Montini

a hearing is held or not. And the clemency board doesn’t have the power to release anybody. A recommendation is sent to the governor, who has the authority to grant a pardon or commutation of sentence. Or not. In other words, we’ve eliminated an evidence-based evaluation and replaced it with a simple political decision. And releasing a convicted killer, for whatever reason, has never been The general attitude is: Meh. The state has been lying to defendants for nearly a quarter-century, and it seems to be no big deal. The courts literally have signed off on plea bargains noting the chance for parole after 25 to 35 years. As if it’s still the law.

Kiefer’s research found nearly 250 such cases. The first of them is set to reach the 25-year mark in 2019. What happens then? Already, some of the affected convicts who accepted plea bargains would have taken the deals if they knew there was no likely chance of ever being released.

In Kiefer’s stories, he quoted several attorneys on what has gone on.

“It’s a contract. It’s a deal,” said Kathy Brody of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, adding, “How can you say it’s a knowing and voluntary decision (by the defendant) if it’s an in- talking about bad guys (and some bad women) here. We shouldn’t feel sorry for them. I don’t. We don’t expect murderers to do the right thing. But that is exactly what we expect of the justice system. This isn’t about the bad guys. It’s about us.