National

Advocates Hope Obama’s Clemencies will Pave Way for Other Releases

Published

10 years ago

April 7, 2015

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Department of Homeland Security on his FY2016 budget proposal, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015, in Washington. Obama warned congressional Republicans Monday that he won't accept a spending plan that boosts national security at the expense of domestic programs for the middle class. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Obama has granted 43 commutations, compared to President George W. Bush who only commuted 11 sentences during his two terms in the White House. (AP FILE PHOTO/Evan Vucci)

By Freddie Allen
NNPA Senior Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Prisoners’ advocate groups hope President Barack Obama’s decision to grant clemency to nearly two dozen, non-violent drug offenders is just the beginning of a wave of future commutations that would disproportionately impact African Americans held in federal prisons.

“For some years we have needed reform in our criminal justice system,” said Cynthia Roseberry, project manager for the Clemency Project 2014, a network of lawyers and prisoners’ advocates that assist federal prisoners seeking sentence reductions. “This move by the president is one way to fix some of these draconian sentences that were handed down and not corrected through retroactive application of new law and new guidelines.”

In 2014, the Department of Justice announced a new clemency initiative designed to improve the perception of the criminal justice system and promote parity in sentencing. The Justice Department will use six criteria as they prioritize which clemency applications to review. Applicants have to meet the following requirements:

• They are 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(s) today;
• They are non-violent, low-level offenders without significant ties to large scale criminal organizations, gangs or cartels;
• They have served at least 10 years of their prison sentence;
• They do not have a significant criminal history;
• They have demonstrated good conduct in prison; and
• They have no history of violence prior to or during their current term of imprisonment.

According to The Sentencing Project, a research group that advocates for criminal justice reform, nearly half of the inmates in federal prisons were convicted of drug crimes.

In an issue brief on the drivers of growth in the prison population, researchers with the Urban Institute, an independent research and policy think tank, reported that, “The biggest driver of growth in the prison population is in federally sentenced drug offenders, almost all of whom were convicted of drug trafficking.”

The report continued: “Incarceration for drug offenses disproportionately affects nonwhite offenders: in FY 2013, over 75 percent of all drug offenders in federal prison were Black or Hispanic.”

Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for reforms to sentencing laws that protect public safety, said that she was thrilled that President Obama was making good on his promise to provide relief for federal prisoners serving excessively long mandatory minimum sentences.

Donel Marcel Clark, a member of FAMM who received clemency last week, had already served more than 20 years of a 30-year prison sentence, “for participating in a nonviolent drug conspiracy, his first and only offense, during a time when his family was facing financial hardship,” FAMM officials noted in a press release.

The release continued: “During his time in prison, Donel has maintained a perfect disciplinary record, earned outstanding work reviews, taken numerous classes, and worked to maintain strong relationships with his children.”
In a letter to Terry Barnes, another one of the prisoner’s granted clemency last week, President Obama wrote that the power to grant pardons and commutations embodies the basic belief in our democracy, that people deserve a second chance after having made a mistake in their lives that led to a conviction under our laws. The president also reminded Barnes that he had the capacity to make good choices, even in the face of self-doubt and people that question whether or not he can change.

By making good choices, the president said, Barnes would not only affect his life and those closest to him, but also the possibility that others in his circumstance could get the same second chance that Barnes’ received.
“We hope and expect to see more commutations granted through the end of his term,” said Stewart.

Neil Eggleston, the assistant and counsel to the president, wrote in a blog post that President Obama was building on his commitment to address instances of unfairness in sentencing, Eggleston wrote that President Obama has granted 43 commutations, compared to President George W. Bush who only commuted 11 sentences during his two terms in the White House.

Roseberry said that if you look back at history, there haven’t been many other presidents to grant clemency in this way, noting that the president’s most recent order more than doubled the number of sentences that he had commuted earlier during his tenure as president.

“This is historic,” she added. “By doing this the president has restored hope to so many people and their families who never thought that they would be able to sit down for a meal with each other again, or to embrace each other again, or to re-enter society as a family again. That hope is priceless.”

