Trump DOJ news update (2019): When President Trump signed the First Step Act into law at the end of 2018, its bipartisan congressional support demonstrated widespread recognition that the criminal justice system is due for reform.
Recognizing that the Act is limited in scope, primarily addressing sentencing for a select few offenders, a diverse group of reform activists have together sent an open letter to the president requesting what could be the next step: Changing the federal clemency process to make it much more fair and much less susceptible to politics. Step two? Keep career prosecutors away from clemency decisions.
Trump Doj News : Reformers Urge to remove clemency process from DOJ
” We urge you to make lasting reforms to the clemency process by removing its administration from the DoJ ,” the reformers said in the Feb. 25, 2019 letter.
The reformers argued that the problem with the current process is that the DOJ’s main job is to prosecute people, and its officials are not receptive to requests to let people out. In their view, this is a conflict of interest, and very few clemency requests, even those supported by wardens, doctors and prison staff, are approved by DOJ officials.
The letter noted that the Obama Administration formed an ad hoc committee to review clemency requests for a narrow category of offenders. Leading to hundreds of sentence commutations. But when he left office, the committee disbanded, leaving around 9,400 clemency petitions pending. Thousands more were denied despite meeting most or all of the eligibility conditions.
The letter states that there are broad categories of prisoners who are deserving of clemency, and what is needed is a more open and lasting approach. Unfortunately, Obama did not make any long-term changes to the executive clemency process. But this is exactly where Trump can leave a lasting legacy.
Signatories of the letter include New York University
School of Law Professor Rachel Barkow, St. Thomas School of Law Professor Mark Osler, Georgetown University Associate Law Professor Shon Hopwood, University of South Carolina School of Law Professor Colin Miller and Mark Holden, senior vice president and general counsel at Koch Industries, Alice Johnson, whose sentence President Trump commuted in 2018 (he pardoned her in 2020), also signed the letter. Johnson was serving a life sentence for a first-time drug conviction. Her earlier petition for clemency was denied, but her case began receiving popular attention when Kim Kardashian made a personal appeal on her behalf to the president. Thousands of Americans are serving unjust or unnecessary sentences. A fair opportunity for clemency gives prisoners hope and an incentive to turn their lives around. Criminal Center can help you prepare a federal clemency petition.