CJPF has been working for
reform of sentencing laws since 1989. The
focus of its work in sentencing has been to reform the
Federal mandatory minimum sentences. We work closely
with Families Against
Mandatory Minimums.
In 2000, CJPF organized hundreds of clergy around
the country – the Coalition
for Jubilee Clemency (CJC) – to appeal to President
Bill Clinton to use his constitutional power to commute
the sentences of deserving low-level, non-violent drug
offenders who had been sentenced to excessively long
sentences. This campaign helped create the political
climate that encouraged President Clinton to commute
almost two dozen low-level drug offenders. The Court
TV movie Guilt By Association features the CJC
campaign to reduce sentences. The coalition is now targeting
President George W. Bush. But as large as the Federal
prison population has grown, from 25,000 in the 1970s
to 40,000 in 1986 to 178,000 now, it is still much smaller
than the total population in state prisons.
More than two million persons are being held in prisons
and jails convicted of state criminal charges. The cost
of housing these prisoners has grown enormously. The
nation’s adult correctional budget in FY 2002 exceeded
$40 billion -- in FY 1992, the budgets totaled only
$19.3 billion. These correctional costs are also absorbing
large amounts of total state expenditures. In FY 2002,
the average state’s correctional costs were 3.6% of
total state expenditures.
Every state has granted the Governor or some other
agency some power to commute the sentences or to parole
persons sentenced to prison. Each state has different
procedures. Sometimes the procedures of a state are
very clearly spelled out; other times they are ambiguous.
The information on this website is the best we could
provide, but it is not a substitute for actually contacting
the Governor’s office, the State Parole Board or other
appropriate agency. These procedures are subject to
change without notification to us. The information on
this site is not legal advice and is not a substitute
for consulting with an attorney or qualified and experienced
paraprofessional.
Eric E. Sterling
Note: Federal prisoners housed in state facilities
cannot receive clemency from state authorities. Instead,
they are required to seek a Federal commutation of sentence
from President George W. Bush. Such inmates should follow
the instructions provided for inmates in Washington,
DC.
