commentary on

 P S Ruckman's Pardon Power Blog

Toobin on Hearst: The Train Wreck Continues

Mass Jailbreak, My Eye!

Mass Jailbreak, My Eye!

Goodlatte. Clueless Critic Extraordinaire.

 P S Ruckman Responds to Bob Goodlatte about the Presidents Clemency Power Always to the Point

Goodlatte. Clueless Critic Extraordinaire.

President Obama Talks About the Pardon Power

President Obama Talks About the Pardon Power

Former Pardon Attorney on Obama's Clemency Record

 US News article about Clemency Commutation and Pardon

  by Steven Nelson on the Pardon Power Site

Former Pardon Attorney on Obama's Clemency Record

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.

Time's Up - Let Me Go! Campaign

 This new campaign by the Exodus Foundation asks for 50,000 commutations

Time's Up - Let Me Go! Campaign

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

Life With Out Parole

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

Taifa and Osler: Clinton, Sanders, Congress and Clemency

 From the Pardon Power Blog by P.S. Ruckman

Taifa and Osler: Clinton, Sanders, Congress and Clemency

May 5,  President Obama granted 58 Commutations.  Thank you for granting these citizens their freedom - we are waiting for thousands more.https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/president-obama-grants-commutations-2

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/president-obama-grants-commutations-2https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/president-obama-grants-commutations-2

Whole Lotta Talkin' Goin' On (Part 36)

 This is from the Pardon Power Blog.  The promise of Clemency to thousands was made, but as time runs out many fear it will not be fulfilled.

Whole Lotta Talkin' Goin' On (Part 36)

Seventy-Five-Year-Old Disabled Veteran Will Die in Prison for Growing Marijuana Plants for Personal Use

 States that still give Life for Pot - 

Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas - are there more?

Seventy-Five-Year-Old Disabled Veteran Will Die in Prison for Growing Marijuana Plants for Personal Use: The injustice of a mass-incarceration system that is an oubliette for people who've been deemed disposable will continue.

Heritage on the Apocalyptic Pardon Horseman

 A very interesting piece by P.S. Ruckman on the 
Pardon Power Blog.  Read all of it.

Heritage on the Apocalyptic Pardon Horseman

JOHN VIDEO

Osler's Razor: The stone is rolled away

Osler's Razor: The stone is rolled away

I remember my father and his own faith.  It was a faith that believed in the metaphors of the stories read and told by Christians.  It was the belief that those stories represented ways to cope with the chafe and pain that may come from time to time. 

It was also a belief that love was a chain that connected the lives of the shattered to the lives of the complete and they should not be broken.  It's been many years since I thought about finding comfort in these words, but sometimes the thud of truth can hit hard.

This piece by Mark Osler has that truth for me. 

Post: 7 Years of 'Expecting' Continues

 Pardon Power - P. S. Ruckman Great Commentary on Clemency

It says a great deal when, more than seven years into his presidency, the Washington Post uncritically reports President Obama "is expected to grant clemency" in "the coming weeks."

Post: 7 Years of 'Expecting' Continues

John Knock is a first time nonviolent peaceful marijuana offender. He need a commutation from President Barack Obama

A 'Draconian' System Where the Innocent Plead Guilty

 Plea Bargaining - Where the Sausage is Made

A 'Draconian' System Where the Innocent Plead Guilty: The U.S. criminal justice system is broken and needs to be fixed is a message you rarely hear from a well-respected senior federal judge.

But that’s exactly what Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York detailed during a keynote address at the 11th Annual Harry Frank Guggenhei...

The Atlantic: Amnesty for Pot Offenders

The Atlantic: Amnesty for Pot Offenders

A Great Idea

Clemency Is Not Enough: Thousands Still Imprisoned For Nonviolent Marijuana Crimes

Clemency Is Not Enough: Thousands Still Imprisoned For Nonviolent Marijuana Crimes: About 44 percent of federal marijuana inmates had no or very minimal criminal histories prior to their conviction, and over a third are over the age of 40.

John Knock

 

Release Nonviolent Drug Offenders

 

When John was found guilty and sentenced to Life without Parole for marijuana, my sister and I left the court room with our 87 year old mother, Bijou.  Bijou would never see her youngest child free again.  She was slumped over, wearing sun glasses so no one would see her cry.  She was proud, brave and bewildered about the harshness of the sentence that her youngest child had received.









John Knock

U.S. Pardon Attorney: Does It Even Matter?

 Thoughtful piece by P.S. Ruckman at Pardon Power.

U.S. Pardon Attorney: Does It Even Matter?

 As President Obama goes on the hunt for a new U.S. Pardon Attorney (something he should have done at the beginning of his presidency -instead of simply retaining Ronald L. Rodgers, George W. Bush's appointee), many wonder what impact the abrupt resignation of DeborahLeff will have on the already lame clemency record of this administration.  more

Shock: U.S. Pardon Attorney to Resign

 Just saw this on P.S. Ruckman's Blog Pardon Power.

It's a shock 

Shock: U.S. Pardon Attorney to Resign

 The Associated Press reports that Deborah Leff, the U.S. Pardon Attorney, is resigning "at the end of the month after less than two years on the job."  more

Osler: On Hope, Change and Self-Congratulations

Osler: On Hope, Change and Self-Congratulations

OPA Calls for 16 Attorney Advisors

OPA Calls for 16 Attorney Advisors

Great News - We hope it means Thousands of Commutations are coming as promised.

http://democracyjournal.org/magazine/39/a-20-year-maximum-for-prison-sentences/

Great piece by Mark Mauer.  Link below.

By Marc Mauer

 from Winter 2016, No. 39 – 6 MIN READ

Tagged CrimePrisons

Clarence Aaron was a 23-year-old college student from Mobile, Alabama, with no criminal record. In 1992, he introduced a classmate whose brother was a drug supplier to a cocaine dealer he knew from high school. He was subsequently present for the sale of nine kilograms of cocaine and was paid $1,500 by the dealer. After police arrested the group, the others testified against Aaron, describing him as a major dealer, which led to his being sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment.

Unfortunately, in the era of harsh mandatory sentencing laws, stories such as Aaron’s are all too familiar. The injustice against Aaron was eventually recognized and, in 2013, after 20 years in prison, he became one of a relative handful of federal prisoners to receive a sentence commutation from President Obama. Cases such as his have fueled momentum for criminal justice reform in recent years, with major presidential candidates in both parties calling for a substantial reduction in our prison population, due to a U.S. rate of incarceration that’s five to ten times that of other industrialized nations. A growing consensus has developed around the idea that the “war on drugs” has relied far too heavily on excessive punishments, and that treatment interventions for substance abusers are both more effective and compassionate than long-term imprisonment.

john knock a case of charging disparity

john knock a case of charging disparity

John is a 68 year old nonviolent marijuana offender who received two life terms plus twenty for a marijuana offense.  He is a first time offender.  John has been incarcerated for a few months short of 20 years,  He has petitioned President Obama for a Commutation of his sentence to time served.  

The incarceration of nonviolent marijuana offenders for life is a waste of  taxpayer money and is not compatible with civil liberties.  

Nonviolent marijuana offender who are serving sentences of life without parole and have served 10 years could receive commutations  without endangering the safety of any community they are returned to. 

Releasing these nonviolent marijuana offenders would save tens of millions of dollars and would help restore faith in the criminal justice system.  It is obvious that these are sentences that do not fit the crime.  

Most all of the nonviolent marijuana offenders who received these sentences were charged with conspiracy and elected to exercise their Sixth Amendment Right to trial.  This is how these sentences are given.