{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cohen-urges-president-obama-expedite-clemency-review-process", "Cohen Urges President Obama to Expedite Clemency Review Process", "2016-11-29", "2016", "2016-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, sent a letter to President Obama urging him to do everything in his power to expedite the clemency review process so he can commute as many unjust sentences as possible before President-elect Donald Trump, who is unlikely to utilize this power, takes office. Dozens of criminal justice reform advocates and groups also sent a letter to President Obama urging him to expedite the clemency review process before he leaves office. You can read Congressman Cohen\u2019s letter here. You can read the criminal justice reform advocates\u2019 letter here.\u00a0\n\u201cI would urge you to summon the maximum manpower at your disposal to vet commutations and pardons so that as many sentencing wrongs as possible may be corrected as thousands of incarcerated Americans who are serving unjust sentences may receive justice,\u201d wrote Congressman Cohen in his letter to President Obama.\nCongressman Cohen also recently urged President Obama to focus his review of commutation requests on those sentences specifically related to non-violent marijuana convictions. Read here.\n\u201cPresident Obama should be commuting the prison sentences of those serving time for non-violent marijuana-related convictions,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cMedical marijuana is now legal in 28 states as well as the District of Columbia, and more than 63 million Americans live in states that have now approved recreational marijuana.\u00a0The President should increase clemency review staff and work overtime to free as many of these individuals as possible before he leaves office. Every day that someone continues to serve an unjust sentence is a day justice is denied. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so rightly noted, \u2018Justice too long delayed is justice denied.\u2019 \u201d\nCongressman Cohen also recently sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take action on rescheduling marijuana during his remaining time in office. You can read his letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cohen-urges-president-obama-expedite-clemency-review-process"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.002088189125061, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}