On Monday, December 10th, the Constitution Project, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Heritage Foundation, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are hosting a panel discussion titled “Clemency: Old Problems, New Solutions.” The event will take place from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM in the Lehrman Auditorium at the Heritage Foundation:

214 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington DC 20002-4999

The Heritage Foundation introduces the event on its website as follows:

“Clemency, Alexander Hamilton said, ‘is an act of grace and humanity.’ While President Obama has, at least so far, granted clemency only 22 times, other presidents, both Democrat and Republican, have been far more generous. President George W. Bush, for example, pardoned, commuted or rescinded the convictions of 200 people, and President Bill Clinton did the same for 459 people. President Jimmy Carter granted clemency 566 times during his one term in office, although that is far from the record, a distinction which belongs to President Franklin Roosevelt who granted clemency 3,687 times. The Christmas season, a traditional time for presidential forgiveness, is a good time to re-examine how well the clemency process is working.

‘Join us for a discussion with a distinguished panel of bipartisan experts who will explore whether and how the clemency process has deviated from its proper, traditional function. Our panelists will also consider how to make pardons, as Chief Justice John Marshall said, ‘an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual, on whom it is bestowed, from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed.'”

The panel assembled for the event is impressive:

Albert Alschuler, Julius Kreeger Professor Emeritus of Law and Criminology, Northwestern University Law

Gregory Craig, Former White House Counsel for President Barack Obama and Special Counsel for President Bill Clinton

The Honorable Robert “Bob” Ehrlich, Jr., 60th Governor of Maryland and Senior Counsel, King & Spalding LLP

Margaret Love, Former U.S. Pardon Attorney, and Practicing Attorney, Law Offices of Margaret Love

The Heritage Foundation’s Paul Rosenzweig will host the panel discussion.