President Obama granted the following individuals clemency last week:
• Terry Andre Barnes – East Moline, Ill.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base; supervised release violation (distribution of cocaine base) (Southern District of Iowa)
Sentence: 246 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (July 25, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Theresa Brown – Pompano Beach, Fla.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine (Southern District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Mar. 29, 1995)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Donel Marcus Clark – Dallas, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy; use of a communication facility (five counts); distribution and/or possession of cocaine or manufacturing in or near a school facility, aiding and abetting (Northern District of Texas)
Sentence: 420 months’ imprisonment; four years’ supervised release (Nov. 12, 1993); amended to 360 months’ imprisonment (August 20, 2008)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Ricky Bernard Coggins – Tallahassee, Fla.
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (May 3, 1993)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Samuel Pasqual Edmondson – Junction City, Kansas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Eastern District of Texas)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Sep. 24, 1997)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Amado Garcia – Fresno, Calif.
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession of methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession of heroin (District of Wyoming)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release; $2,000 fine (Nov. 29, 2001)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Dwight Anthony Goddard – Decatur, Ga.
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Middle District of Georgia)
Sentence: 235 months’ imprisonment; five years’ supervised release (Feb. 7, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Lionel Ray Hairston – Ridgeway, Va.
Offense: Distribution of cocaine base (three counts) (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 262 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release (May 27, 1999)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Francis Darrell Hayden – Loretto, Ky.
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants or 1,000 or more kilograms of marijuana; manufacture of 1,000 or more marijuana plants (Eastern District of Michigan)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Apr. 2, 2002)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Harold Kenneth Herring – Havana, Fla.
Offense: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Northern District of Florida)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 22, 1998)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Tommie Lee Hollingshed – Memphis, Tenn.
Offense: Distribution of a controlled substance (two counts) (Western District of Tennessee)
Sentence: 324 months’ imprisonment; four years’ supervised release (May 1, 1996)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Derrick DeWayne Johnson – Birmingham, Ala.
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine (Northern District of Alabama)
Sentence: 360 months’ imprisonment; four years’ supervised release (Nov. 18, 1998)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 262 months.
• Robert Martinez-Gil – San Antonio, Texas
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin (Western District of Texas)
Sentence: Life imprisonment (July 9, 1992)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• David Navejar – Brooksville, Fla.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine (Middle District of Florida)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 27, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Rudolph Norris – Washington, D.C.
Offense: Unlawful distribution of cocaine base; unlawful possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (District of Columbia)
Sentence: 360 months’ imprisonment; eight years’ supervised release (Apr. 5, 1993)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Tracy Lynn Petty – Shelby, N.C.
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (Western District of North Carolina)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Mar. 30, 2006); amended to 204 months’ imprisonment (February 25, 2008)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Luis Razo – Davenport, Iowa
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine (Southern District of Iowa)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 3, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Antwon Rogers – Cleveland, Ohio
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 139.8 grams of cocaine base (Northern District of Ohio)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Jan. 30, 1995)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Herman Rosenboro –Kingsport, Tenn.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine and over 50 grams of cocaine base; distribution of a quantity of cocaine base (two counts); distribution of a quantity of cocaine (two counts) (Eastern District of Tennessee)
Sentence: Life imprisonment; six years’ supervised release (Dec. 3, 2001)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Lawrence Elmo Scott – Lynchburg, Va.
Offense: Distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school (Western District of Virginia)
Sentence: 283 months’ imprisonment; six years’ supervised release; $4,000 fine (Apr. 8, 2003)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Levar V. Wade – Chicago, Ill
Offense: Possession of 50 or more grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute (Central District of Illinois)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (May 28, 2004)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.
• Eugene Winters – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base (Southern District of Iowa)
Sentence: 240 months’ imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (Feb. 23, 2005)
Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2015.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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4 days ago

June 20, 2025

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

Published

4 days ago

June 20, 2025

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By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025

The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160^th anniversary, I went there to join them.

You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.

After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”

“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.

Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.

The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.

As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.

And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.

Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.

I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.

I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.

In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.

For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.

So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.

Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.

I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”

Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.

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Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

Published

5 days ago

June 19, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.

In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.

Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.

In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.

Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.

West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.

Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.

“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”