For Immediate Release
September 16, 2021
Contact: media@colorofchange.org
COLOR OF CHANGE & ACLU CALL ON PRESIDENT BIDEN TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO PEOPLE RELEASED UNDER THE CARES ACT IN FULL PAGE WASHINGTON POST AD
Click here to see the ad
Color Of Change, the American Civil Liberties Union take out full page ad to demand President Biden protect thousands from being sent back to prison
Washington, D.C. (September 16, 2021) — Today, Color Of Change and the American Civil Liberties Union took out a full page ad in the Washington Post demanding President Biden deliver on his promise to cut the prison population in half. At the start of the pandemic, thousands of people were released from prison to finish their sentences on home confinement, many of whom are elderly and immunocompromised. Just last week, the Administration indicated that they would expedite individual clemency petitions for some of the people released under the CARES Act, but only those that qualified under certain arbitrary indicators. Now, thousands are still at risk of being sent back to prison when the pandemic recedes if President Biden does not take immediate action. This would be the single largest act of incarceration in U.S. history. The ad urges people to sign the joint petition calling on President Biden to fulfill his promises and grant clemency to thousands immediately.
Click here to see the ad.
“Prisons are not humane and the pandemic has only worsened conditions, making prisons potentially deadly for all who reside within their walls. To send anyone back to prison is not just cruel and unusual; it directly contradicts the promises Biden made on the campaign trail.” said Scott Roberts, Senior Director, Criminal Justice + Democracy Campaigns at Color Of Change. “We’ve been doing this work to ensure that people, particularly Black people, who continue to be at high risk of contracting COVID-19 can safely stay at home and rebuild bonds with their loved ones. President Biden must act on this. To not, is a clear indication that this will not be the administration that will begin to undo decades of harm caused by mass incarceration.”
“We thank President Biden for beginning to consider the use of clemency to help people on CARES Act home confinement, but he must go further than his current plans and not needlessly exclude people from being granted clemency,” said Udi Ofer, Deputy National Political Director of the ACLU. “President Biden committed to the ACLU that he would reduce the federal prison population once elected, yet the federal prison population today is larger than it was one year ago. It’s time for the President to fully meet his commitments and do so through the power of clemency. Forcing people who are already home with their families to go back to prison would be cruel and would make no one safer.”
The Biden Administration has decided to review clemency applications on an individual basis for non-violent drug offenders under home confinement with less than 4 years left on their sentence. However, individuals under home confinement need clemency now. Currently, everyone in the program was already rigorously vetted by the Bureau of Prisons in order to be on home confinement and almost everyone released has since been thriving at home by reconnecting with their friends, families, and communities, and engaging in civic and professional life.
Since the start of the pandemic, Color Of Change has been fighting for the emergency release of incarcerated individuals nationwide, who continue to face disproportionately high infection and death rates due to filthy living conditions, inadequate health care, and limited access to personal protective equipment. In July, Color Of Change launched a campaign petition urging President Biden to use his clemency powers to keep elderly and immunocompromised individuals at home and out of prison. Also, Color Of Change has worked with Gwen Levi, a 76-year-old grandmother who was sent back to prison on a technicality, when she was ultimately released after a federal judge granted her compassionate release.
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About Color Of Change
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org