Clemency Update

Clemency Update: Time to Get started on Your Application

 

By Derek Gilna

 

            As I discussed last week, there are serious concerns being voiced in some quarters regarding the progress of Clemency Project 2014.  One of the principal problems identified was the apparent inability of the individuals directly involved in implementing this program to answer any questions about why no prisoners have been contacted.  Yet another significant problem has only recently come to light.

            The clemency program was originated in Washington, D.C. by President Obama and his Attorney General, Eric Holder, Obama’s appointee.  Holder in turn appointed a new attorney to take charge of the U.S. Pardon Office, which reviews all applications prior to forwarding them to the White House.  However, political appointees are only a small fraction of the employees at the Justice Department. I have it on good authority that one of the reasons that there has been little or no discussion of the clemency initiative and little visible progress in recent weeks is that the bureaucracy Department of Justice, those career employees who may have been hired by previous administrations and are now protected from firing by civil service rules, are dragging their feet.  In other words, they are attempting to “run out the clock.”

            Another concern is that many individuals that responded to the questionnaire did not look at the “fine print.”  What constitutes a “low-level offender, with no ties to gangs, cartels?”   What does the phrase, “no significant criminal history” mean? What constitutes “good conduct” and “no history of violence prior to, or during your prison stay?”

            As with all Petitions for sentence relief, your clemency petition should be drafted and filed by someone who can successfully navigate the treacherous paths of the criminal justice system, someone whose only focus is shortening your stay.  With the news out of Washington that the pressure of election activity and the resistance of DOJ career prosecutors is taking its toll, it is time for you to make your own plans to move ahead, or be left behind. 2016 will be here before you realize it, and the President will be out of office.