The commission would supplement or replace the Justice Department’s opaque Office of
the Pardon Attorney, which critics say is inherently biased in favor of
prosecutors.
A new clemency commission can be created without Congress.
The idea has support from both left-wing and conservative advocates, who note
Trump’s repeated musing about the unfairness of the criminal justice system,
including a remark in October that “a lot of people” are in
prison for “no reason” and that he was “actively looking” to address that.
Trump has nearly unchecked power to pardon or release
federal inmates — an authority he’s already used in unconventional ways,
breaking with stingy recent predecessors to give nine early-term pardons or
commutations, including the first pardons to currently incarcerated inmates
since the 1800s.
“The reason you haven’t seen anything done yet is that there
are only 24 hours in the day, and this requires some thought,” said Heritage
Foundation scholar Paul Larkin, who advocates a clemency review process headed
by the vice president.
Larkin attended a September meeting at the White House
hosted by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Kim Kardashian West joined a dozen reformers around a Roosevelt Room
table, where guests discussed commission ideas.
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