"Will He or Won't He?" Multiple Election Lawsuits
Might Delay Pardons, Commutations
by Derek Gilna
By all
estimates there are at least 13,000 pending commutation petitions either at DOJ
or at the White House, awaiting presidential action, but there is concern that
the pending lawsuits contesting vote results are slowing the process. When
Jared Kushner returns from negotiations in the Middle East
in the next several days, the logjam will break. It would be a good finish to 4
years of progress, and pressure Biden to top it.
Biden has
pledged to allocate billions of dollars of funding toward a grant program aimed
at promoting crime prevention within state and local governments to reduce the
source of crime: poor neighborhoods, child abuse, and limited education access,
according to the Biden-Harris Transition plan. Biden says he could
reduce the U.S.
prison population by more than 50% by reducing or elimination MM's, and
pledged to invest billions of dollars in a grant program aimed at
promoting crime prevention within state and local governments.
Ft.
Dix, the focus of numerous articles, Congressional inquiry, and television
coverage, has the dubious distinction of having the most "confirmed"
COVID-19 cases, 232, (with perhaps hundreds more unconfirmed) of any federal
facility, although the DOJ's inability or unwillingness to universally test
makes me think that there are many that have similar numbers. There is also
serious scientific doubt as to the health status of those who have
"recovered," since many continue to experience serious side effects.
It is clear that DOJ has no plan to eradicate the virus, and will not be able
to for many months, especially since prisoners are unlikely to even see the
vaccine until well into 2021.
Although in
terms of raw numbers, the situation at FPC
Duluth may not seem high, it is a microcosm of poor DOJ planning and treatment
failures. Duluth, one of the few
camps not attached to a higher-security facility, is the northern-most federal
prison, in an area of the country untouched by COVID-19 for many months. Lulled
into a false sense of security, DOJ bragged in court filings that it was
"managing" the virus, recent transfers, sloppy procedures, and
botched "quarantines" has resulted
in infected prisoners sleeping on cots in an unheated gym, while staff moves
from infected to uninfected dorms without concern for DOJ protocols. What the numbers are is anyone's guess, but
out of a population of 500, it could also be as high as 200, an avoidable
crisis.
Nearly 25%
of all inmate cases and 30% of the staff cases have been reported within just
the last month. Weekly case report: Alderson, 20 and climbing; McDowell, over 29; Gilmer, 100+; Ashland, over
181; FMC Lexington and Atwood, 317 (12
deaths); Forrest City, 50+; Aliceville, 100 plus; Ashland, 200+; Duluth, 100+;
Hazelton, 10+. So far, heavy DOJ censorship on virus news has only slowed, not
ended reports.
In U.S.
v. Green, 17-10346, 11-25-20, the 11th Circuit found that RICO conspiracy
"does not qualify as a crime of violence under 924cm and vacate...and
remand." The 7th Circuit slapped down DOJ's argument that the old
regulations and SC statements on CR still apply, citing the 2d Circuits Booker
decision to follow only the "extraordinary and compelling reason" in
deciding whether to grant relief.
Let not
your heart be troubled.
Federal Legal Center, Inc., Derek A. Gilna, JD, MARJ,
Director
113 McHenry Rd. #173, Buffalo
Grove, IL
60089 (And Indiana)
dgilna1948@yahoo.com,
blogging at "Derek Gilna's Criminal Justice Blog."
