Seven Louisianians’ sentences are commuted
8th August 2016 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Last week, President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 men and women, including seven Louisiana residents, convicted of non-violent drug offenses.
In his blog on the White House website, White House Counsel W. Neil Eggleston said, “To spotlight instances of over-sentencing in our prisons, the President directed the Department of Justice to prioritize petitions for commutations from individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses who were serving longer sentences than they would be given today if convicted of the same crime.”
The federal government does not plan to stop in its efforts to reduce over-sentencing with the Clemency Initiative. “Today’s historic announcement is yet another step in the administration’s efforts to restore proportionality to unnecessarily long drug sentences,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. “In just the first eight months of 2016, the President has more than doubled the number of commutations granted in all of 2015. But we are not done yet, and we expect that many more men and women will be given a second chance through the Clemency Initiative.”
The Clemency Initiative began in April 2014 when Department of Justice encouraged qualified federal inmates to petition to have their sentences commuted or reduced. Aside from the considerations mentioned in Eggleston’s blog post, the inmates needed to meet other factors including good conduct, no history of violence prior to or during their imprisonment, and no significant ties to large scale criminal organizations or gangs.
The following seven Louisiana residents received commutations:
Terry Davis of Monroe was convicted of distribution of cocaine base in Arkansas. In September 2000, the court sentenced him to 240 months in jail with 10 years supervised release (September 8, 2000). Now, his sentence will expire on December 1st of this year.
Steven C. Hall of Gonzales was convicted of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base, as well as a supervised release violation in the Middle District of Louisiana. The court sentenced him to 240 months imprisonment with 10 years of supervised release (April 22, 2005) and another 45 months (consecutive). The sentence will now expire on August 3, 2018 on the condition Mr. Hall enrolls in residential drug treatment.
Walter Lee Johnson of Shreveport received a life sentence with 10 years supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine hydrochloride and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 games or more of cocaine base (September 14, 2000). His sentence will now expire on December 1, 2016.
Jeremy Payton of Winnfield received a sentence of 240 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base (January 8, 2008). His sentence will now expire on December 1, 2016.
William C. Robertson, Sr., of New Orleans was convicted in the Northern District of Florida of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The court sentenced him to 240 months imprisonment, 10 years of supervised release, and a $1,000 fine (November 8, 2001). Now, his sentence will expire on December 1, 2016.
Andrew Simmons III of Lake Charles received a 300-month sentence, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (Sept 14, 2006). His sentence will now expire on August 3, 2018, on the condition he enroll in residential drug treatment.
Vincent Thomas of Gonzales was convicted on two counts of violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act. The court sentenced him to 240 months in jail, followed by 10 years of supervised release (March 26, 2008). His sentence will now expire on December 1, 2016.
President Obama has commuted 562 sentences in his presidency, more than the previous nine presidents combined. Last week’s 214 commutations were the most in a single day in over 100 years.
In his blog, Eggleston emphasized that clemency is important, but that legislation reform is an even bigger component to solving these unfair sentencing issues. “Only legislation can bring about lasting change to the federal system,” Eggleston wrote. “It is critical that both the House and the Senate continue to work on a bipartisan basis to get a criminal justice reform bill to the President’s desk.”
This article originally published in the August 8, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
