Christopher Zoukis's Blog - Posts Tagged "pardons"
Obama’s Commutations Continue, But What About Pardons?
With two more batches of sentence commutations granted in October, President Obama now holds a couple of records in that area.
By issuing commutations for 102 federal inmates on Oct. 6, followed by 98 more on Oct. 27, he set the record for commutations in a single year. His total for 2016 reached 688 – more in a single year than any other president. A few months earlier, on Aug. 3, he also claimed the all-time single-day record by issuing 214 commutations.
Thus far in his presidency, Obama has handed 872 federal inmates shorter sentences, second only to the 1,366 commutations total issued by Woodrow Wilson, mostly after World War I. Since the White House says the president will continue to issue meritorious commutations through the rest of his term, Wilson’s record could yet be broken.
But when it comes to another, broader form of clemency – issuing full presidential pardons – the administration has made far less of a mark. As of the first week of October, Obama had issued only 70 pardons since taking office. That’s well behind the pace for presidential pardons by his other two-term predecessors: Bill Clinton issued 396; Ronald Reagan granted 393; and George W. Bush handed out 189. In fact, as of this writing, Obama has granted the fewest presidential pardons of any two-term president since George Washington.
Commutations shorten sentences but do not affect post-release restrictions, such as parole or restrictions on the right to possess firearms. A significant number of the Obama-issued commutations have been conditioned on inmates enrolling in residential drug treatment before being released – which led one inmate to refuse to accept his commutation. Full pardons, on the other hand, bring full legal forgiveness, effectively wiping out record of a crime.
Several factors may help to explain Obama’s relative lack of attention to pardons. First, ever since the administration announced its new clemency initiative in mid-2014, commutations have virtually monopolized its clemency efforts. If you don’t count pardons handed to four Iranians as part of a prisoner exchange earlier this year (which go through a different process than pardons for federal inmates), Obama has only granted two pardons since December 2014.
The administration could argue it had no choice but to focus almost exclusively on commutations, since its clemency initiative, as well as retroactive changes in federal sentencing guidelines for some drug offenses, produced a huge wave of commutation applications — over 29,000, by official records. Another possible reason is that pardons may have become politically more suspect, due to historic situations like President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush’s pardons of figures in the Iran-Contra scandal, and Bill Clinton’s issuing 140 pardons on his final day in office, including one to a fugitive financier whose former wife was a major contributor to the Democratic party.
The imbalance between sentence commutations and pardons may be about to end, however. Fielding a question on the disparity at an August news conference, Obama acknowledged his administration had “focused more on commutations than… pardons," but said that by the time he leaves office, he will have issued pardons “roughly in line” with the numbers granted by other presidents.
By issuing commutations for 102 federal inmates on Oct. 6, followed by 98 more on Oct. 27, he set the record for commutations in a single year. His total for 2016 reached 688 – more in a single year than any other president. A few months earlier, on Aug. 3, he also claimed the all-time single-day record by issuing 214 commutations.
Thus far in his presidency, Obama has handed 872 federal inmates shorter sentences, second only to the 1,366 commutations total issued by Woodrow Wilson, mostly after World War I. Since the White House says the president will continue to issue meritorious commutations through the rest of his term, Wilson’s record could yet be broken.
But when it comes to another, broader form of clemency – issuing full presidential pardons – the administration has made far less of a mark. As of the first week of October, Obama had issued only 70 pardons since taking office. That’s well behind the pace for presidential pardons by his other two-term predecessors: Bill Clinton issued 396; Ronald Reagan granted 393; and George W. Bush handed out 189. In fact, as of this writing, Obama has granted the fewest presidential pardons of any two-term president since George Washington.
Commutations shorten sentences but do not affect post-release restrictions, such as parole or restrictions on the right to possess firearms. A significant number of the Obama-issued commutations have been conditioned on inmates enrolling in residential drug treatment before being released – which led one inmate to refuse to accept his commutation. Full pardons, on the other hand, bring full legal forgiveness, effectively wiping out record of a crime.
Several factors may help to explain Obama’s relative lack of attention to pardons. First, ever since the administration announced its new clemency initiative in mid-2014, commutations have virtually monopolized its clemency efforts. If you don’t count pardons handed to four Iranians as part of a prisoner exchange earlier this year (which go through a different process than pardons for federal inmates), Obama has only granted two pardons since December 2014.
The administration could argue it had no choice but to focus almost exclusively on commutations, since its clemency initiative, as well as retroactive changes in federal sentencing guidelines for some drug offenses, produced a huge wave of commutation applications — over 29,000, by official records. Another possible reason is that pardons may have become politically more suspect, due to historic situations like President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush’s pardons of figures in the Iran-Contra scandal, and Bill Clinton’s issuing 140 pardons on his final day in office, including one to a fugitive financier whose former wife was a major contributor to the Democratic party.
The imbalance between sentence commutations and pardons may be about to end, however. Fielding a question on the disparity at an August news conference, Obama acknowledged his administration had “focused more on commutations than… pardons," but said that by the time he leaves office, he will have issued pardons “roughly in line” with the numbers granted by other presidents.
