Kiriakou writes: "The federal government's program to reduce prison
sentences for thousands of federal offenders sentenced under draconian drug
laws will fail to help almost anybody without the immediate intervention of
the White House. In the meantime, thousands of federal drug offenders are
stuck in a rut with no end in sight."
John Kiriakou in the documentary Silenced. (photo: AFI Docs)
The Clemency Project, Another Obama Mirage?
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
27 January 16
The federal government's program to reduce prison sentences for thousands of
federal offenders sentenced under draconian drug laws will fail to help
almost anybody without the immediate intervention of the White House. In the
meantime, thousands of federal drug offenders are stuck in a rut with no end
in sight.
The Justice Department announced the Clemency Project in 2014 as a way for
drug offenders to argue that their sentences are overly long, and that, if
their crimes had been committed today, they would have been given
significantly less time in prison. For many federal prisoners, this program
is the only chance they have to have some semblance of a real life, to die
outside prison walls, or to spend whatever time they may have left with
family.
The way the program is supposed to operate is that any federal drug offender
who meets a strict set of criteria can apply for a sentence reduction. If
they meet these criteria, they are assigned an attorney, and that attorney
can go before a federal judge and ask for resentencing.
The criteria are that the prisoner must be currently serving a federal
sentence in prison and, by operation of law, likely would have received a
substantially lower sentence if convicted of the same offense today; the
prisoner must be a non-violent, low-level offender without significant ties
to large-scale criminal organizations, gangs, or cartels; the prisoner must
have served at least 10 years of his sentence; the prisoner must have no
significant criminal history; he must have demonstrated good conduct in
prison; and he must have no history of violence prior to or during his
current incarceration.
I spent 23 months in prison after blowing the whistle on the CIA's illegal
and immoral torture program. During those 23 months, I made friends, many of
whom were doing very long stretches for what seemed to me to be innocuous
drug offenses. When the Clemency Project was first announced, it seemed too
good to be true. I fear that as the end of the Obama administration nears,
it may be.
Let me give you some examples of the people this program is supposed to
help. My closest friend in prison was "Mark." Mark is in his mid-40s and is
from Philadelphia. Back in the 1990s, Mark's stepfather taught him how to
make high quality methamphetamine, which they and a group of cohorts then
sold to a crime ring in the city. There were nine people in the conspiracy.
After about six months, Mark decided that this wasn't the life for him, and
he voluntarily left the operation. He was the only person to do so. Mark
went on to open a successful small business that employed a half dozen
people, he got engaged, and he started to build a life for himself.
Years passed. Finally the FBI, DEA, and ATF swooped in and arrested
everybody except Mark. He waited another year for the other shoe to drop
and, finally, he was arrested, too.
Mark refused to testify against his co-defendants. He didn't realize that
they had all agreed to testify against him. Eight of the defendants took
pleas and got sentences of five and a half years. Mark went to trial, where
he was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Despite the fact that he was the only defendant to leave the conspiracy, and
despite the fact that he had the least involvement in the conspiracy, he was
given three consecutive sentences of life without parole. That was later
reduced on appeal - to 30 years. This was for a first-time, nonviolent drug
offender.
Mark has been in prison for more than 16 years. His record has been
exemplary. He's earned a variety of certifications, he has a loving and
supportive family, and he's never been in trouble. He can and should be a
productive member of society. His only hope is the Clemency Project.
Mark's case is not unusual. There are thousands of people in our prisons
like him. And many are in even worse situations. The Huffington Post
recently reported on the story of Carlos Tapia-Ponce, a 94-year-old serving
a life sentence for managing a cocaine warehouse. He has been in prison for
26 years and has twice been denied compassionate release for chronic health
problems. Even though he has also been denied release under the Clemency
Project, his attorney is appealing the decision, and the application
apparently will be reconsidered. If the Clemency Project is not for Carlos
Tapia-Ponce, then who is it for? Is this 94-year-old man that much of a
threat?
One question that the Justice Department - and sentencing judges - ought to
ask themselves is, "Is society truly served by keeping these people in
prison, in some cases for the rest of their lives?" I would posit that it is
not. Society would be better served if these prisoners could work, pay
taxes, tend to their families, and lead normal lives. Long sentences are
punitive. They don't help "society" in any way.
As for the President, addressing draconian drug sentences is a great idea,
even if it doesn't address the sentencing laws themselves. The Clemency
Project has the potential to help thousands of people - indeed, thousands of
families - rebuild their lives. But it will only work if the Justice
Department can process the applications. And that hasn't happened. A year
after the program was announced, only two out of 30,000 prisoners had had
their sentences shortened. By December 2015, the list of those whose
sentences were commuted grew by only another 95.
