In addition to Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, and Adam Schiff, Joe Biden is considering a pardon for Mark Milley. Milley is the general who betrayed the President.
Mark Milley secretly conspired with other generals and then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take control of the military. He also colluded with his Chinese communist counterpart.
We also have defense and civil rights attorneys and other groups pleading for the release of thousands of minority criminals.
Civil Rights attorney Jarrett Adams is fighting for two black men who allegedly murdered a police officer with premeditation.
Adams has been advocating for the release of the two men, Ferrone Claiborne and Terence Richardson. They were sentenced to life in prison in Virginia for the murder of a police officer.
They were found guilty only of selling crack. But there is a lot more to this story.
ADAM’S REPORT
More than two decades ago, a jury found Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne not guilty of murdering a police officer. But a judge disagreed and unilaterally sentenced them to life in prison.
The sentence was based on a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows judges to consider actions for which a defendant was found not guilty when determining their sentence for other charges.
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The attorney is blamed.
The two men had pled guilty to murder. Adams said it was due to advice from their attorneys at the time, as they were facing the death penalty.
Adams, who is their attorney, is working with state legislators in Virginia to pressure the White House for the expedited release of the two men.
“I’m the last beacon of hope that they have. So I’m a part of their pain and struggle,” said Adams. Adams was wrongfully convicted at 17 years old and sentenced to 28 years in prison. “We’re begging that President Biden provides (these families) some relief they deserve.”
Sentenced twice
The prosecutor struck a plea bargain with the two suspects. They were originally charged with capital murder. The plea deal was against Patrolman Gibson’s family’s wishes. On Dec. 8, 1999, the shooter pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The second suspect pleaded guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
In 2002, both suspects were tried in federal courts and convicted of the drug offense that led to Officer Gibson’s murder. Both men were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
SUMMARY OF THE ACTUAL RECORD
Case Details
Beginning in 1991, Claiborne and Richardson sold cocaine base for the “Dogwood crew” on Dogwood Street in Waverly, Virginia. A few years later, Claiborne and Richardson began selling cocaine base at the nearby Waverly Village Apartments (“the Village”). On the morning of April 25, 1998, Claiborne and Richardson killed Officer Allen Gibson when he interrupted a drug deal in the woods behind the Village.
Shawn Wooden testified that, on the morning of April 25, 1998, after Claiborne and Richardson obtained a quantity of cocaine base at the Village, the three men walked into some nearby woods. At the time, Richardson was wearing a white T-shirt stamped with the symbol of a marijuana leaf. Wooden began to “test” the crack by smoking it when Officer Gibson appeared out of the woods, yelled “halt,” and grabbed Richardson by his shoulder.
Two Witnesses
According to Wooden, Claiborne responded by grabbing Officer Gibson from behind and Officer Gibson reached for his gun. Wooden saw Richardson grab the gun, heard the discharge, and saw Officer Gibson fall to the ground while Richardson remained standing with the gun in his hand. Richardson fled, and Wooden ran back to his trailer. Wooden testified that when Richardson arrived later at the trailer, he was no longer wearing the T-shirt with the marijuana leaf symbol.
Wooden’s account was confirmed by the testimony of Evette Newby, a resident of the Village apartments. Newby testified that she was well-acquainted with Richardson and Claiborne, having frequently purchased crack from them. On the morning of April 25, 1998, Newby observed Richardson, Claiborne, and another black male near the woods behind her apartment. Richardson, Claiborne, and the third male went into the woods.
A short time later, Newby saw Officer Gibson pull into the parking lot at the Village, park his police car, and follow the three men into the woods. Newby saw Officer Gibson talking and then struggling with Richardson and Claiborne. Newby heard a shot and then saw Richardson and the unknown third black male flee in different directions. Richardson had a black object in his hand and was wearing dark jeans and a dark shirt over a white T-shirt with a marijuana leaf symbol on it. Newby told her neighbor to call the police.
The Dying Officer Gave a Close Description
Other members of the Waverly Police Department soon arrived at the scene, found Officer Gibson lying in the woods, and discovered his weapon approximately ten feet away from where Officer Gibson lay dying. Although Officer Gibson was losing consciousness, he related that he had followed two males into the woods because he thought they were dealing narcotics. His description of the two men generally, but not exactly matched that of Richardson and Claiborne.
Officer Gibson also stated that he had struggled with the men, that they had taken his firearm, that he tried to point the weapon away from himself, but that “[t]hey shot me with my own . . . gun.” Officer Gibson died later that day.
The Torn Shirt
The day after the shooting, Richardson was arrested, and a T-shirt with a marijuana leaf symbol was seized from Richardson’s father’s home. The T-shirt was ripped on the shoulder where, according to Wooden, Officer Gibson had grabbed Richardson. Two days later, Claiborne was arrested. Both men claimed to have been elsewhere at the time of the shooting. In December 1999, however, Richardson entered a plea of guilty in state court to the involuntary manslaughter of Gibson, and Claiborne entered a plea of guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
Other witnesses also testified that they had heard Claiborne and Richardson confess to their involvement in the shooting of Officer Gibson.
Forensic Evidence
The United States also offered forensic evidence that supported its theory that the fatal shot was the product of premeditation. For instance, a firearms examiner determined that the trigger pull on Officer Gibson’s firearm was 7.5 pounds. And the weapon had three safety features to prevent an unintended firing.
The Premeditation
The examiner also determined that the fatal shot was fired six to twelve inches from Officer Gibson’s body, with twelve inches being the more likely distance. The evidence also reflected that Officer Gibson was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting. It would have been apparent to Claiborne and Richardson as they struggled with Gibson that he was wearing such a vest. The fatal shot was directed to an area of Officer Gibson’s body that was not protected by the vest.
Claiborne and Richardson were convicted of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, see 21 U.S.C. § 846, but the jury acquitted them of killing a law enforcement agent during narcotics trafficking, see 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(B), and using a firearm to commit murder during a narcotics trafficking offense, see 18 U.S.C. § 924(j).
This is what they want to use to get out of prison:
However, at sentencing, the Court applied a cross-reference to the first-degree murder guideline based on its factual finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Defendants had “killed [Officer Gibson] under circumstances that would constitute murder under 18 U.S.C. § 1111.” United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(d)(1) (2001). Application of the cross-reference yielded a base offense level of 43 for each Defendant. The Court determined that the Guidelines directed the imposition of life sentences.
Appeals Denied
Claiborne and Richardson then moved for a downward departure on the grounds that they had been prosecuted in state court for Gibson’s murder, they had been acquitted of the federal murder charge, and they were now faced with presumptive life sentences based on the cross-reference. The Court denied the motion.
Richardson and Claiborne unsuccessfully appealed their convictions and sentences to the United States Court of Appeals. On March 3, 2003, the United States Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Richardson and Claiborne.
OPPRESSED MINORITIES
Black and Hispanic Americans disproportionately receive harsher sentences for minor and nonviolent offenses compared to their white counterparts. They blame systemic bias for contributing to this.
Some Republicans believe that any announcement by Biden of blanket pardons would undermine the criminal justice system. It could further tarnish his reputation after pardoning his son.
“There shouldn’t be a Roman emperor who goes, thumbs up, thumbs down,” said Republican consultant Jon Fleischman. “These people have been through the criminal justice system, and they should abide by the outcome of that system.”
Democratic U.S. House member Ayanna Pressley doesn’t believe in prisons. She is pushing for Biden to act soon instead of waiting until his administration’s last days.
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