[blind-democracy] For Families Denied Clemency Under Obama, What Now?

From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2017 22:00:27 -0500

For Families Denied Clemency Under Obama, What Now?

Sunday, February 19, 2017 By
<http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/45103> Victoria Law,

When her mother called, Miquelle West was in Michigan spending the holidays
with a friend. The two were using Miquelle's phone to watch a documentary
about Miquelle's quest for clemency for her mother
<https://revolt.tv/stories/2016/11/02/watch-freemichellewest-0700eb5980> ,
Michelle West, who had been given two life sentences for drug conspiracy and
abetting a drug-related murder
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32745-mothers-serving-long-term-drug-sen
tences-call-for-clemency> ; the man who had committed the murder testified
against her in exchange for full immunity. West, who has always maintained
her innocence, had filed a petition for clemency, hoping that Obama would
commute her sentence so that she could rejoin her daughter, who was 10 years
old when she was arrested in 1993.

"She called and asked if I was sitting down," Miquelle told Truthout. "She
said she had bad news for me." Hearing those words, Miquelle knew that her
mother's petition had been denied.

Miquelle West holds a photo of her mother, Michelle West, Los Angeles, 2016.
(Photo: Victoria Law)Once their call was over, Miquelle didn't tell her
friend what had happened. Instead, she simply handed the phone back to her
friend, who continued to watch the documentary. "I needed to process it
myself first," she explained. "I didn't feel like I could break down. I was
holding it together and also trying to piece it together."

As the impact of the denial sank in, Miquelle, who had spent the past year
telling her mother's story and advocating for clemency, wondered, "Did I not
put in enough work? Should I have done something different?"

Thousands of Clemency Denials

In the last weeks of Obama's presidency, thousands of people in federal
prisons -- and thousands of family members outside of prison -- had similar
questions as the Office of the Pardon Attorney released lengthy lists of
clemency denials. While Obama ultimately commuted the prison sentences of
1,715 people, including Chelsea Manning
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39143-chelsea-manning-s-attorneys-obama-
s-commutation-will-help-save-life-of-jailed-army-whistleblower> and Oscar
Lopez Rivera
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39144-oscar-lopez-rivera-to-be-freed-as-
obama-commutes-sentence-for-puerto-rican-independence-activist> , he denied
18,749 clemency applications and closed another 4,250 without taking action.
This adds up to 22,999 people whose hopes are now on hold.

Amy Povah, the founder of CAN-Do Justice Through Clemency
<http://www.candoclemency.com/> , has been advocating for clemency for
Michelle West and many others in federal prison, particularly women serving
draconian drug war sentences. A large part of the problem, said Povah, who
was granted clemency by Clinton
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32745-mothers-serving-long-term-drug-sen
tences-call-for-clemency> , lies in the fact that the Department of Justice
(DOJ) has complete control over the Office of the Pardon Attorney, a fact
that former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff , who resigned in January 2016,
after less than two years on the job, noted in her resignation letter
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2777898-Deborah-Leff-resignation-le
tter.html> . "I have reached this decision because I am unable to carry out
my job effectively, despite my intense efforts to do so," wrote Leff in her
open letter to then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.

"If you read Leff's resignation letter, it's obvious that she resigned due
to frustration that petitions she was giving favorable recommendations for
were never making it to the White House," noted Povah. "Plus, the Department
of Justice severed her ability to communicate with the White House, which is
a complete departure from protocol. What is DOJ afraid of?"

On January 6, 2017, Michelle West was one of 1,161 hopefuls who were denied
commutation <https://www.justice.gov/pardon> . That morning, she was called
into the office of her prison counselor and handed a form letter from the
Office of the Pardon Attorney. "The application of Michelle West for
commutation of sentence was carefully considered in this Department and the
White House, and the decision was reached that favorable action is not
warranted," the letter stated.

Reasons for the decision are confidential and not subject to freedom of
information requests, so the Wests most likely will never know why
Michelle's petition was denied. They only know that there is no appealing
the decision and that West must wait a full year before submitting another
application.

