The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "clemency" ...
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I Dunnit
Kentucky prison inmate James Mullins was looking at spending more than 25 years behind bars for theft and burglary charges. When a 19-year-old woman turned up murdered in Arizona, he "confessed" to the crime, which had taken place 2,000 miles from him and which he obviously had not committed. He said he hoped that Kentucky police would drop the theft charges and send him to Arizona to stand trial for murder, for which he would be exonerated since no evidence connecting him to the murder existed. Police discovered the inconsistencies in his story, and it turned out that the slain woman was actually a victim of the Baseline Killer, a serial murderer who had terrorized the area. Reporter Paul Rubin tells the story of Mullins' deception, which included a fellow inmate receiving clemency for his false testimony regarding Mullins.
Tags: Baseline Killer; false confession; James Mullins; Georgia Thompson
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LA's Underground Power Broker
This story examined previously overlooked details of a national scandal: Pardongate, as it related to the clemency granted to Carlos Vignali, a convicted drug trafficker and son of LA businessman Horacio Vignali. It provides an in-depth look at the local impact of the national scandal.
Tags: crime; politicians; election; Roger Clinton; fraud; national media; clemency; pardongate
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The Long Road to Clemency
Florida bans more ex-felons from recovering their civil rights, including the right to vote, than any other state. Almost half a million people are caught up in the state's error-ridden system to restore civil rights. Since Jeb Bush took office, the system has slowed to a crawl; it could take decades to clear the backlog of cases. In Bush's six years as governor more than 200,000 applicants, many of them non-violent ex-felons, have been blocked from voting again. The issue took on particular significance in the 2000 presidential election when George W. Bush won the state of Florida by only 537 votes. Included are two follow-ups that cover prominent Florida Republicans taking the lead in asking Governor Bush to automatically grant clemency to ex-felons.
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The Texas Clemency Memos
This story reveals how George Bush violated his statement that he "carefully" reviewed all claims for clemency as the Governor of Texas. During his tenure a record number of 152 executions took place. Bush relied on summaries that ran for just a few pages before rejecting some of pleas. This in-depth piece looks at how the summaries could have misinformed Bush about the pending executions.
Tags: Executions; Texas Executions; George W Bush; Governor of Texas; Alberto R Gonzales
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Campaigning for Clemency
The Village Voice looks at several women prisoners, who hope to be among one of the few state prisoners to get their sentences commuted. Governor Pataki is expected to commute the sentences of a handful of state prisoners just before Christmas.
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Young lawyer, noble quest
The National Law Journal reports on mandatory minimums and clemency, focusing on the case of Serena Nunn, who "had been sentenced to 14 years for a relatively minor role in a drug conspiracy."
Tags: sentencing; mandatory minimums; law students; parole; drug sentencing; Serena Nunn; Sam Sheldon; Judge David Doty; U.S. pardon attorney; President Clinton; clemency
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Passing over Peltier
"Leonard Peltier's supporters took on the FBI and South Dakota politicians in a losing battle for President Clinton's attentions." In a special investigative report, de Yoanna examines the clemency case of American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, who "in 1977 received two consecutive life sentences for the point-blank shooting deaths of two FBI agents during a gun fight" on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. American Indian activists and members of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee believe Peltier was framed in the shoot out because of the FBI's handling of the case and have been seeking help from the government ever since. Activist and Peltier himself believed former President Clinton provided the best chance for Peltier's freedom after visiting the Pine Ridge reservation in 1999 and stating that he would make a decision on the Peltier case in November 2000. De Yoanna looks at how heated emotions from American Indian activists, FBI agents and people from inside and outside Washington may have escalated Peltier's case. In the resulting aftermath, some American Indians, along with Peltier believe Clinton traded Peltier's freedom for his own to escape prosecution once out of office.
Tags: Minorities; American Indians; Native Americans; FBI; Leonard Peltier; pardons
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Free at Last! Free at Last!
Glamour tells the story of Amy Ralston Pofahl, the former wife of a drug kingpin. Ralston (she no longer goes by her married name) found out her ex-husband, Sandy Pofahl, was the mastermind of a syndicate that made and distributed Ecstasy when he was arrested in 1989. Even though they had been separated for a year, Ralston agreed to help Pofahl make bail by recovering some of his drug profits at various, secret locations. Ralston had no idea this was illegal. During the trial, Pofahl implicated Ralston into the syndicate. She ended up receiving a sentence of 24-years in jail, while he only got one of four years. Glamour profiled Ralston in the June 1999 issue. President Clinton heard of her story and granted her clemency. This article tells the story of what happened to Ralston following her release from jail.
Tags: Amy Ralston Pofahl; President Bill Clinton; Sandy Pofahl; jail; prison; Ecstasy; drug laws; mandatory sentencing
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Two lives. One Bullet. No Justice.
The Daily Press reports "Ricky was a 15-year-old learning-disabled boy in the hands of skilled interrogators. His confession, which he immediately recanted, was made under pressure and without his father present. Prosecutors were so certain that only the guilty confess, they ignored eyewitnesses, evidence and a defense attorney with addiction problems that were well-know to the court. Everyone ignored a videotape in which the alleged victim admits he shot himself, then laughs about it. Everyone also ignored the alleged victim's psychiatric and criminal past, which at the time included two suicide attempts and more than 20 criminal charges."
Tags: juvenile justice system; videotape; confession; wrongful imprisonment clemency hearing
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George Bush's Herion Connection
Two days before the end of his administration, George Bush signed a paper granting executive clemency to a herion traffickerserving time in a North Carolina prison. The man was deported and forbidden to ever return to the U.S. Rolling Stone examines one of the most puzzling mercies bestowed by a chief executive in the 206 years of presidential clemencies. (Oct. 6, 1994)