They also pointed to presidential clemency, sentence commutation and ongoing judicial review as meaningful avenues for relief. “There is clear evidence of sentences — including life sentences — being ...

A commutation of sentence "reduces a sentence, either totally or partially, that is then being served, but it does not change the fact of conviction, imply innocence, or remove civil disabilities ...

Hourigan added, “our institutional credibility suffers when we claim to take handgun crime seriously and then fail to impose meaningful sentences in cases where public safety is at risk.” ...

“If we don’t see a significant or meaningful sentence, then I think the deterrence effect is much less, and when we’re talking about what happened here, we need deterrence,” Carter added.