Even if she does submit another application, West most likely faces an even
harder battle under the new administration. During his campaign, Trump
slammed Obama's clemency initiative, calling recipients
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-challenging-crim
inal-justice-reform-efforts-n632091> "bad dudes." Attorney General Jeff
Sessions has similarly denounced the initiative, stating that
<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/jeff_sessions_obama_playing_a.html

"low-level, non-violent offenders ... do not exist in the federal system"

and calling it a "dangerous game to advance [Obama's] political ideology."

Under the current clemency process
<https://www.justice.gov/pardon/frequently-asked-questions-concerning-execut
ive-clemency> , the Deputy Attorney General, who is appointed by the
president, makes the final determination on any application that is sent to
the White House.

"My Father Met All the Criteria"

William Underwood never received a letter informing him that his clemency
application had been denied. Instead, his daughter Ebony received a call
from her father's attorney informing her that her father's name was among
the 600 denials issued on November 29, five days after Thanksgiving. But
Underwood, now in his 29th year of a life sentence for conducting or
participating in a racketeering enterprise (RICO), drug conspiracy and a
continuing criminal enterprise, has yet to receive his form letter.

In 1988, 33-year-old Underwood was a prominent music manager and promoter,
working with musicians like Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, MC Hammer, Ray Charles
and Michael Jackson. He had four children, two of whom -- Ebony and Anthony
-- were in high school; the others were 12 and five years old. He raised his
children around music. Both Ebony and Anthony remember hanging out in the
offices of MCA Records with musicians who later became superstars, and going
to concerts.

"I remember playing ping pong and pool with Madonna before she blew up,"
recalled Anthony. When the Jacksons played the Meadowlands during their 1984
Victory Tour
<http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/30/arts/concert-jacksons-at-giants-stadium.h
tml> , their father not only procured tickets but also rented two passenger
vans to bring family and friends to the show.

Three days before William Underwood's 34th birthday, federal agents arrested
him. Anthony, who had turned 18 the previous day, was shocked when he came
home from school and found police and federal authorities in their home.

"They had already searched the house," he told Truthout. "They really
destroyed our house." The agents had ripped the shelves and the walls and
punched holes in the closets. But no one told him why the authorities had
ransacked the house or taken his father away. It was not until he saw the
papers the next morning that he learned that his father had, as a teen dad
in 1970s Harlem, been involved in selling drugs. By 1988, Underwood's
drug-dealing days were long over, a fact that the FBI noted two years
earlier when it closed its investigation on him "due to lack of activity."
But others, facing lengthy prison sentences for drugs, named Underwood as
part of a drug conspiracy, a practice known in New York City as
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/etc/script.html>
"testalying." Under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act
<https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-102/pdf/STATUTE-102-Pg4181.pdf>  of
1988, prosecutors need not prove that someone ever trafficked, sold or even
possessed drugs to convict a person for conspiracy; they simply need
testimony stating that the person did so.

William Underwood took his case to trial. He lost and, in 1990, was
sentenced to a concurrent 20 years plus a life sentence. He has since
completed the 20-year sentence, but the life sentence looms over him and his
family. His appeals have been denied and, despite recent changes in drug
sentencing laws, none apply retroactively to his case.

During his 29 years behind bars, Underwood's children have grown up and
started families of their own. He has been incarcerated in at least eight
different federal prisons across the country, making visits difficult and
expensive. Nevertheless, he, his children and his three grandchildren have
managed to maintain a strong bond.

"It's all him," reflected Ebony. She says that her father calls
consistently, sends emails via the prison's e-messaging system, and never
forgets to send birthday and holiday cards. When his children walked across
the stage to Pomp and Circumstance to get their diplomas, he sent them
graduation cards. When they began having children of their own, he sent
Mother's Day and Father's Day cards. It's something that he's kept up for
the past 29 years, a feat that most people on the outside can't keep up. "I
don't always send a birthday card," admits Ebony. "I don't always send a
holiday card. But he always sends a card."

When Obama announced his clemency initiative, the family began to hope that
their father would finally be able to come home. Underwood, then 61, had
already served 27 years in prison under a sentence that would have been much
more lenient had he gone to trial today.

For the Underwood children, the clemency initiative pushed them to begin
speaking out about their father's case, breaking a decades-long silence and
uncovering pain that had long been buried.

