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"President Obama: Why no clemency for Hamedah Hasan?"

By Douglas A. Berman

The question in the title of this post is from the headline of this commentary from the Washington Times.  Here are excerpts: More than two years into his term, President Obama has granted only nine pardon requests and no petitions for clemency, despite extremely strong candidates for the Presidential action.... Commuting a sentence is rare.  The public views a pardon, re-establishing rights such as voting after serving a sentence, as more palatable than granting commutation, because the individual has served out his sentence.  Commuting a sentence sometimes is seen as unjustly letting a criminal out of jail and overriding the judicial system.... One stand-out in the more than 3,000 requests for Presidential commutation is Hamedah Hasan, a mother and grandmother serving her 17th year of a 27 year federal prison sentence for non-violent crack cocaine conviction...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 23, 2011 (boomark / email).