Client of Minnesota Law's Clemency Project Clinic Secures Commutation from President Trump

The Clemency Project Clinic, directed by Professor JaneAnne Murray, is delighted to announce that one of its clients, Angela Reynolds, received a full commutation from President Trump on January 15, 2026.  Angela had served ten years of a 23-year sentence for her non-violent, unarmed role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Ms. Reynolds’ lengthy sentence was driven in part by the fact that she received a “purity” enhancement related to the quality of the methamphetamine involved in her case. The United States Sentencing Commission is currently considering amending the sentencing guidelines to erase this “purity” enhancement, and had Ms. Reynolds been sentenced without it, her sentence would have been effectively the time she has already served.  There were many other compelling factors about Ms. Reynolds’ case, including the fact that she was discipline-free in prison and has an excellent release plan with close family members who remained supportive throughout her incarceration.  

 

Reynolds' petition was drafted by Ingrid Hofeldt ’22, who now works as a staff attorney in the Women and Survivors Project of the Illinois Prison Project. In an article about her work at the Clemency Clinic, Ms. Hofeldt discussed her passion for reshaping the criminal justice system so that it doesn’t exploit ordinary people. She pointed out how the clemency process gives her an opportunity to show how systemic factors, such as a client’s past traumas and the shortcomings of societal systems, can set people up to commit crimes and become incarcerated. “I’m able to be creative and incorporate psychiatric research on drugs, sociological research on gangs, or psychological research on childhood trauma into the petitions I write,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to pull disciplines that the law is frequently siloed from into legal practice.”

 

The Clinic filed the petition with the U.S. Pardon Attorney in 2022 and has been continually updating it with the Pardon Office since. Professor Murray and two students visited with Ms. Reynolds in June of 2025.  The Clinic understands that her petition was supported by Pardon Czar Alice Marie Johnson, and is grateful for her support as well as the mercy shown by the Trump Administration in this very deserving case.