"As a child of incarcerated parents, you create a wall of resilience just to
operate," explained Ebony. "In speaking out, I realized how much pain I had
buried. I had no idea I had all this stuff festering inside."

Despite the pain, she and Anthony jumped into advocating for their father's
release. They started a Change.org petition, garnering nearly 72,000
signatures
<https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-28-years-is-too-long-free-our-fath
er-william-underwood> . Ebony, a filmmaker, created the documentary and
campaign #HopeforFathersDay  <http://inprison.net/documentary.php> to show
the effects of harsh sentencing on children of incarcerated parents, her
(and her siblings') efforts to sustain a relationship with their father, and
their advocacy to free him. Anthony attended the Justice Roundtable in
Washington, DC. He also started Celebrities for Justice
<http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/celebrities-for-justice-time-to-end-mandatory
-minimums> , calling upon over 100 musicians and entertainers who had worked
with his father to support efforts to bring home his father and others
sentenced under draconian drug laws. Both traveled to Washington, DC, to
draw awareness to their father's imprisonment and his bid for clemency. In
March 2016 they were invited to the White House for an event entitled Life
After Clemency
<https://justiceroundtable.org/resource/white-house-convening-on-life-after-
clemency/>  about the challenges facing clemency recipients as they try to
rebuild their lives. They even got the support of Sen. Cory Booker, who met
Underwood <https://www.instagram.com/p/BM5N6JSBIyx/>  during his August 2016
visit to the federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey.

When they learned about their father's denial, both siblings were shocked.
"My father met all the criteria," noted Ebony. "We had so much support from
so many different people. We went to the White House several times. And
then, to not be heard? It's really heartbreaking."

After 40 Years in Prison, Leonard Peltier Still Denied Clemency

Shortly before leaving office, Obama commuted the sentences of political
prisoners Oscar Lopez Rivera and Chelsea Manning. But the following day, he
denied clemency to Leonard Peltier
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/18/breaking_leonard_peltier_denied_clem
ency_by> , a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) sentenced to two
consecutive life sentences
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38770-will-obama-grant-leonard-peltier-h
is-last-chance-at-freedom>  for allegedly shooting FBI agents on the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975 -- charges that he has always denied. Now
72, Peltier has suffered from heart problems, a stroke that has left him
partially blind in one eye, and diabetes. Even his prosecuting attorney,
James Reynold, urged Obama to commute Peltier's sentence
<http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/download/ReynoldsLtr.pdf> .

But opposition to clemency for the aging AIM activist, whose trial and
conviction have been fraught with controversy, has been fierce. When Peltier
applied for clemency during Clinton's presidency, nearly 500 FBI agents and
their families protested outside the White House. Clinton, who granted
clemency to political prisoner Susan Rosenberg and 16 members of the FALN
(Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional or Armed Forces of National
Liberation, a Puerto Rican independence group), took no action on Peltier's
application.

Peter Clark, the former codirector of the International Leonard Peltier
Defense Committee <http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/> , visited Peltier
at the federal prison in Coleman, Florida, days after the denial. "He was
understandably upset and disappointed in President Obama," he told Truthout.
"We don't know why Obama denied him clemency this time, but we know there
was FBI pressure."

Unlike William Underwood and Michelle West, who were convicted in 1990 and
1993, Leonard Peltier has a shot at parole. In the federal prison system,
parole was abolished in the late 1980s. However, the parole ban was not
retroactive, so people convicted before November 1, 1987, can still apply
for parole <https://www.justice.gov/uspc/how-parole-works> . Peltier, who
was convicted in 1977, had his first full parole hearing in 2009; he was
denied. His next full parole hearing will not be until 2024, but the Parole
Commission is legally required to conduct interim hearings every 18 to 24
months. At these hearings, the Commission considers any factors that may
warrant modifying the person's release date.

While they're not ruling out future clemency applications or compassionate
release, given Peltier's age and declining health, neither Clark nor
Paulette D'Auteuil, one of the Defense Committee's new directors, is overly
hopeful about those options. Given Trump's executive order to prevent
violence against law enforcement
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/09/presidential-executi
ve-order-preventing-violence-against-federal-state>  and establish new
mandatory minimum sentences for existing crimes of violence against law
enforcement, clemency seems even less attainable over the next four years.
"We're looking into new legal strategies and a broader international
perspective," D'Auteuil told Truthout.

