A Portfolio of Criminal Justice Reform Work Focused on Clemency and Senate Bill 819
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Date
2023
Authors
Eisenbach-Budner, Tamir
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Due to the expansion of tough-on-crime policies such as Measure 11, Oregon’s incarceration rate has more than doubled since 1995. However, deeper understanding has emerged of the neuroscience, and profound potential for rehabilitation, of young offenders; the corrosive, lifelong impacts of criminal legal involvement; and the racism and dysfunction that pervades the criminal legal system. Additionally, many are rethinking the retributive model of criminal justice in favor of rehabilitation and restoration. Reevaluation of past criminal convictions and sentences that takes these developments into account is crucial. Two mechanisms for such reevaluation within Oregon are the governor’s clemency power and Senate Bill 819, which allows district attorneys and defendants to jointly move for a reduction in the defendant’s sentence. This thesis presents a portfolio of my work with Lewis and Clark Law School’s Criminal Justice Reform Clinic in these areas. I have created writing guides for pardon and commutation clemency petitions; provided constructive, in-depth feedback on sixty-one such petitions submitted by incarcerated people; authored a pardon petition that was personally granted by Governor Brown in June 2021; and authored two Senate Bill 819 petitions that are currently under review. My aim in this work is to make a tangible impact on the lives of the Clinic’s clients and support the broader criminal justice reform movement within Oregon.
Description
27 pages
Keywords
criminal justice reform, legal, clemency, Senate Bill 819, portfolio