Clemency Stories

Here you can find the stories of extraordinary individuals that we've had the pleasure to talk with. Click on a photo to begin. (More to come!)

Interesting News Articles on Clemency

• In ‘Fairness,’ Obama Commutes Sentences for 95, Mostly Drug Offenders - NY Times

Dec 18, 2015, "President Obama ended a tumultuous year in the nation’s capital by commuting the sentences of 95 federal prisoners and granting two pardons". 

"The move came as the president is pressing for an overhaul of criminal justice laws to reverse decades of steep penalties that have packed the nation’s prisons and jails, disproportionately affecting African-American and Hispanic men." 

• Stanford Law School Announces Prisoner Reentry Program to Support White House Clemency Initiative - Stanford Law School

"a new program developed at the law school to support the White House’s criminal justice efforts by providing reentry assistance to federal prisoners who receive executive clemency from President Obama."

“Ride Home” prisoner reentry program to provide its unique services to prisoners released by the president. Started in 2013, the Ride Home program meets prisoners at the prison gates, assists them with basic needs during their immediate transition out of prison, and drives the released prisoners to a pre-approved halfway house.

• Another Washington Three-Strikes Offender Wins Clemency Recommendation - NW News Network

"Washington’s Clemency Board has recommended the release of another three-strikes offender serving life without parole."

"Orlando Ames was 27 in 1994 when he committed his third-strike crime. It was a second-degree assault that involved running after and grabbing hold of his victim while a juvenile accomplice stole items from the victim’s pockets."

"Prior to three-strikes, Ames would have faced about two years in prison. "He has paid a heavy price, he has served a 19-year sentence, people who commit murder serve less than that in our state," Satterberg said."

• New York State is Giving Prisoners a Better Chance at Clemency - Huffington Post

"New York state is partnering with a coalition of national legal organizations in a move to expand pro bono resources for state prisoners seeking pardons or commutations"

"The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, Families Against Mandatory Minimums and other organizations will help expand the efforts of a clemency initiative begun by Cuomo in 2015. Under that program, private lawyers have been providing free legal assistance to those in prison and those with criminal records to ensure that they make their best case for clemency to the governor."