Justice Action Network Statement on President Trump's Commutations and Clemencies

President Trump issued a round of executive clemencies and commutations. In response, Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of the Justice Action Network, the country’s largest organization dedicated to bipartisan criminal justice solutions, issued the following statement:

“Many of the cases addressed by the President’s actions represent sentences that were too long and, in their own way, point to the country’s overincarceration epidemic. And while we applaud the President for taking these steps for these specific individuals, we hope to see him use this executive power to grant more commutations and clemencies in due course for any of the thousands of deserving individuals who are neither rich, nor famous, nor connected. They are the forgotten majority of the country’s crisis in mass incarceration, a crisis the disproportionately impacts lower income communities and communities of color, and they are every bit as deserving of a second chance. 

“We are especially proud of our dear friend Alice Marie Johnson, a tireless advocate for those who were left behind when she was granted clemency by the President. Her advocacy, particularly for incarcerated women and mothers, is opening hearts and minds across party lines, and all across this country. We congratulate her for helping securing clemency and commutation for Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron, and we look forward to seeing all these women will accomplish with a second chance.”