"It's Not Going to Crush Us. We're Going Around It."

Despite the denials, no one is giving up hope. Ebony said her father's
denial "is another boulder. It's not going to crush us. We're going around
it." Her siblings and she are not giving up on their father's freedom. They
are heartened by the support of people from the music industry, even after
her father's 29-year absence. "I was floored that so many people
remembered," she said. Understanding that the pain of her father's
imprisonment is currently shared by 2.7 million children
<http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2010/colla
teralcosts1pdf.pdf> , Ebony is also creating We Got Us Now
<https://www.wegotusnow.org/> , a digital hub with resources for children of
incarcerated parents. It's a resource that she and her siblings never had
while growing up and one that she hopes will lead to greater change in
policies around incarcerated parents.

Miquelle West also remains resolute in seeking her mother's release. "I'm
going to continue advocating," she told Truthout. "I'm not going to change
anything." She and Ebony are both members of the National Council for
Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
<http://thecouncil.us/> , and often speak at public events about their
parents' incarceration and their fight for freedom.

Miquelle noted that, under Obama, over 1,700 people were granted clemency
and were able to return home early. "That's a lot," she reflected. "We do
know it's possible. We have to continue to keep our faith, to keep our
strength. If we lose hope, then we're losing out."

Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission
<mailto:editor@xxxxxxxxxxxx> .

Victoria Law <http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/45103>

Victoria Law is a freelance journalist who focuses on the intersections of
incarceration, gender and resistance. Her first book, Resistance Behind
Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women, examines organizing in women's
jails and prisons across the country. She writes regularly for Truthout and
is a contributor to the anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Her
next book, co-written with Maya Schenwar, critically examines proposed
"alternatives" to incarceration and explores creative and far-reaching
solutions to truly end mass incarceration. She is also the proud parent of a
New York City high school student. Find more of her work at victorialaw.net
<http://victorialaw.net/> .

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  _____

Show Comments

When her mother called, Miquelle West was in Michigan spending the holidays
with a friend. The two were using Miquelle's phone to watch a documentary
about Miquelle's quest for clemency for her mother
<https://revolt.tv/stories/2016/11/02/watch-freemichellewest-0700eb5980> ,
Michelle West, who had been given two life sentences for drug conspiracy and
abetting a drug-related murder
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32745-mothers-serving-long-term-drug-sen
tences-call-for-clemency> ; the man who had committed the murder testified
against her in exchange for full immunity. West, who has always maintained
her innocence, had filed a petition for clemency, hoping that Obama would
commute her sentence so that she could rejoin her daughter, who was 10 years
old when she was arrested in 1993.

"She called and asked if I was sitting down," Miquelle told Truthout. "She
said she had bad news for me." Hearing those words, Miquelle knew that her
mother's petition had been denied.

Miquelle West holds a photo of her mother, Michelle West, Los Angeles, 2016.
(Photo: Victoria Law)Once their call was over, Miquelle didn't tell her
friend what had happened. Instead, she simply handed the phone back to her
friend, who continued to watch the documentary. "I needed to process it
myself first," she explained. "I didn't feel like I could break down. I was
holding it together and also trying to piece it together."

As the impact of the denial sank in, Miquelle, who had spent the past year
telling her mother's story and advocating for clemency, wondered, "Did I not
put in enough work? Should I have done something different?"

Thousands of Clemency Denials

In the last weeks of Obama's presidency, thousands of people in federal
prisons -- and thousands of family members outside of prison -- had similar
questions as the Office of the Pardon Attorney released lengthy lists of
clemency denials. While Obama ultimately commuted the prison sentences of
1,715 people, including Chelsea Manning
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39143-chelsea-manning-s-attorneys-obama-
s-commutation-will-help-save-life-of-jailed-army-whistleblower>  and Oscar
Lopez Rivera
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39144-oscar-lopez-rivera-to-be-freed-as-
obama-commutes-sentence-for-puerto-rican-independence-activist> , he denied
18,749 clemency applications and closed another 4,250 without taking action.
This adds up to 22,999 people whose hopes are now on hold.

