A real bad apple in Biden's clemency barrel (Cash for Kids)

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is granting clemency consisting of 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations.

President Biden has made some notable pardon/commutation moves, including involving marijuana penalties. The latest move sounds impressive numerically. There are more to come.

The numbers are somewhat misleading. If you read down the pardon list, you can see just from the first names that we are dealing with people who already served their time. The pardons would therefore be a means to sweep their record clean. Helpful and symbolic but limited. 

One person commenting noted:

The pardons granted by Biden this month are very interesting. The grants were given to individuals who [often] had not served any time - just probation and none had been sentenced to more than 3 years. Many only had probation.

Many of the commutations were "categorical" (see first link) following certain criteria. The latest tranche is largely of this caliber. As the Administration summarizes:

The nearly 1,500 individuals who received commutations today have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the COVID-era CARES Act. These Americans have been reunited with their families and shown their commitment to rehabilitation by securing employment and advancing their education. 

The people were convicted of non-violent crimes, not likely to crime again, and so on. Michael Conahan, the "cash for kids" judge, was one of the people covered. This resulted in some disgust, including in the general remarks at LGM. Skimming the comments, I saw one person who generally pushed back, noting the move helped lots of people. 

Trying to weed through all the names to find one really bad apple could have delayed things. [I'm inclined to doubt some searching software or whatever couldn't have picked out his name.] He was not in prison (home confinement) and served much of his time (sentenced in 2011, due out mid-2026). The guy did not simply get a slap on the wrist.

To remind:

In what came to be known as the kids-for-cash scandal, Conahan and Judge Mark Ciavarella shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and accepted $2.8 million in illegal payments from a friend of Conahan’s who built and co-owned two for-profit lockups.

It is quite understandable that the victims and their families would be upset about the commutation. The mitigation is both that he already received a long prison sentence (Conahan is over seventy and was released during COVID since he had multiple health problems that put in more at risk) and that he was not singled out. He was part of a class of people. 

The pardon power is used too sparingly, especially with our nation's overly harsh and inequitable criminal justice system. It is misguided to spend too much time on this singular case. This is not a Marc Rich situation (Clinton) where someone specifically received special treatment. 

I would accept if Conahan was singled out as an exception to the categorical commutation. I also would not be surprised if not every single one of the rest were mundane cases. 

The categorical approach overall is a fair policy. It will likely help a few dubious cases, tempered by the fact that repeatedly the assistance will be overall less than meets the eye. That applies here too. 

Also, if you keep on trying to find "special cases," this guy won't be the only one affected. More marginal cases would be too. As noted by Biden, this policy helps motivate others to follow suit. The overall net value of the process holds true. 

He committed a horrible crime with civil and criminal penalties arising as a result. Will the people who suffered benefit much more if the person who received thirteen or so years of confinement would receive a year and a half more?  

It amounts to a symbolic burden, which matters. People care about such things. Nonetheless, let's be realistic about the net result. We should include the general good these bloc actions bring.  I think the anger and demand he gets another year and a half is a gratuitous feeling of vengeance. 

The bottom line is that we should look at the big picture. We should not latch on to single actions that result in the usual strum and drang. Careful treatment can avoid some unpleasantness. Still, life is a bit messy.  I am okay with this move in context. 

BTW, the Hunter Biden pardon remains valid. Enough with this "hurt Democrats for years" bullshit.