Advocates push Biden to use his exec powers to grant clemency for hundreds of women in fed prisons

[DonViejo]

Advocates push for Biden to use his executive powers to grant clemency for hundreds of women in federal prisons

By Christina Carrega, CNN

Updated 8:02 AM ET, Wed May 19, 2021

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There are over 220,000 women serving time behind bars including over 10,000 in federal prison, according to 2019 data from a nonprofit organization, Sentencing Project, and current figures from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Many of those women -- mostly Black and Latinx -- are serving mandatory sentences or several decades behind bars for conspiracy crimes "that stem from strict 20th century war on drug crime bills," Andrea James told CNN.

James, the founder and executive director of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, has called on President Joe Biden to grant pardons or to commute the sentences for 100 women at the beginning of his term. To date, Biden has not granted pardons or clemency or commuted the sentences for any inmate in the US correctional system.

As of May 10, there were 3,211 pardon and 11,804 clemency petitions pending, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 14 pardons and 461 clemency petitions were "closed without presidential action," the DOJ statistics show.

CNN previously reported that the White House has informed activists that Biden will not wait until the end of his term to begin granting people clemency, and that they should be expected before the middle of this presidential term, according to a source. The White House is working with the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney to vet applicants.

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full article:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/biden-clemency-advocates-push-women-federal-prisons/index.html