Saturday, 21 February 2009
The abundance of work I received from Carole in yesterday’s mail meant that I had writing projects to keep me busy through the weekend. I didn’t even know whether I could finish everything before the next batch of mail would leave the institution. To give it my best effort, I woke at 1:20 this morning. I began writing at 1:26.
By 8:00 in the morning I had written five blog articles, some of which were lengthy. I also rewrote the paperwork for a clemency petition I’ve had on file since 2003. My petition is one of thousands that went unanswered during the Bush administration. Theoretically, that means my petition is still alive.
The type of clemency for which I am applying is called a commutation of sentence. The commutation petition differs from a pardon in that I am asking President Obama to forgive the remainder of my sentence; I am not asking him to forgive the crime for which I stand convicted.
Some changes have taken place since I last updated my petition, in March of 2007. For one thing, I’ve served another two years. Now I am in my 22nd consecutive year of confinement, which means I have completed the service of various aspects of it; some issues, for example the fine imposed, no longer apply as a consequence of so much time having passed.
Receiving an act of executive clemency would be an extraordinary event. The constitution provides the President with the authority to grant clemency to federal offenders, but ever since Ronald Reagan, the privilege has rarely been exercised. Presidents did not want to tarnish their tough-on-crime brand with acts of compassion. My hopes are that President Obama will charge his pardon attorney with the responsibility of evaluation all clemency requests.
I am scheduled to serve just more than four additional years, though provisions within the law qualify me for release to a halfway house in three more years. A commutation could mean my release immediately. Either way, I will continue working with expectations that I will serve my sentence in its entirety. In an effort to obtain community support for my clemency petition, Carole has opened a category for my commutation petition and asked readers to write a letter in support.
Besides reviving my petition, this morning I also wrote a letter to Senator Jim Webb. Senator Webb will soon hold congressional hearings on the subject of prison reform. I offered my contributions to the panel, and I sent my letter with a copy of my book, Inside.
Following a productive morning, I was on the track at 8:00. I ran 10 miles, lifting my tally to 649 miles over the past 71 days. In the afternoon I worked on the manuscript I’ve been writing, competing the front and back material as it readies for publication.
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