WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ifrah Law secured a victory for firm client Tyrelle Deyon Jones as President Barack Obama granted one of the greatest number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president.
President Obama pardoned 78 people and granted commutations to 153 nonviolent drug offenders including Mr. Jones. The grants were awarded to federal prisoners sentenced under harsh and outdated laws who would have received lighter sentences if convicted today.
“We are gratified that our client Tyrelle Jones has been granted clemency, along with so many others incarcerated under what is now acknowledged to have been an excessive approach to non- violent drug crimes,” said Jeff Ifrah, founding partner of Ifrah Law and co-author of Federal Sentencing for Business Crimes, a comprehensive treatise on federal sentencing. “Lengthy federal sentences for nonviolent offenders is not just inhumane, but far too expensive.”
In 2004 Tyrelle Jones received a mandatory minimum life sentence for low-level drug dealing. U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar called the sentence “horrendous,” stating that it was “ridiculous… [that DC sniper Lee Boyd] Malvo kills a plethora of victims and he gets a life sentence, and [Jones] sells some crack and he gets a life sentence.” Nonetheless, by statute, the judge was required to sentence Jones to life.
“If he had been sentenced under current sentencing laws, Tyrelle would be serving a sentence in the range of 14 or 15 years,” said Jeff Hamlin, Counsel at Ifrah Law who worked on Mr. Jones’ case. “Now he will complete his sentence before his 39th birthday, giving him another 40–50 years to build a life outside of prison with his four children and extended family.”
Ifrah Law worked on this case in collaboration with Clemency Project 2014, an initiative that provides pro bono assistance to federal prisoners who would likely have received a shorter sentence had they been sentenced today.
Ifrah Law is a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that represents clients in a variety of litigation settings. Founded in 2009, the firm specializes in Internet advertising, iGaming, government contracts, and healthcare. For more information, please visit www.ifrahlaw.com.
