Trump Doj news : Reformers to Trump – “Take the Federal Clemency Process Out of DOJ’s Hands”

Trump Doj news update : When President Trump signed the First Step Act into law at the end of last year. 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 problem with the current process is that the DOJ's whole purpose is to put people in prison, and those at the DOJ are not receptive to requests to let people out. This is a clear conflict of interest. Very few clemency requests, even if recommended by wardens, doctors and prison staff, are ever approved by DOJ officials.

In the latests Doj news from the Obama Administration revealed that they 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.Recently, a lot of commotion is being surrounded by the trump doj news provoking resentment among the reformers.

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, who was pardoned by Trump in 2018, 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. The widespread awareness regarding this doj news clemency process is a new beacon of hope among petitioners seeking clemency . A fair opportunity for clemency for prisoners gives them hope and an incentive to turn their lives around. The Law Offices of Brandon Sample can help you make the most of your opportunity for executive clemency. Contact us today to learn how our experienced attorneys can help you.

About Brandon Sample

Brandon Sample is an attorney, author, and criminal justice reform activist. Brandon’s law practice is focused on federal criminal defense, federal appeals, federal post-conviction relief, federal civil rights litigation, federal administrative law, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

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