Danielle Metz wonders whether the president will extend the forgiveness he has shown the 6 January insurrectionists to other prisoners, in response to an article by James Rosen
I was granted clemency by President Barack Obama after serving 23 years behind bars (The US founders made a grave error in granting presidents pardon power, 1 November). When I think of clemency, I think about what it was designed to do. How it’s a way to show mercy when those who issued the verdict showed none. Incarcerated people sit in prison for years waiting for someone to show up and correct an obvious wrong. The president and the governor have the power to right that wrong. I can’t imagine it being taken away.
I think back to 6 January 2021, when the Capitol was stormed, and I witnessed the violence and chaos that erupted that day. I remember how frightening it was to watch. This was not scripted. This was horror in real time.