TYLA Project

By: Courtney Barksdale Perez

On August 20, 2015, TYLA rolled out a new project called “How to Do a Pro Bono Clemency Petition.” The goal of the project is to respond to a call to action put out by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking attorney volunteers to assist with the Clemency Initiative announced by the DOJ in 2014. The Clemency Initiative encourages qualified federal inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to petition to have their sentences commuted or reduced. The effort seeks to help remedy the effects of the mandatory sentencing guidelines that were in place prior to 2010 (the infamous 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine disparity) that have since been repudiated by the Fair Sentencing Act among other laws as unfair and racially discriminatory.  

These reforms, however, were not retroactive. Currently, there are more than 5,000 federal inmates who are eligible for consideration of commutation of their sentences under the Clemency Initiative. But to date only approximately 1,500 attorneys have volunteered to submit petitions to the Office of the Pardon Attorney on the eligible inmates' behalf. That means more than 3,500 eligible prisoners — all of whom have already served 10 years or more for low-level, nonviolent offenses — will remain in prison, many of them for life without parole, if a clemency petition is not submitted on their behalf.

The criteria the Justice Department will use when considering clemency petitions from federal prisoners help the Justice Department identify federal prisoners who, if sentenced under current sentencing laws and policies, would likely have received lower sentences. The Office of the Pardon Attorney will prioritize clemency petitions from inmates who meet all of the following factors:

1.  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;

2.  Nonviolent, low-level offenders without significant ties to large-scale criminal organizations, gangs, or cartels;

3.  Served at least 10 years of their prison sentence;

4.  Do not have a significant criminal history;

5.  Demonstrated good conduct in prison; and

6.  Have no history of violence prior to or during current term of imprisonment

Clemency Project 2014, a non-governmental, nonprofit organization, was formed to help effectively locate inmates who might meet the criteria above and match them with volunteer attorneys to submit clemency petitions on their behalf. The Clemency Project 2014 trains attorneys and provides them with materials and resources needed to assist these prisoners at no cost. “How to Do a Pro Bono Clemency Petition” provides a step-by-step guide for attorneys on how to get registered with the Clemency Petition 2014 volunteer database, and also provides information regarding what to expect during the course of the pro bono representation.

For information on how to volunteer, email, or attend a “How to Do a Pro Bono Clemency Petition” presentation in your city. The presentation is approved for one hour of MCLE ethics credit. “How to Do a Pro Bono Clemency Petition” will be presented at the following local bar associations in the near future:

Dallas Bar Association
August 27, 2015

Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
September 3, 2015

Hidalgo County Bar Association
September 8, 2015