Biden's Support for Pot Prohibition Belies His Recognition of the Harm It Causes
Even as he pardons thousands of marijuana users, the president stubbornly resists legalization.
Clemency
Biden's Marijuana Reforms Are Long Overdue but Will Have Just a Modest Impact
The president's mass pardon does not extend to pot suppliers, and his rescheduling plans won't make marijuana a legal medicine.
Hiring Formerly Incarcerated People Is Good, Actually
Some conservative media outlets and politicians lambast the practice. But if you care about public safety, that opposition doesn't make sense.
Oklahoma Starts Planning Executions for 25 Death Row Inmates, Including Richard Glossip
A federal judge rules against effort to stop use of three-drug cocktail.
Biden Begins Using Clemency To Ameliorate the Damage Done by the Draconian Drug Policies He Long Supported
The 75 commutations announced today, while impressive compared to the pitiful records of previous presidents, pale beside a huge backlog of petitions.
Criminal Justice Campaign Promises Absent From Biden's State of the Union Speech
More than a year into the Biden administration, promises to expand clemency, decriminalize marijuana, and end solitary confinement and the federal death penalty remain unfulfilled.
Biden Administration Reverses Course, Will Let Prisoners Sent Home Due to Pandemic Stay There
Christmas comes a few days early for 2,800 inmates who had told they’d eventually have to return to their cells to serve out their terms.
Would an Independent Commission Solve the Clemency Backlog?
A new bill would transfer the review of petitions from the Justice Department to a presidentially appointed board.
A Pending Pardon for George Floyd Shows How the Drug War Gives Cops a License To Lie
Floyd was arrested for selling crack by a crooked Houston narcotics cop who repeatedly lied to implicate people in drug crimes.
White House Offers Clemency for Drug Offenders on Home Confinement, but Advocates Say Plan Will Still Send Thousands Back to Prison
Clemency for nonviolent offenders would still send white-collar and other offenders back to prison after they've started putting their lives together again.
Only Biden or Congress Can Prevent 4,000 Inmates From Being Forced Back Into Federal Prison Post-COVID
The CARES Act allowed home release of nonviolent inmates during the pandemic. But after it's over, many will have to go back unless their sentences are commuted.
Biden Hedges on His Promise To Free Pot Prisoners
The president still has not caught up with most Americans on marijuana policy.
The Biden Administration's Obfuscation on Using Clemency To Free Pot Prisoners Is Not a Hopeful Sign
Press Secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly tried to muddy the issue by changing the subject to reclassifying marijuana.
Trump's Messy Pardon Spree Left Too Many Behind. Biden Must Do Better.
Criminal justice groups say Biden should move the pardon process out of the Justice Department and consider categorical clemencies.
A Practical Wish List for Joe Biden
Some doable libertarian ideas for the new president
Presidential Mercy Is a Woefully Inadequate Remedy for Injustice
The controversy over Trump’s pardons and commutations highlights longstanding problems with clemency.
Freeing People Who Don't Belong in Prison Is Praiseworthy, No Matter Trump's Motives
The president's final batch of clemency actions includes commutations for dozens of nonviolent drug offenders.
Why President Trump Should Free Ross Ulbricht
The Silk Road’s creator has a lot to teach drug prohibitionists.
I Got To Inform a Person That Trump Granted Her Clemency. So Many Others Deserve That Good News Too.
Trump's clemencies last night surprised a lot of people—including one of the recipients. Clemency advocates are confident more are on the way.
Trump's Latest Round of Pardons Includes George Papadopoulos, GOP Congressmen, Blackwater Guards
Full pardons were given to the four contractors convicted of murdering Iraqis in a firefight in Baghdad.
Will Anybody Besides Michael Flynn Get Mercy from Lame Duck Trump?
The president has the worst record for clemency in modern history.
Bad News, Criminal Justice Reformers: Biden Probably Wants Sally Yates for Attorney General
Granting clemency to nonviolent offenders like Alice Marie Johnson would be low on the list of priorities for Yates and Biden.
Trump's Vague Commitment to Criminal Justice Reform
The president's daughter says "we’re just getting started." Some details would be nice.
President Donald Trump Pardons Alice Marie Johnson
Two years after commuting her life sentence, the president has pardoned Alice Marie Johnson.