What Will Happen to the Clemency Movement in the Trump Administration?
Rather than slackening off as the Obama administration nears its final days, the clemency initiative announced in April 2014 for federal prisoners is picking up speed. From the Oct. 1 start of the current fiscal year until two days before Election Day, the president had issued 272 sentence commutations — nearly one-third of its total up to that time.
On election eve, the sentences of 72 inmates were commuted, followed by 79 more Nov. 22, bringing the total for the Obama administration to 1,023, exceeding the combined total for commutations issued by all 11 presidents from Harry Truman through George W. Bush. Of Obama’s clemency grants, thus far 342 have gone to inmates serving life sentences, and most recipients were serving lengthy sentences for nonviolent, primarily drug-related, offenses.
But what will happen to the commutation movement after Trump’s inauguration?
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump generally sounded a get-tougher line on criminal law, but had relatively little to say on Obama’s clemency program. What he did say, however, sparked fears among advocates of decriminalizing or reducing penalties for drug offenses, or adopting new approaches to incarceration. For example, at a town hall event in New Hampshire two days before that state’s primary election, Trump said the approximately 6,000 inmates released after the Obama administration revised some drug sentencing criteria in 2015 would soon “be back selling drugs.” More recently, at an August event in Florida, the GOP candidate described some of those released under the clemency program as “bad dudes,” before sarcastically telling his audience to “sleep tight, folks.”
Another troubling sign to advocates of criminal justice revisions – such as those in a now-apparently stalled bill introduced in Congress last year with substantial bipartisan support – was the president-elect’s announcement he would nominate Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) as his Attorney General. Sessions has been a consistent proponent of strict drug penalties and an opponent of reducing mandatory minimum sentences.
Once in office, Trump cannot reverse clemency grants issued by Obama, but can, if he chooses, quickly reverse executive orders issued by his predecessor. In fact in several areas — such as executive orders for more lenient treatment of young persons not legally in this country, and their parents — Trump has explicitly promised he would do so. Some of the executive orders are already being halted by court orders. Obama administration executive actions taken through regulations, however, will likely have to go through a similar rulemaking process in order to be undone.
As for the clemency program, Obama’s White House counsel has said the president, even though a lame duck, will keep on granting clemencies in his final days in office. The Department of Justice official who announced the clemency program adds that the president is aware how deeply a clemency grant can improve the lives of not just inmates, but their families as well.
That is not enough, however, for some clemency advocates, who are publicly urging Obama to issue blanket clemency for whole classes of federal inmates – prominently, those who were already serving long sentences for crack cocaine offenses before 2010 — when Congress passed and Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, which brought penalties for crack more in line with those for powder cocaine, but was not retroactive.
On election eve, the sentences of 72 inmates were commuted, followed by 79 more Nov. 22, bringing the total for the Obama administration to 1,023, exceeding the combined total for commutations issued by all 11 presidents from Harry Truman through George W. Bush. Of Obama’s clemency grants, thus far 342 have gone to inmates serving life sentences, and most recipients were serving lengthy sentences for nonviolent, primarily drug-related, offenses.
But what will happen to the commutation movement after Trump’s inauguration?
During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump generally sounded a get-tougher line on criminal law, but had relatively little to say on Obama’s clemency program. What he did say, however, sparked fears among advocates of decriminalizing or reducing penalties for drug offenses, or adopting new approaches to incarceration. For example, at a town hall event in New Hampshire two days before that state’s primary election, Trump said the approximately 6,000 inmates released after the Obama administration revised some drug sentencing criteria in 2015 would soon “be back selling drugs.” More recently, at an August event in Florida, the GOP candidate described some of those released under the clemency program as “bad dudes,” before sarcastically telling his audience to “sleep tight, folks.”
Another troubling sign to advocates of criminal justice revisions – such as those in a now-apparently stalled bill introduced in Congress last year with substantial bipartisan support – was the president-elect’s announcement he would nominate Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) as his Attorney General. Sessions has been a consistent proponent of strict drug penalties and an opponent of reducing mandatory minimum sentences.
Once in office, Trump cannot reverse clemency grants issued by Obama, but can, if he chooses, quickly reverse executive orders issued by his predecessor. In fact in several areas — such as executive orders for more lenient treatment of young persons not legally in this country, and their parents — Trump has explicitly promised he would do so. Some of the executive orders are already being halted by court orders. Obama administration executive actions taken through regulations, however, will likely have to go through a similar rulemaking process in order to be undone.
As for the clemency program, Obama’s White House counsel has said the president, even though a lame duck, will keep on granting clemencies in his final days in office. The Department of Justice official who announced the clemency program adds that the president is aware how deeply a clemency grant can improve the lives of not just inmates, but their families as well.
That is not enough, however, for some clemency advocates, who are publicly urging Obama to issue blanket clemency for whole classes of federal inmates – prominently, those who were already serving long sentences for crack cocaine offenses before 2010 — when Congress passed and Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, which brought penalties for crack more in line with those for powder cocaine, but was not retroactive.
