Politics

Obama Commutes Sentences of 22 People in Federal Prison

Published

8 years ago

April 1, 2015

In this March 16, 2015, photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Bolstered by a spate of upbeat economic news, Obama is claiming the upper hand in the budget fight unfolding in Congress. Hes aiming to exploit recent Republican stumbles to give Democrats an advantage _ despite their status as a weakened minority. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In this March 16, 2015, photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday shortened the prison sentences of nearly two dozen drug convicts, including eight serving life in prison, in an act the White House said continues Obama’s push to make the justice system fairer by reducing harsh sentences that were handed down under outdated guidelines.

The effort could lead Obama to grant clemency more often as his second and final term in office winds down.

In December, Obama issued his first round of commutations under new guidelines that were put in place to cut costs by reducing the growing prison population and grant leniency to nonviolent drug offenders sentenced to yearslong terms of confinement away from society. A commutation leaves the conviction in place and ends the punishment.

Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel, said many of the 22 people whose federal sentences will be cut short by Obama’s action would already have served their time and paid the debt they owed society had they been sentenced under current laws and policies.

“Because many were convicted under an outdated sentencing regime, they served years — in some cases more than a decade — longer than individuals convicted today of the same crime,” Eggleston said in a post on the White House blog. The 22 individuals were sentenced between 1992 and 2006.

Eggleston said Tuesday’s commutations underscore Obama’s “commitment to using all the tools at his disposal to bring greater fairness and equity to our justice system.”

Obama has now approved a total of 43 commutations during more than six years in office. Eggleston noted that Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, had commuted 11 sentences during his two terms.

In a letter, Obama urged each individual to take advantage of the second chance he is giving them. The White House said it was the first time Obama had sent such letters.

“I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around. Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity,” he wrote. “It will not be easy, and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change. Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust to your new circumstances.

“But remember that you have the capacity to make good choices,” Obama said.

The nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for less stringent drug sentences, praised the commutations. “The president’s actions today are welcome,” said Michael Collins, policy manager at DPA’s office of national affairs. Collins called on Congress to “act quickly on substantive sentencing reform,” adding, “It’s time to rectify the U.S.’s embarrassing record on mass incarceration.”

The 22 individuals whose sentences will expire on July 28 are:

—Terry Andre Barnes, East Moline, Illinois. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base; violation of supervised release. Sentenced to 246 months imprisonment.

—Theresa Brown, Pompano Beach, Florida. Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Sentenced to life in prison.

—Donel Marcus Clark, Dallas. Conspiracy; use of a communication facility; distribution and/or possession of cocaine or manufacturing in or near a school facility, aiding and abetting. Sentenced to 420 months in prison, later amended to 360 months.

—Ricky Bernard Coggins, Tallahassee, Florida. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—Samuel Pasqual Edmondson, of Junction City, Kansas. Conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Sentenced to life in prison.

—Amado Garcia, Fresno, California. Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession of methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession of heroin. Sentenced to 240 months in prison.

—Dwight Anthony Goddard, Decatur, Georgia. Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Sentenced to 235 months in prison.

—Lionel Ray Hairston, of Ridgeway, Virginia. Distribution of cocaine base. Sentenced to 262 months in prison.

—Francis Darrell Hayden, Loretto, Kentucky: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants or 1,000 or more kilograms of marijuana; manufacture of 1,000 or more marijuana plants. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—Harold Kenneth Herring, Havana, Florida: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—Tommie Lee Hollingshed, Memphis, Tennessee. Distribution of a controlled substance. Sentenced to 324 months imprisonment.

—Derrick DeWayne Johnson, Birmingham, Alabama. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Sentenced to 360 months imprisonment.

—Robert Martinez-Gil, San Antonio, Texas. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—David Navejar, Brooksville, Florida. Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Sentenced to 240 months imprisonment.

—Rudolph Norris, Washington, D.C. Unlawful distribution of cocaine base; unlawful possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base. Sentenced to 360 months imprisonment.

—Tracy Lynn Petty, Shelby, North Carolina. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. Sentenced to 240 months imprisonment, later amended to 204 months.

—Luis Razo, Davenport, Iowa. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Sentenced to 240 months imprisonment.

—Antwon Rogers, Cleveland. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 139.8 grams of cocaine base. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—Herman Rosenboro, Kingsport, Tennessee. Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine and over 50 grams of cocaine base; distribution of a quantity of cocaine base; distribution of a quantity of cocaine. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

—Lawrence Elmo Scott, Lynchburg, Virginia. Distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school. Sentenced to 283 months imprisonment.

—Levar V. Wade, Chicago, Illinois. Possession of 50 or more grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. Sentenced to 240 months imprisonment.

