What is dead may never die

February 11, 2018 6:49 PM

Nation of Second Chances tells the stories of some of the people who received pardons from President Obama.
posted by queen anne's remorse (4 comments total)

I must be some kind of cold, inhuman monster because I didn’t start choking up until I got three stories in.
posted by um at 10:56 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

According to the article Obama did not pardon these people, he commuted their sentences a.k.a. gave them clemency. Pardon = all is forgiven, no conviction on your record. Clemency = you still have a conviction on your record but your punishment is reduced retroactively, and since it's equal or less than time served, you're free to go.

So kudos to Obama for releasing these ppl from unjust (IMO) sentences, but personally I would have preferred pardons. It is an unequivocal good thing that these people were released from unnecessary incarceration. But is it fair that a fifty- something black man with a twenty year employment gap as a result of a prison sentence compete with every one else in the "job market?"
posted by Hiding From Goro at 11:41 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have a very hard time reading these stories because damn, none of these people should have been in prison AT ALL, and they were serving LIFE SENTENCES. For dealing drugs. While the Sacklers get richer and richer and get rid of the estate tax to ensure this cycle of inequity and injustice continues in one form or another.

DAMN.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:34 AM on February 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

Here's the Obama tag on P.S. Ruckman's Pardon Power blog. Look for the bar chart showing the vast majority of clemency applications were denied or closed without presidential action.
posted by larrybob at 4:51 PM on February 12, 2018