j u s t c r i m

My life saved by reprieve of 24-year sentence for crack - CNN.com

Editor's note: Kemba Smith Pradia has received awards for her efforts to educate the public about the social, economic and political consequences of drug policies. She received a Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellowship for advocates and is developing the Kemba Smith Foundation.

Indianapolis (CNN) -- Ten years ago, days before Christmas, President Bill Clinton changed my life forever. I was in federal prison, serving the seventh year of a 24-year sentence for a first-time nonviolent crack cocaine offense.

Clinton's mercy and acknowledgement that my sentence was unjust led him to grant me a commutation. Had he not done so, I would be in prison until 2016. On December 22, the anniversary of my release, I will join others in a fast for justice to honor those in prison who deserve the same relief from their long sentences for low-level drug offenses.

via www.cnn.com

[ Imagine - Our system of "justice" handed a first-time, nonviolent crack cocaine offender a 24 year sentence .. I don't care what SCOTUS says about sentencing proportionality, this is absolutely cruel and unusual punishment ]

Jim Morrison Is Pardoned for Indecent Exposure Conviction - NYTimes.com

Morrison, the lead singer for the Doors, was convicted in 1970 following a raucous performance where witnesses said they saw him expose himself.

4:07 p.m. | Updated

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jim Morrison, the charismatic front man of the Doors who died nearly 40 years ago, was granted a posthumous pardon by Florida on Thursday.

via artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com

American predator drones patrol the Afghanistan and Pakistan skies, piloted from windowless trailers in the Las Vegas suburb of Nellis Air Force Base ... Americans concerned about nudity, pornographic language, and obscenity ... Jim Morrison pardoned a thousand or thirty or forty years after the fact. War then. War now.

California, courts: Governor should grant clemency to Kevin Cooper - latimes.com

By Alan M. Dershowitz and David B. Rivkin Jr. December 1, 2010

"The state of California may be about to execute an innocent man." That is the warning of Judge William Fletcher of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 101-page dissent from the court's decision to uphold the murder conviction of Kevin Cooper. Although the courts lack the power to grant clemency, the governor has the responsibility to do so when justice requires it. Now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is duty-bound to use that power to save a possibly innocent man from death.

via www.latimes.com

"No Country For Second Chances"

"No Country For Second Chances" (New York Times Op-Ed | November 23, 2010) by George Lardner Jr., Center for the Study of the Presidency:

' ... The president has not only the power but also the responsibility to grant clemency when it is warranted. A pardon can help a worthy former prisoner qualify for a job or a license. But mainly it restores the person’s civil rights, including the right to vote. What could be holding up Mr. Obama?" (RESTOFSTORY)

death of clemency power

To absolutely no discernible effect, Sentencing law and policy scholars have been "... urging President Obama to exercise his clemency power with vigor since literally his very first day in the Oval Office..." http://tinyurl.com/2ebawz9