Calling All Lawyers: Clemency Project

Dear Colleagues,
I write to ask for the assistance of lawyers of all practice backgrounds in a
project that is of utmost urgency and importance: The Clemency Project.
As many of you know, I am a founding board member of the Innocence
Project and I serve on the boards of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, The
Drug Policy Alliance and The Legal Action Center. I have long been a crusader for
justice reform and believe deeply in the concept of redemption and forgiveness.
Unfortunately, America has become a land of mass incarceration, largely as a
result of draconian mandatory sentencing that has resulted in hundreds of
thousands of non-violent offenders imprisoned for decades, or even life.
Fortunately, there have been changes in the law that have rolled back some
of the harshest sentencing practices. But, bizarrely, many of these changes are not
retroactive and thus not available to those who were sentenced under the old laws.
That is where the Clemency Project comes into play.
Clemency Project 2014 is a joint effort launched by the American Bar
Association Criminal Justice Section, the ACLU, Families Against Mandatory
Minimums, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and many
federal defenders. It was formed in response to a request from the Obama

administration to provide pro bono assistance to inmates who might qualify for
commutations under the criteria announced by the Department of Justice. The
Project established the infrastructure to support this pro bono effort and provides
training and resources for lawyers who volunteer to help. Clemency Project 2014
has reviewed thousands of inmate requests and has submitted more than 600
petitions for clemency thus far. But there are still 2,000 cases left to be reviewed
and time is running out. President Obama has already granted more commutations
than the past five presidents combined and he has pledged to vastly accelerate the
pace, but they need good petitions to do so! This initiative that presents a once in a
lifetime opportunity for lawyers to reverse the ravages of the harsh sentencing
policies that have ruined the lives of so many. There are countless inmates who can
benefit from this program, but they need lawyers to help and they need them now
To volunteer, simply register with the project
at: https://clemencyproject2014.org/training.. Please note in the comment box on
the survey that you were referred by Jason Flom. In only five to ten hours of your
time, you will help a human being regain his freedom. As society awakens to the
tragedy that resulted from the draconian sentencing practices of the past few
decades, it would be unconscionable to leave behind those whose prison terms
would be less if they were sentenced under current law. The opportunity to restore
a person to freedom is an invaluable gift both for the liberated and the liberator.

Humbly,
Jason Flom