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Sentencing Law and Policy
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Lots of clemency food-for-thought

By Douglas Berman

I am about to head out to make sure I get to DC on time for tomorrow’s exciting House Judiciary Committee hearing on Bush’s commutation of Libby’s sentence (basics here).  And, thanks to former pardon attorney Margaret Love, I have some fitting reading for my trip.  Margy has completed a small commentary entitled “Rethinking the President’s Pardon Power.” Here is a snippet from the piece, which can be downloaded below:

There are many who believe that it is time to consider new approaches to criminal prosecution and sentencing, to reduce our reliance on incarceration and end the racial disparities resulting from our law enforcement practices.  If the pardon power is to play a useful role in this law reform effort, as it has in past eras, public confidence in it must be restored.  The criteria that presently exist in the Justice Department’s policies are perfectly good ones.  What needs improvement is the perceived fairness of the pardon process, the regularity and frequency of pardon grants, and above all the president’s commitment to using the power in an intentional and generous fashion.

Download rethinking_pardons_by_love.doc

In addition, Margy set along updated post-WWII clemency statistics from the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which can be downloaded here:

Download presidential_clemency_stats_1945present.doc

UPDATE:  Families Against Mandatory Minimums has geared up for the house hearing with this press release, which makes these major point:

Although Mr. Libby’s high profile commutation merits discussion, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) has written to the committee urging it to also explore how commutations should be used to reduce excessive sentences of deserving, nonviolent federal prisoners.  Click here to read FAMM’s letter.  Many such prisoners have applied for and not received commutations, although they have served long portions of their sentences and their behavior in prison has been exemplary.  It is especially troubling that many prisoners wait years to receive a decision and some petitions filed as far back as 2000 have not been acted upon. 

The referenced letter includes a dozen questions about commutations that “FAMM suggests the Committee pose … to the Pardon Attorney, Roger Adams, at the hearing.”