Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Trump commutes sentence of Judith Negron

In one of the worst examples of the trial tax in this District and around the country, Judith Negron -- a first-time non-violent offender -- was sentenced to 35 years (35 years!!!) in prison for Medicare fraud.  President Trump commuted her sentence yesterday to time served (8 years).  Most people are asking what her connection is to the President, and that's the problem with his commutations.  They are being viewed as individual driven instead of being driven by the unfairness of the system (which is the same criticism of his Stone tweets).  I just wish Trump would use this opportunity to grant more commutations and make some broader statements about the issues with our system.  Let's fix the trial tax and the Sentencing Guidelines.

Here's the WH press release on Negron:
Judith Negron is a 48-year-old wife and mother who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her role as a minority-owner of a healthcare company engaged in a scheme to defraud the Federal Government.  Ms. Negron has served 8 years of her sentence and has spent this time working to improve her life and the lives of her fellow inmates.  Her prison warden and her counselor have written letters in support of clemency.  According to her warden, Ms. Negron “has always shown herself to be a model inmate who works extremely well with others and has established a good working relationship with staff and inmates.”  This grant of clemency is supported by the Clemency for All Non-Violent Drug Offenders Foundation, Dan Schneider, Matt Whitaker, Adam Brandon, Kevin Roberts, Brett Tolman, John Hostettler, and Alice Johnson, among others.
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11 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:07 AM

    There is a specific and strict clemency process that requires a formal application and a thorough review by clemency attorneys for the government. None of those granted clemency yesterday went through that process. They went through the Trump process where their case was advocated by someone who has the ear of the President and/or Fox News.

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  2. Anonymous10:09 AM

    Yesterday was a good day to be a rich, well-connected, white male!
    Oh wait, that's everyday in America.

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  3. Rumpole11:58 AM

    I disagree. Yesterday was a good day for exposing the utter unfairness of federal prosecutions and sentencing. It galls people who are otherwise rightfully upset with this president that on the issue of criminal justice reform he has been the best president in our lifetime- Clinton being the worst and Obama passing on the chance.
    It’s so bad that the ABA issued a statement if support for federal prosecutors seeking a 9 year sentence for a 68 year old first offender on a political crime.

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  4. Anonymous12:30 PM

    I dont see the people crying about stone and how he should get 9 yrs for lying up in arms about mccabe walking away scott free. Oh yea thats because there are 2 justice systems and the rules dont apply to the feds.

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  5. Anonymous3:22 PM

    Hey 10:07. You are correct but your insight is the problem. The purpose of clemency/pardon is to right a wrong. Highly unlikely government bureaucrats will green light something that they are almost by definition complicit in. On that note, I would love to see the back up documentation for Marc Rich’s pardon. Hot looking ex wife (check), major contributor to my presidential library (check), approval of the DOJ (who cares).

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  6. Anonymous4:34 PM

    To me, pardoning or commuting sentences for your political friends while sneering at the vast majority of applications makes the process worse, not better. Not sure that Rumpole is remembering the recent appointments to the bench in granting that title to Trump.

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  7. Anonymous5:15 PM

    Rumpole:

    Commuting sentences for the rich, powerful and white does NOTHING to expose the unfairness of federal prosecutions.

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  8. Anonymous11:39 AM

    Idea that Trump is the best president in our lifetime on criminal justice reform is a joke. A handful of commutations and pardons to people with connections to Kim Kardashian and Fox News on the one hand, on the other hand a wholesale project to remake the federal bench with judges who don't believe in the exclusionary rule, don't believe in sanctions for prosecutorial misconduct, and are mainly disqualified if they have ever represented a criminal defendant in private practice or ruled in a significant way for a criminal defendant as a judge. Tough choice.

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  9. Anonymous1:13 PM

    Stone gets 40 months.
    Ahh to be a rich, white male with connections!

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  10. Anonymous7:16 PM

    I met Judith Negron and her family before she started her sentence. She was a class act and a person who did not intentionally do anything wrong. She had a wonderful family and they have lost their mom for eight very critical years. But, she was lucky in that she had a very supportive and loving family. Her sentence has always haunted me. I am so happy that she is now free. Sometimes the system works in a bizarre kind of way

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  11. Anonymous1:52 PM

    McCabe got away "Scot free" (nice racist turn of phrase) because try as they might, the US Attorney's Office could not convince a Grand Jury to indite him. Freaking Trumpanistas don't let a little thing like actual innocence get in the way of their bigotry and prejudice.

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