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CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE STANDS WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER ON THE NEW CLEMENCY PROCESS

April 22, 2014

Those incarcerated can now apply for the reduced sentences as a result of new rules that would expand the pool of eligibility, a bid that would also lower the number of prisoners serving long sentences due to federal drug laws, says Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee

April 21, 2014

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the new rules announced today by Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the clemency initiative announced by the Department of Justice:

"The United States incarcerates nearly 25 percent of the world's inmates, even though it only has 5 percent of the world's population. Thirty years ago, there were less than 30,000 inmates in the federal system; today, there are nearly 216,000, an increase of 800 percent. No other country imprisons a larger percentage of its population than the United States or spends anywhere near the $6.5 billion that we spend annually on prison administration.

"The executive clemency initiative announced by the Department of Justice in February is a welcome and exciting development. It is good to see that the Department of Justice is actively soliciting the assistance of state and local bar associations, civil rights organizations, and the criminal defense bar in identifying and assisting potential candidates in assembling commutation petitions which effectively present the information the Department and the President need to meaningfully consider the requested grant of clemency.

"As a senior member of the House Committee on the Judiciary and a former long-time member of its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, it is refreshing to see the Department of Justice take a proactive position regarding this important initiative and with these new rulings we now see that the President is very receptive and supportive when it comes to moving this initiative forward. Various organizations such as the NAACP, National Bar Association, National Urban League, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association have been asked to both assist and participate in this important new initiative being undertaken by the U.S. Department of Justice to address the prison overpopulation crisis. I recently wrote an Op Ed entitled ‘WE ARE OUR BROTHERS' AND SISTERS' KEEPER: EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY AND SENTENCE COMMUTATION IS SIMPLE JUSTICE LONG OVERDUE' which discussed the clemency issue in depth.

"I introduced H.R.265, the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2009 which would have eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum prison term for first-time possession of crack cocaine. In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act and repealed some of the mandatory sentences that were instated in the 1980s, when there was a crackdown on these offenses. But the problem with the 2010 law is that it does not apply retroactively, which is why some of these people seen as unfairly sentenced might need pardon now. It is important to note that candidates for clemency would include inmates who have had clean records in prison, do not present a threat to public safety and are facing excessive sentences. This push toward clemency brings attention to a larger systemic problem: harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses."

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