—Eugene Winters, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base. Sentenced to 240 months in prison.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

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Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

Published

1 day ago

June 2, 2023

Oakland Post

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

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Activism

Community Opposes High Rise Development That Threatens Geoffrey’s Inner Circle

City Council chambers were full for the May 17 Planning Commission hearing, and almost all the 40 speakers who had signed up to make presentations talked about the importance of the Inner Circle as part of Oakland and Geoffrey Pete as a stalwart community and business leader who has served the city for decades.

Published

4 days ago

May 30, 2023

Oakland Post

Geoffrey Pete went to City Hall to appeal the city Planning Commission’s approval of the high-rise development that threatens the closure of his 44-year historic cultural mecca. Photo by Jonathan ‘Fitness’ Jones.

By Ken Epstein

An outpouring of community supporters – young, old, jazz lovers, environmentalists and committed Oakland partisans – spoke out at a recent Planning Commission hearing to support Geoffrey Pete and his cultural center – The Inner Circle – an historic Oakland landmark whose future is threatened by a proposed skyscraper that out-of-town-developer Tidewater Capital wants to build in the midst of the city’s Black Arts Movement and Business District (BAMBD).

The speakers argued passionately and persuasively, winning the sympathy of the commissioners, but were ultimately unsuccessful as the Commission unanimously approved the high-rise to be built either as a residential building or office tower on Franklin Street directly behind Geoffrey’s building.

Mr. Pete has said he would appeal the decision to the City Council. He has 10 days after the hearing to file an appeal on the office building. His appeal on the residential tower has already been submitted.

Mr. Pete said the Planning Department still has not published the boundaries of the BAMBD. “Tidewater’s applications and subsequent applications should not be approved until the Planning Department fully acknowledges the existence of the BAMBD,” he said.

“This (proposed) building poses a grave danger to the historic (Inner Circle) building next to it, arguably Oakland’s most meaningful historic building,” Pete said.

“We’re here to advocate for what’s best for the African American district and community that has gotten no representation, no advocacy, as of yet,” he said. “The (commission) is guilty, the City of Oakland is guilty, and Tidewater is guilty.”

One of the first speakers was Gwendolyn Traylor, known as Lady SunRise, who directly addressed the developers.

“With all due to respect to your business, it’s not a need of this community. I would like to ask you to reconsider the location …What is being (promised) here does not add to the healing of this community,” she said.

Naomi Schiff of the Oakland Heritage Alliance emphasized that Geoffrey’s Inner Circle is a treasure of Oakland’s history.

“Our first concern is the integrity of the historic district, in particular the former Athenian-Nile Club, now Mr. Pete’s equally historic venue, which has been the location of a great number of important community events,” she said. “It would not be OK with us if the integrity of the building were damaged in any way, no matter how much insurance (the developer bought) because it is very difficult to repair a historic building once it’s damaged.”

The Inner Circle was previously owned and operated by the Athenian-Nile Club, one of the Bay Area’s largest all-white-male exclusive private membership club, where politicians and power brokers closed back-room deals over handshakes and three martini lunches.

Cephus “Uncle Bobby X” Johnson pointed out that commissioners and the city’s Planning Department have “acknowledged that you went through the entire design review process without even knowing that the Black Arts Movement and Business District existed.”

The district was created in 2016 by City Council resolution. “At the heart of the opposition to this building is the desire to further the legacy of local Black entertainment and entrepreneurship exemplified by businesses like Mr. Pete’s … a historical landmark and venue (that serves) thousands of people who listen to jazz and other entertainment and hold weddings, receptions, and memorial services,” said Uncle Bobby.

This development is taking place within a context in which the “Black population in Oakland has decreased rapidly … because of the city’s concentration on building houses that are not affordable for people who currently live in Oakland,” he said.

John Dalrymple of East Bay Residents for Responsible Development said, “This project will result in significant air quality, public health, noise, and traffic impacts. He said the city has not adequately studied the (unmitigated) impacts of this project on the Black Arts Movement and Business District.

“This project is an example of what developers are being allowed to do when they don’t have to follow the law, and they don’t have to be sensitive to our city’s culture and values,” he said. The commission should “send a signal today that we will no longer be a feeding ground for the rich.”

Prominent Oakland businessman Ray Bobbitt told commissioners, “Any decision that you make is a contribution to the systemic process that creates a disproportionate impact on Black people. Please do yourself a favor, (and) rethink this scenario. Give Mr. Pete, who is a leader in our community, an opportunity to set the framework before you make any decision.”

Though the City Council created the BAMBD, the 2016 resolution was never implemented. The district was created to “highlight, celebrate, preserve and support the contributions of Oakland’s Black artists and business owners and the corridor as a place central historically and currently to Oakland’s Black artists and Black-owned businesses.”

The district was intended to promote Black arts, political movements, enterprises, and culture in the area, and to bring in resources through grants and other funding.

Activism

Community Meeting on Crime and Violence

Join Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb to discuss the uptick in crime and violence in District 1 and across Oakland. Representatives from the Oakland Police Department will be in attendance. This event will be held in-person and online.

Published

5 days ago

May 29, 2023

Oakland Post