New Orleans nonprofit group founder helps introduce new clemency act to Congress

A bill was recently introduced to Congress that could change the incarceration rates in the nation drastically, and a New Orleans non profit founder is helping to make it happen.Gabrielle Perry is the founder and executive director of The Thurman Perry Foundation, a Louisiana-based nonprofit group aiding women and girls impacted by incarceration. On Dec. 10, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Cori Bush, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, and grassroots advocates, including Perry, unveiled the Fair and Independent Experts in Clemency Act.The bill is the latest legislation informed by Pressley’s People’s Justice Guarantee, her decarceration-focused resolution that outlines a framework for a fair, equitable and just legal system. The bill has also received early support from New Orleans U.S. Congressman Troy Carter. “Our growing mass incarceration crisis is rooted in white supremacy and has ravaged our communities, destabilized families, and exacerbated generational trauma for far too long,” Pressley said in a statement. “Our bill would confront this crisis head-on by transforming our broken clemency system—which is plagued by secrecy, inefficiency, and systemic bias—and instead centering justice, equity, and transparency.”“Congress and the Biden Administration have an obligation to end the era of mass criminalization,” Bush said in a statement. “2021 marks the first increase in 8 years of our federal prison population — that’s nearly a decade of progress that has been wiped out.”President Biden can grant clemency with a stroke of pen, and this bill will help him do that. By establishing an independent board to clear the backlog of 18,000 clemency petitions, our bill will ensure that humanity, compassion, and love for our community members are at the center of our policy work. This important legislation will save lives.”“Fueled by the failed war on drugs, the mass incarceration epidemic that our nation faces has ruined lives, families and communities,” Jeffries said in a statement. “Our broken clemency system only deepens this pain, and we must transform it in a just, equitable and transparent manner. The FIX Clemency Act does just that by creating an independent U.S. Clemency Board to fairly review applications.””It was an inconceivable honor to be allowed to offer input on the drafting of this piece of legislation. It was especially profound for me to stand with women from all over this country who have been so severely impacted by the mass incarceration epidemic and to say with one voice that something must change,” said Perry. “When women are incarcerated, communities are destroyed. Irrevocably and forever. 80% of incarcerated women are mothers. 84% are sexual abuse survivors. Over 50% come from the foster care system. My presence, contribution, and hope for the FIX Clemency Act is that its passage will lead to second chances for women across the nation. My birth mother deserved one. I received one. There is so much work to be done.”The president’s clemency authority is a tool to reduce the federal prison population and rectify the injustices created by the criminal legal system. Because the…

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