Amy Povah, the founder of CAN-Do Justice Through Clemency
<http://www.candoclemency.com/> , has been advocating for clemency for
Michelle West and many others in federal prison, particularly women serving
draconian drug war sentences. A large part of the problem, said Povah, who
was granted clemency by Clinton
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32745-mothers-serving-long-term-drug-sen
tences-call-for-clemency> , lies in the fact that the Department of Justice
(DOJ) has complete control over the Office of the Pardon Attorney, a fact
that former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff , who resigned in January 2016,
after less than two years on the job, noted in her resignation letter
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2777898-Deborah-Leff-resignation-le
tter.html> . "I have reached this decision because I am unable to carry out
my job effectively, despite my intense efforts to do so," wrote Leff in her
open letter to then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.

"If you read Leff's resignation letter, it's obvious that she resigned due
to frustration that petitions she was giving favorable recommendations for
were never making it to the White House," noted Povah. "Plus, the Department
of Justice severed her ability to communicate with the White House, which is
a complete departure from protocol. What is DOJ afraid of?"

On January 6, 2017, Michelle West was one of 1,161 hopefuls who were denied
commutation <https://www.justice.gov/pardon> . That morning, she was called
into the office of her prison counselor and handed a form letter from the
Office of the Pardon Attorney. "The application of Michelle West for
commutation of sentence was carefully considered in this Department and the
White House, and the decision was reached that favorable action is not
warranted," the letter stated.

Reasons for the decision are confidential and not subject to freedom of
information requests, so the Wests most likely will never know why
Michelle's petition was denied. They only know that there is no appealing
the decision and that West must wait a full year before submitting another
application.

Even if she does submit another application, West most likely faces an even
harder battle under the new administration. During his campaign, Trump
slammed Obama's clemency initiative, calling recipients
<http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-challenging-crim
inal-justice-reform-efforts-n632091> "bad dudes." Attorney General Jeff
Sessions has similarly denounced the initiative, stating that
<http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/jeff_sessions_obama_playing_a.html

"low-level, non-violent offenders ... do not exist in the federal system"

and calling it a "dangerous game to advance [Obama's] political ideology."

Under the current clemency process
<https://www.justice.gov/pardon/frequently-asked-questions-concerning-execut
ive-clemency> , the Deputy Attorney General, who is appointed by the
president, makes the final determination on any application that is sent to
the White House.

"My Father Met All the Criteria"

William Underwood never received a letter informing him that his clemency
application had been denied. Instead, his daughter Ebony received a call
from her father's attorney informing her that her father's name was among
the 600 denials issued on November 29, five days after Thanksgiving. But
Underwood, now in his 29th year of a life sentence for conducting or
participating in a racketeering enterprise (RICO), drug conspiracy and a
continuing criminal enterprise, has yet to receive his form letter.

In 1988, 33-year-old Underwood was a prominent music manager and promoter,
working with musicians like Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, MC Hammer, Ray Charles
and Michael Jackson. He had four children, two of whom -- Ebony and Anthony
-- were in high school; the others were 12 and five years old. He raised his
children around music. Both Ebony and Anthony remember hanging out in the
offices of MCA Records with musicians who later became superstars, and going
to concerts.

"I remember playing ping pong and pool with Madonna before she blew up,"
recalled Anthony. When the Jacksons played the Meadowlands during their 1984
Victory Tour
<http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/30/arts/concert-jacksons-at-giants-stadium.h
tml> , their father not only procured tickets but also rented two passenger
vans to bring family and friends to the show.

Three days before William Underwood's 34th birthday, federal agents arrested
him. Anthony, who had turned 18 the previous day, was shocked when he came
home from school and found police and federal authorities in their home.

