clemency

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Bernie Madoff Asks Trump for Clemency

'The very definition of chutzpah'

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff is now 10 years into his 150-year sentence for orchestrating a $65 billion Ponzi scheme—and the 81-year-old is looking for a way out. Justice Department records show that Madoff has petitioned President Trump to commute his sentence, and the request is listed as "pending," ABC...

Obama Sends Note to Woman He Freed From Prison

'I am so proud of you,' he tells Danielle Metz

(Newser) - In the home stretch of his presidency, Barack Obama issued a wave of clemencies , mostly for people serving long sentences on drug convictions. One of those freed from prison was a woman named Danielle Metz, who was arrested in 1993 at the age of 26 and given three life sentences...

For Over 250 Prisoners, It Really Is Christmas

Gov. Brown issues over 250 clemency decisions

(Newser) - California Gov. Jerry Brown has pardoned five refugees from Cambodia and another immigrant from Honduras who faced the possibility of deportation because of their criminal convictions, the AP reports. The pardons were among more than 250 clemency decisions announced by the governor on Christmas Eve. According to Brown's office,...

Trump Commutes Sentence of Great-Grandma Jailed for Life

Kim Kardashian had lobbied for Alice Marie Johnson's release

(Newser) - Just one week after Kim Kardashian met with President Trump to argue the case of a great-grandmother sentenced to life in prison over a first-time drug conviction, the POTUS took action. He granted clemency to Alice Marie Johnson Wednesday, commuting the life sentence of the 63-year-old Tennessee woman who was...

Kim Kardashian Meets Trump, Makes Clemency Request

She wants him to pardon a great-grandmother

(Newser) - Kim Kardashian met President Trump at the White House Wednesday—and they had more to talk about than their shared past as reality TV stars. Kardashian spoke to Trump about a possible pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother from Tennessee serving life in prison without parole for a...

He Had His Mom, Brother Killed. Will He Die Tonight?
With His Execution Nigh,
a Big Twist in Texas
the rundown
Feb 22, 2018 11:47 AM CST

With His Execution Nigh, a Big Twist in Texas

Thomas Whitaker's case is in Gov. Greg Abbott's hands

(Newser) - The crime was horrific, the aftermath doubly so: A Texas family of four was shot by a masked gunman in December 2003. Kent Whitaker's wife and one of his two sons didn't make it, and Whitaker's initial desire for vengeance gave way to a decision to forgive,...

'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz' Must Go to Prison

Appeal of 96-year-old Oskar Groening is denied

(Newser) - German authorities have rejected a former Auschwitz death camp guard's bid for clemency, removing the final barrier to the 96-year-old serving his sentence for accessory to murder. Prosecutors rejected former SS sergeant Oskar Groening's clemency request filed earlier this week, per the AP . Groening had been known as...

Woman Granted Clemency by Obama Is Back in Prison

Carol Denise Richardson was among 1.7K inmates freed during Obama's tenure

(Newser) - A Texas woman serving a life sentence for a relatively minor drug offense and given a second chance by President Obama is headed back to prison. Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was among hundreds of non-violent drug offenders granted clemency by Obama, who was persuaded by arguments from activists that drug...

Serial Killer's Push for Freedom: I'm a 'Better Person'

75-year-old Richard Steeves says he's overcome his 'violent, unpredictable past'

(Newser) - Richard Steeves is 75 years old, plays the piano, and has just one wish in life. But as Bob Hohler details for the Boston Globe , that wish—freedom—is complicated by the fact that Steeves is a convicted serial killer who's been in prison for three decades. Hohler has...

Assange: On Second Thought, Extradition a No-Go

Assange's lawyer says WikiLeaks founder wanted full clemency for Chelsea Manning

(Newser) - On second thought, Julian Assange won't be traveling to the US after all. Back in September, the WikiLeaks founder had said he would agree to extradition to the US if Chelsea Manning was pardoned, the Hill reports. Well, on Tuesday President Obama commuted the majority of Manning's 35-year...

Obama Issues Record Wave of Clemencies

Pardons 78, shortens sentence of 153 others

(Newser) - President Barack Obama has pardoned 78 people and shortened the sentence of 153 others convicted of federal crimes, the greatest number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president, the White House said Monday. Obama has been granting commutations at rapid-fire pace in his final months in office,...

Chelsea Manning Petition Hits White House Threshold

Administration has 60 days to respond

(Newser) - A petition urging President Obama to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence to time served has passed the 100,000-signature threshold that may require an official response from the White House—though Obama is only going to be there for another 38 days. "We did it! Thank you so much...

Even the Judge Thinks This Woman's Sentence Is 'Idiotic'

He's now fighting for clemency for Lori Kavitz

(Newser) - Lori Kavitz's 24-year sentence for conspiracy to distribute meth has been called "idiotic, arbitrary, unduly harsh, and grossly unfair"—by the very man who imposed it. US District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett is one of thousands asking President Obama to pardon Kavitz, whose "major mistake...

Man Turns Down Obama's Offer to Get Out of Prison

Arnold Jones would rather stay longer in prison than enter drug treatment

(Newser) - Arnold Jones was one of more than 29,000 drug offenders who asked President Obama to commute their sentence. But when he was granted executive clemency in August, he turned it down. USA Today delved into the unusual story when it noticed the White House listed only 774 commuted sentences...

Obama to Free 42 More Inmates Serving Time on Drug Charges

He's commuted more sentences than the past 7 presidents combined

(Newser) - On Friday, President Obama announced 42 non-violent drug offenders—20 of them currently serving life sentences—will be released from prison in the coming year, the Huffington Post reports. According to a White House press release , they were put away "under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws" and "...

Clemency Under Obama Can Be a Cruel Lottery

'It was devastating'

(Newser) - President Obama's clemency program is a gift to dozens of nonviolent drug offenders, but it's a lump of coal for thousands more. The Washington Post takes a deep look into how clemency is affecting prisoners who remain behind bars, after 95 of their fellows were given a second...

Man Freed After 3 Decades in Prison Calls It 'Surreal'

He had his 100-year murder sentence commuted by Montana's governor

(Newser) - A Montana man who spent three decades behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit walked out of prison Friday after the governor granted his clemency request. Barry Beach, 53, told reporters gathered outside the Montana State Prison's front door that the moment was "surreal....

Battered Woman to Stay in Jail Until 2030 for BF's Abuse

Tondalo Hall denied clemency in Oklahoma for not protecting kids from partner

(Newser) - Tondalo Hall wasn't accused of abusing her two young children but was handed a 30-year sentence for failing to protect them from her abusive boyfriend. Her partner, meanwhile, nabbed a plea deal and served just two years for breaking the ribs and femur of their 3-month-old infant; he was...

How the Pope Could Save This Killer on Death Row

Lidia Guerrero hopes Francis will intervene on behalf of son

(Newser) - When Lidia Guerrero met with Pope Francis in Rome last year, he told her he knew all about Guerrero's son, who has been on death row in Texas for 19 years. "I've prayed so much for that young man," she says Francis told her. The short...

Obama Doubles Drug Commutations in a Day

He shortens 22 'outdated' sentences

(Newser) - A bold move from the president dubbed " one of the least merciful " in US history: President Obama commuted the sentences of 22 drug offenders yesterday, more than doubling the number of commutations he has issued during his presidency, reports USA Today , which notes that it was the biggest...

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