Client of the Law School’s Clemency Project—Headed by Prof. Murray—Profiled in the Washington Post

The Washington Post published a lengthy piece profiling several federal inmates awaiting decisions on their clemency petitions to President Trump. One of those is Mary Anne Locke, whose clemency petition before President Trump was filed by the Law School’s Clemency Project, headed by Professor JaneAnne Murray. Locke is serving a 20-year sentence for her low-level, non-violent role in a methamphetamine distribution scheme. The article notes that her long sentence stunned her family because she had cooperated with law enforcement.

“I’m extremely happy for each and every person that gets any kind of relief, but I wish there were more opportunities for those of us without those connections,” Locke, who is 41, said in a telephone interview with the Post. “If a connection is what it takes, then I pray for the right person to come along for me.”

The Post also interviewed Ms. Locke’s father, John Owen, who had written an open letter in the Des Moines Register in July 2018 to Trump, describing his daughter’s struggle to overcome her drug addiction. “I’m frustrated that the entire system is so slow moving,” said Owen.