Obama’s Clemency Totals: 1,715 Commutations, Including Secrets-Leaker Manning
With less than four days left in office, On Jan. 17 president Obama commuted nearly all of the 28 years remaining in the 35-year court-martial sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former army intelligence analyst who copied over 700,000 archived military and diplomatic files — some classified — and sent them to WikiLeaks. The reduction in Manning’s sentence was part of 273 commutations issued that day.
Also receiving a commutation of a lengthy sentence was Puerto Rican independence activist Oscar López Rivera, who was sentenced in the 1980s to 55 years for conspiracy, firearms and explosives offenses, and other violations connected to Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN) bombings in the ’70s and ’80s, plus another 15 years for a failed escape attempt.
Two days later, the White House announced the departing president’s final batch of 330 clemency actions, including 64 pardons, an area in which Obama lagged many of his predecessors. Receiving a pardon was former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chair Marine General James Cartwright, who was due to be sentenced soon on a guilty plea of lying to FBI investigators investigating leaks on covert U.S. efforts to impede Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.
The final batch of pardons did not include relief for some prominent inmates who had requested clemency, such as Illinois ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, now in his fourth year of a 14-year sentence on corruption charges, or Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, facing trial this spring after being exchanged for five Taliban members, much less for other prominent figures who did not seek pardons for possible future charges, such as secrets-leaker Edward Snowden.
By the end of his two terms, Obama had commuted the sentences of 1,715 federal inmates, including 568 who were serving or facing life sentences. He also issued a total of 212 pardons. The total 1,927 clemency actions by Obama topped all presidents since Harry Truman, and his commutations exceeded the combined total for his 12 most recent predecessors.
The majority of clemency recipients were serving time for nonviolent drug offenses, on which Obama has focused his attention, especially over the past two years. But the greatest attention —and most controversy — centered on Obama’s order to cut short the record-length sentence that a military court handed down to former Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, setting Manning free May 17, rather than in 2045.
Shortly after enlisting in the army, Manning was assigned to Iraq to monitor movements of insurgent forces. Given access to intelligence archives, the 22-year-old private downloaded combat reports from Afghanistan and Iraq, including sensitive reports on abuses of detainees, then sent them to WikiLeaks. Convicted in 2013 in a military court of six counts of Espionage Act violations, though not on charges of aiding the enemy, Manning is currently confined in the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
In pleading guilty to some charges, the ex-soldier – who enlisted as Bradley Edward Manning – spoke about the great psychological pressure of disguising her identity as a transgendered woman. The commutation was issued to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, the name she legally adopted in 2014.
In his final news conference, Obama defended his order, saying Manning had “served a tough prison sentence… disproportionate” to those previously handed down for similar offenses.
Also receiving a commutation of a lengthy sentence was Puerto Rican independence activist Oscar López Rivera, who was sentenced in the 1980s to 55 years for conspiracy, firearms and explosives offenses, and other violations connected to Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN) bombings in the ’70s and ’80s, plus another 15 years for a failed escape attempt.
Two days later, the White House announced the departing president’s final batch of 330 clemency actions, including 64 pardons, an area in which Obama lagged many of his predecessors. Receiving a pardon was former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chair Marine General James Cartwright, who was due to be sentenced soon on a guilty plea of lying to FBI investigators investigating leaks on covert U.S. efforts to impede Iran’s development of nuclear weapons.
The final batch of pardons did not include relief for some prominent inmates who had requested clemency, such as Illinois ex-governor Rod Blagojevich, now in his fourth year of a 14-year sentence on corruption charges, or Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, facing trial this spring after being exchanged for five Taliban members, much less for other prominent figures who did not seek pardons for possible future charges, such as secrets-leaker Edward Snowden.
By the end of his two terms, Obama had commuted the sentences of 1,715 federal inmates, including 568 who were serving or facing life sentences. He also issued a total of 212 pardons. The total 1,927 clemency actions by Obama topped all presidents since Harry Truman, and his commutations exceeded the combined total for his 12 most recent predecessors.
The majority of clemency recipients were serving time for nonviolent drug offenses, on which Obama has focused his attention, especially over the past two years. But the greatest attention —and most controversy — centered on Obama’s order to cut short the record-length sentence that a military court handed down to former Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, setting Manning free May 17, rather than in 2045.
Shortly after enlisting in the army, Manning was assigned to Iraq to monitor movements of insurgent forces. Given access to intelligence archives, the 22-year-old private downloaded combat reports from Afghanistan and Iraq, including sensitive reports on abuses of detainees, then sent them to WikiLeaks. Convicted in 2013 in a military court of six counts of Espionage Act violations, though not on charges of aiding the enemy, Manning is currently confined in the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
In pleading guilty to some charges, the ex-soldier – who enlisted as Bradley Edward Manning – spoke about the great psychological pressure of disguising her identity as a transgendered woman. The commutation was issued to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, the name she legally adopted in 2014.
In his final news conference, Obama defended his order, saying Manning had “served a tough prison sentence… disproportionate” to those previously handed down for similar offenses.
