BELLE PLAINE, Kan. — A civil rights group has launched “The Clemency Project” to try to secure the release of Kansas prisoners whose medical conditions make them vulnerable to the coronavirus.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on Thursday filed the first round of what it anticipates will be dozens of individualized clemency petitions seeking relief for their clients from the parole board and governor. The petitions will be filed on a rolling basis.
The move comes days after a Leavenworth judge threw out the group’s class action lawsuit seeking the release of seven inmates due to the pandemic.