"They had already searched the house," he told Truthout. "They really
destroyed our house." The agents had ripped the shelves and the walls and
punched holes in the closets. But no one told him why the authorities had
ransacked the house or taken his father away. It was not until he saw the
papers the next morning that he learned that his father had, as a teen dad
in 1970s Harlem, been involved in selling drugs. By 1988, Underwood's
drug-dealing days were long over, a fact that the FBI noted two years
earlier when it closed its investigation on him "due to lack of activity."
But others, facing lengthy prison sentences for drugs, named Underwood as
part of a drug conspiracy, a practice known in New York City as
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/etc/script.html>
"testalying." Under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act
<https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-102/pdf/STATUTE-102-Pg4181.pdf>  of
1988, prosecutors need not prove that someone ever trafficked, sold or even
possessed drugs to convict a person for conspiracy; they simply need
testimony stating that the person did so.

William Underwood took his case to trial. He lost and, in 1990, was
sentenced to a concurrent 20 years plus a life sentence. He has since
completed the 20-year sentence, but the life sentence looms over him and his
family. His appeals have been denied and, despite recent changes in drug
sentencing laws, none apply retroactively to his case.

During his 29 years behind bars, Underwood's children have grown up and
started families of their own. He has been incarcerated in at least eight
different federal prisons across the country, making visits difficult and
expensive. Nevertheless, he, his children and his three grandchildren have
managed to maintain a strong bond.

"It's all him," reflected Ebony. She says that her father calls
consistently, sends emails via the prison's e-messaging system, and never
forgets to send birthday and holiday cards. When his children walked across
the stage to Pomp and Circumstance to get their diplomas, he sent them
graduation cards. When they began having children of their own, he sent
Mother's Day and Father's Day cards. It's something that he's kept up for
the past 29 years, a feat that most people on the outside can't keep up. "I
don't always send a birthday card," admits Ebony. "I don't always send a
holiday card. But he always sends a card."

When Obama announced his clemency initiative, the family began to hope that
their father would finally be able to come home. Underwood, then 61, had
already served 27 years in prison under a sentence that would have been much
more lenient had he gone to trial today.

For the Underwood children, the clemency initiative pushed them to begin
speaking out about their father's case, breaking a decades-long silence and
uncovering pain that had long been buried.

"As a child of incarcerated parents, you create a wall of resilience just to
operate," explained Ebony. "In speaking out, I realized how much pain I had
buried. I had no idea I had all this stuff festering inside."

Despite the pain, she and Anthony jumped into advocating for their father's
release. They started a Change.org petition, garnering nearly 72,000
signatures
<https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-28-years-is-too-long-free-our-fath
er-william-underwood> . Ebony, a filmmaker, created the documentary and
campaign #HopeforFathersDay  <http://inprison.net/documentary.php> to show
the effects of harsh sentencing on children of incarcerated parents, her
(and her siblings') efforts to sustain a relationship with their father, and
their advocacy to free him. Anthony attended the Justice Roundtable in
Washington, DC. He also started Celebrities for Justice
<http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/celebrities-for-justice-time-to-end-mandatory
-minimums> , calling upon over 100 musicians and entertainers who had worked
with his father to support efforts to bring home his father and others
sentenced under draconian drug laws. Both traveled to Washington, DC, to
draw awareness to their father's imprisonment and his bid for clemency. In
March 2016 they were invited to the White House for an event entitled Life
After Clemency
<https://justiceroundtable.org/resource/white-house-convening-on-life-after-
clemency/>  about the challenges facing clemency recipients as they try to
rebuild their lives. They even got the support of Sen. Cory Booker, who met
Underwood <https://www.instagram.com/p/BM5N6JSBIyx/>  during his August 2016
visit to the federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey.

When they learned about their father's denial, both siblings were shocked.
"My father met all the criteria," noted Ebony. "We had so much support from
so many different people. We went to the White House several times. And
then, to not be heard? It's really heartbreaking."

After 40 Years in Prison, Leonard Peltier Still Denied Clemency

Shortly before leaving office, Obama commuted the sentences of political
prisoners Oscar Lopez Rivera and Chelsea Manning. But the following day, he
denied clemency to Leonard Peltier
<https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/18/breaking_leonard_peltier_denied_clem
ency_by> , a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) sentenced to two
consecutive life sentences
<http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/38770-will-obama-grant-leonard-peltier-h
is-last-chance-at-freedom>  for allegedly shooting FBI agents on the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975 -- charges that he has always denied. Now
72, Peltier has suffered from heart problems, a stroke that has left him
partially blind in one eye, and diabetes. Even his prosecuting attorney,
James Reynold, urged Obama to commute Peltier's sentence
<http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/download/ReynoldsLtr.pdf> .

