Clemency Project 2014 Surpasses 2,000 Submitted Clemency Petitions
WASHINGTON 鈥 This week, surpassed the milestone of 2,000 clemency petitions submitted to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, with many more nearing submission.
鈥淚 am so very proud of Clemency Project 2014鈥檚 volunteer lawyers and their incredible work in surpassing 2,000 submitted petitions,鈥 said Cynthia W. Roseberry, project manager for Clemency Project 2014. 鈥淎s I explained when the project surpassed the 1,000 petition mark in May of this year, these worthy petitions have undergone a careful, detailed review by top-notch lawyers, and each has been determined to appear to meet the criteria laid out by the Department of Justice. I look forward to even more grants during the remainder of President Obama's term of office and have confidence in the president鈥檚 declaration late last year that there is no 鈥榗eiling鈥 on the number of commutations he will grant.鈥
Clemency Project 2014, an unprecedented, wholly independent effort by the nation鈥檚 bar, has recruited and trained nearly 4,000 volunteer lawyers from diverse practice backgrounds and completed screening of over 34,000 of the more than 36,000 federal prisoners who have requested volunteer assistance. The project's painstaking review of these cases revealed that the overwhelming majority of those requests were by applicants who did not meet the criteria put forward by the Department of Justice in April 2014.
鈥淐lemency Project 2014 thanks each and every volunteer attorney who has answered the call to take part in perhaps the largest pro bono effort in history,鈥 said Roseberry. 鈥淲e reached this milestone because of the hard work and dedication of the Project鈥檚 partner organizations and the core staff as well as the donors who have provided generous support for the Project infrastructure and core staff.鈥
For more information and to volunteer for Clemency Project 2014, please visit .
Please direct all media inquiries to media@clemencyproject2014.org.
The , the , , the , and the have joined together under a working group they call Clemency Project 2014. Through the efforts of Clemency Project 2014, the participating organizations are identifying potential clemency petitioners and recruiting and training volunteer lawyers to assist them in securing clemency.