Washington, DC: Congressmen Steven Cohen (D-TN), Steven Horsford (D-NV), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with more than two dozen additional Democratic members, are requesting the Trump Administration commute the sentences of anyone serving time in federal prison for a non-violent marijuana-related offense.
The letter, addressed to White House Pardon Czar Alice Mary Johnson, states: “We respectfully request that you use your pardon power to commute the sentences to all those in the federal prison system serving non-violent marijuana-related offenses.
“People continue to be federally incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses, an activity that most states, in some form, have legalized. … Based on data from the United States Sentencing Commission, it is estimated that approximately 3,000 people are still federally incarcerated for marijuana trafficking offenses, with hundreds, perhaps thousands serving harsh mandatory minimum sentences of 5 years or longer. … While it won’t solve the structural issues that have led us here, we believe that commuting the sentences of people with marijuana offenses would both address the overly harsh sentences while simultaneously allowing BOP [US Bureau of Prisons] to focus resources where they are needed most.”
At the end of his term, former President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 federal inmates serving time for non-violent drug offenses.
On two prior occasions during his presidency, Biden issued pardon proclamations for those convicted of federal marijuana possession offenses. Estimates provided by the US Sentencing Commission suggested that nearly 7,000 Americans with low-level federal marijuana-related convictions were eligible for relief under the directives.
The full text of the letter is available from the Office of Congressman Steve Cohen.