But opposition to clemency for the aging AIM activist, whose trial and
conviction have been fraught with controversy, has been fierce. When Peltier
applied for clemency during Clinton's presidency, nearly 500 FBI agents and
their families protested outside the White House. Clinton, who granted
clemency to political prisoner Susan Rosenberg and 16 members of the FALN
(Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional or Armed Forces of National
Liberation, a Puerto Rican independence group), took no action on Peltier's
application.

Peter Clark, the former codirector of the International Leonard Peltier
Defense Committee <http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/> , visited Peltier
at the federal prison in Coleman, Florida, days after the denial. "He was
understandably upset and disappointed in President Obama," he told Truthout.
"We don't know why Obama denied him clemency this time, but we know there
was FBI pressure."

Unlike William Underwood and Michelle West, who were convicted in 1990 and
1993, Leonard Peltier has a shot at parole. In the federal prison system,
parole was abolished in the late 1980s. However, the parole ban was not
retroactive, so people convicted before November 1, 1987, can still apply
for parole <https://www.justice.gov/uspc/how-parole-works> . Peltier, who
was convicted in 1977, had his first full parole hearing in 2009; he was
denied. His next full parole hearing will not be until 2024, but the Parole
Commission is legally required to conduct interim hearings every 18 to 24
months. At these hearings, the Commission considers any factors that may
warrant modifying the person's release date.

While they're not ruling out future clemency applications or compassionate
release, given Peltier's age and declining health, neither Clark nor
Paulette D'Auteuil, one of the Defense Committee's new directors, is overly
hopeful about those options. Given Trump's executive order to prevent
violence against law enforcement
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/09/presidential-executi
ve-order-preventing-violence-against-federal-state>  and establish new
mandatory minimum sentences for existing crimes of violence against law
enforcement, clemency seems even less attainable over the next four years.
"We're looking into new legal strategies and a broader international
perspective," D'Auteuil told Truthout.

"It's Not Going to Crush Us. We're Going Around It."

Despite the denials, no one is giving up hope. Ebony said her father's
denial "is another boulder. It's not going to crush us. We're going around
it." Her siblings and she are not giving up on their father's freedom. They
are heartened by the support of people from the music industry, even after
her father's 29-year absence. "I was floored that so many people
remembered," she said. Understanding that the pain of her father's
imprisonment is currently shared by 2.7 million children
<http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2010/colla
teralcosts1pdf.pdf> , Ebony is also creating We Got Us Now
<https://www.wegotusnow.org/> , a digital hub with resources for children of
incarcerated parents. It's a resource that she and her siblings never had
while growing up and one that she hopes will lead to greater change in
policies around incarcerated parents.

Miquelle West also remains resolute in seeking her mother's release. "I'm
going to continue advocating," she told Truthout. "I'm not going to change
anything." She and Ebony are both members of the National Council for
Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
<http://thecouncil.us/> , and often speak at public events about their
parents' incarceration and their fight for freedom.

Miquelle noted that, under Obama, over 1,700 people were granted clemency
and were able to return home early. "That's a lot," she reflected. "We do
know it's possible. We have to continue to keep our faith, to keep our
strength. If we lose hope, then we're losing out."

Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission
<mailto:editor@xxxxxxxxxxxx> .

Victoria Law

Victoria Law is a freelance journalist who focuses on the intersections of
incarceration, gender and resistance. Her first book, Resistance Behind
Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women, examines organizing in women's
jails and prisons across the country. She writes regularly for Truthout and
is a contributor to the anthology Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Her
next book, co-written with Maya Schenwar, critically examines proposed
"alternatives" to incarceration and explores creative and far-reaching
solutions to truly end mass incarceration. She is also the proud parent of a
New York City high school student. Find more of her work at victorialaw.net
<http://victorialaw.net/> .

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[blind-democracy] For Families Denied Clemency Under Obama, What Now?

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