Osler's Razor

What a day it was yesterday!  NYU Law School put on a wonderful conference on Mercy in the Criminal Justice System.  Rachel Barkow and Nancy Hoppock of NYU put together a stellar lineup of speakers, which included many people that a clemency geek gets excited about.  White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler (who plays a key role in clemency decisions) was the keynote speaker.

In her talk, Ruemmler set out a few more details about the new clemency initiative which is about to be rolled out by the White House.  It appears that the Pardon Attorney's office will be beefed up to handle the expected flood of petitions, and the word will be spread to inmates via the Bureau of Prisons "soon."

In what was either timed to Ruemmler's speech or a remarkable coincidence, President Obama granted a clemency petition minutes before Ruemmler made her speech.

People (including me) have worried about some aspects of this project, but at the very least we do know that the President is at least paying attention to clemency right now-- and it is well before the last year of his presidency.