Pardon attorney's resignation letter cites backlogs and reversals
The Obama administration’s pardon attorney, Deborah Leff, said in a January resignation letter that she could not continue in her job because of backlogs caused by a lack of resources and directions over priorities.
USA Today used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the letter (PDF), which said Leff’s office had been asked to consider the petitions of nearly 10,000 individuals without adequate staffing to handle the job. As a result, “the requests of thousands of petitioners seeking justice will lie unheard,” she wrote.
Leff said she had been instructed to set aside thousands of petitions for pardon and traditional commutation to give priority to a clemency initiative that aims to release low-level offenders from prison who had been sentenced under stricter laws that are no longer in effect.
Leff said she supported the clemency initiative, but she didn’t have the resources to carry out her job.
Leff also said that her office’s recommendations were being reversed in an increasing number of cases, yet she wasn’t told why and was denied access to the Office of White House Counsel to discuss the decisions. The White House Counsel’s office is the last step in the pardon review process.
President Obama has issued just 70 pardons during his presidency, fewer than any president since John Adams, according to USA Today. He has also issued 187 commutations, more than any president since Lyndon Johnson.
The Justice Department said in a statement that it is seeking an increased budget for the office and it has already posted 16 attorney job openings in hopes that it will obtain funding for the positions.
Related article:
ABA Journal: “Clemency Project 2014 is out to help prisoners doing excessive time due to inflexible sentencing”