The Shaky Foundation of Trump's Pose As a Criminal Justice Reformer
The president's case rests on two accomplishments, while his plans for a second term echo the mindless toughness he intermittently condemns.
Trump Pardons Inmate-Turned-Activist Jon Ponder and Praises 'Second Chances'
"I will continue to give all Americans, including former inmates, the best chance to build a new life and achieve their own American dream," Trump said.
Advocates and Lawmakers Urge Trump Administration to Release Elderly Inmates Vulnerable to Coronavirus
"They were not sentenced to death, and they should be released immediately."
Would a Presidential Pardon for Roger Stone Be Unconstitutional?
The argument requires several controversial assumptions and leaps of logic.
Trump White House Considering Limiting Justice Department Influence Over Pardons
Criminal justice reformers say federal prosecutors torpedoed clemency petitions in worthy cases.
Trump Uses Clemency To Help Drug War Victims, Reward GOP Donors, and Spite James Comey
Plus: China boots three reporters, megacities are getting a smaller share of growth than they used to, and Dems gather to debate in Las Vegas..
Does Trump's Super Bowl Ad Signal More Progress on Sentencing Reform?
While the president seems sincerely concerned about "very unfair" drug penalties, it's not clear whether he thinks his work in that area is done.
Georgia Death Row Prisoner Jimmy Meders Has Sentence Commuted Hours Before Execution
The jury said they would have given Jimmy Meders life in prison without parole had it been available.
As the Dismissed Charges Against Paul Manafort Show, New York Democrats Love Double Jeopardy When It Hurts Trump's Cronies
Recent revisions to state law will facilitate such duplicative prosecutions of people associated with the president.
Aaron Sandusky Has Spent 7 Years in Prison for Selling Medical Marijuana
Obama denied him clemency. Will Trump set him free?
Cory Booker Proposes Thousands of Drug War Commutations If Elected President
Booker would move the process away from prosecutors and into the White House.
New York Legislators Approve Double Jeopardy for Trump Cronies to Protect 'the Rule of Law'
The bill allows dual prosecutions of people in the president's orbit who receive pardons or commutations.
Michigan Governor Pardons Drunk Driver, Leaves Thousands of Prisoners Waiting for Their Second Chance
Gov. Rick Snyder's clemency record could have been a lot better.
70 Years After They Were Wrongly Imprisoned, the Groveland Four Have Been Pardoned
The criminal justice system failed four black men after a white woman accused them of rape.
Hey, Libertarians! The Criminal Justice Reform Movement Sees You Out There
At a celebrity-headlined and media-focused summit on incarceration, the speakers recognize their allies.
Trump Slams 'Very Unfair' Drug Sentences
The president's comments could improve the prospects for federal penal reform.
Clemency Recipient Alice Johnson: 'I Don't Feel I Was Denied or Delayed. I Was Destined For This.'
Alice Marie Johnson's life sentence for a first-time drug offense was commuted by Trump. Now she's speaking out against mandatory minimums.
Trump Should Hurt Sessions by Helping Drug Offenders
Commutations for people serving absurdly long sentences would be a great new way to torture the attorney general.
Kim Kardashian West Asked Trump to Commute Alice Johnson's Life Sentence. He Just Did.
Leave it to Kim Kardashian West to secure freedom for a prisoner of the drug war (seriously, she's good at it).
New York's Solicitor General Wants to Close the 'Double Jeopardy Loophole' So She Can Punish Pardoned Trump Cronies
Barbara Underwood is outraged by the president's use of his clemency power, and she wants state legislators to do something about it.
Kim Kardashian Is Currently Our Nation's Greatest Hope for Prison Reform
The reality superstar will meet with Trump to push for clemency today for a great-grandmother serving a life sentence for a drug offense.
Trump's Pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio Is a Reminder that Presidential Pardon Powers Should Be Used Far More Often
Presidential pardons were a depressing crapshoot long before Arpaio received one.
Trump, Sheriff Joe, and the Thrill of Arbitrary Power
The president admires strong men who break the law to enforce it.
This Inmate Received Clemency from Obama. He Still Might Die in Prison
On his last day in office, Obama commuted the sentences of 330 inmates. For one of those prisoners, it was a bitter day.
