Washington, DC (Aug. 3, 2016) – In his fourth set of clemency grants since March 30, President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 prisoners today, 118 of whom were applicants whose petitions were supported by Clemency Project 2014. This is more than double the number of commutations granted on any single day thus far during President Obama's tenure. Indeed, today's grants bring the total number of commutations granted by President Obama since taking office to 562, more than any President since Calvin Coolidge.
Cynthia W. Roseberry, project manager for Clemency Project 2014, said: "The President made history today. President Obama granted more commutations today alone than any president has granted during their entire time in office since the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson. On behalf of the Project and the many deserving people it serves, I want to express tremendous gratitude to President Obama. With less than six months remaining in President Obama's term, I know that today's action will bring hope to so many worthy individuals and their incredible and heroic pro bono attorneys from across the country awaiting a decision by the President on their clemency petitions."
Clemency Project 2014, an unprecedented, independent effort by the nation's bar, has recruited and trained nearly 4,000 volunteer lawyers from diverse practice backgrounds and completed screening of over 32,000 of the more than 36,000 federal prisoners who have requested volunteer assistance. As of today, Clemency Project 2014 has submitted more than 1,500 petitions to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, with many more nearing submission.
For more information and to volunteer for Clemency Project 2014, please visit www.clemencyproject2014.org.
The American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Federal Public and Community Defenders, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have joined together under a working group they call Clemency Project 2014. Through the efforts of Clemency Project 2014, the participating organizations are identifying potential clemency petitioners and recruiting and training volunteer lawyers to assist them in securing clemency.
Contacts
Please direct all media inquiries to media@clemencyproject2014.org.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