We need presidential action right now. Without it there will be no legacy of
justice in drug sentencing. And there's not a lot of time.
________________________________________
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
John Kiriakou in the documentary Silenced. (photo: AFI Docs)
http://readersupportednews.org/http://readersupportednews.org/
The Clemency Project, Another Obama Mirage?
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
27 January 16
he federal government's program to reduce prison sentences for thousands of
federal offenders sentenced under draconian drug laws will fail to help
almost anybody without the immediate intervention of the White House. In the
meantime, thousands of federal drug offenders are stuck in a rut with no end
in sight.
The Justice Department announced the Clemency Project in 2014 as a way for
drug offenders to argue that their sentences are overly long, and that, if
their crimes had been committed today, they would have been given
significantly less time in prison. For many federal prisoners, this program
is the only chance they have to have some semblance of a real life, to die
outside prison walls, or to spend whatever time they may have left with
family.
The way the program is supposed to operate is that any federal drug offender
who meets a strict set of criteria can apply for a sentence reduction. If
they meet these criteria, they are assigned an attorney, and that attorney
can go before a federal judge and ask for resentencing.
The criteria are that the prisoner must be currently serving a federal
sentence in prison and, by operation of law, likely would have received a
substantially lower sentence if convicted of the same offense today; the
prisoner must be a non-violent, low-level offender without significant ties
to large-scale criminal organizations, gangs, or cartels; the prisoner must
have served at least 10 years of his sentence; the prisoner must have no
significant criminal history; he must have demonstrated good conduct in
prison; and he must have no history of violence prior to or during his
current incarceration.
I spent 23 months in prison after blowing the whistle on the CIA's illegal
and immoral torture program. During those 23 months, I made friends, many of
whom were doing very long stretches for what seemed to me to be innocuous
drug offenses. When the Clemency Project was first announced, it seemed too
good to be true. I fear that as the end of the Obama administration nears,
it may be.
Let me give you some examples of the people this program is supposed to
help. My closest friend in prison was "Mark." Mark is in his mid-40s and is
from Philadelphia. Back in the 1990s, Mark's stepfather taught him how to
make high quality methamphetamine, which they and a group of cohorts then
sold to a crime ring in the city. There were nine people in the conspiracy.
After about six months, Mark decided that this wasn't the life for him, and
he voluntarily left the operation. He was the only person to do so. Mark
went on to open a successful small business that employed a half dozen
people, he got engaged, and he started to build a life for himself.
Years passed. Finally the FBI, DEA, and ATF swooped in and arrested
everybody except Mark. He waited another year for the other shoe to drop
and, finally, he was arrested, too.
Mark refused to testify against his co-defendants. He didn't realize that
they had all agreed to testify against him. Eight of the defendants took
pleas and got sentences of five and a half years. Mark went to trial, where
he was found guilty of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Despite the fact that he was the only defendant to leave the conspiracy, and
despite the fact that he had the least involvement in the conspiracy, he was
given three consecutive sentences of life without parole. That was later
reduced on appeal - to 30 years. This was for a first-time, nonviolent drug
offender.
Mark has been in prison for more than 16 years. His record has been
exemplary. He's earned a variety of certifications, he has a loving and
supportive family, and he's never been in trouble. He can and should be a
productive member of society. His only hope is the Clemency Project.
Mark's case is not unusual. There are thousands of people in our prisons
like him. And many are in even worse situations. The Huffington Post
recently reported on the story of Carlos Tapia-Ponce, a 94-year-old serving
a life sentence for managing a cocaine warehouse. He has been in prison for
26 years and has twice been denied compassionate release for chronic health
problems. Even though he has also been denied release under the Clemency
Project, his attorney is appealing the decision, and the application
apparently will be reconsidered. If the Clemency Project is not for Carlos
Tapia-Ponce, then who is it for? Is this 94-year-old man that much of a
threat?
One question that the Justice Department - and sentencing judges - ought to
ask themselves is, "Is society truly served by keeping these people in
prison, in some cases for the rest of their lives?" I would posit that it is
not. Society would be better served if these prisoners could work, pay
taxes, tend to their families, and lead normal lives. Long sentences are
punitive. They don't help "society" in any way.
As for the President, addressing draconian drug sentences is a great idea,
even if it doesn't address the sentencing laws themselves. The Clemency
Project has the potential to help thousands of people - indeed, thousands of
families - rebuild their lives. But it will only work if the Justice
Department can process the applications. And that hasn't happened. A year
after the program was announced, only two out of 30,000 prisoners had had
their sentences shortened. By December 2015, the list of those whose
sentences were commuted grew by only another 95.
We need presidential action right now. Without it there will be no legacy of
justice in drug sentencing. And there's not a lot of time.
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
