A day after President Joe Biden issued a controversial pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, Civil Rights advocates are pushing him to extend clemency to other notable Black cases, including former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Mosby is currently serving a 12-month sentence of home confinement after being convicted on two counts of perjury and one count of making a false mortgage application. Her sentence includes 24-hour electronic monitoring.
Attorney Ben Crump and political strategist Angela Rye have joined forces to advocate for Mosby and former St. Louis Attorney Kim Gardner. In a joint statement, they appealed to President Biden, emphasizing, “Justice is still not served for so many in this country.”
Mosby and Gardner’s Legal Challenges
Mosby, a once-prominent prosecutor, was convicted for claiming financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic to access retirement funds, which she used to purchase vacation properties. She maintains her innocence and plans to appeal the conviction. Despite the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland’s attempt to suspend her law license, the Maryland Supreme Court has allowed her to continue practicing law as her appeals process unfolds.
Gardner, the former circuit attorney for St. Louis, avoided prosecution by reaching a pretrial diversion agreement with federal prosecutors. She admitted to misusing $5,000 in office funds to cover expenses related to the case of former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens. The agreement allows her to repay the funds within 18 months and avoid further legal action, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
Advocates demand broader justice
Crump and Rye have framed Mosby and Gardner’s cases within a larger context of systemic inequities in the justice system. Their statement highlights the selective nature of prosecutions and calls on Biden to use his pardon power to address broader injustices:
“There are thousands of people who have been wrongfully convicted and sit in federal prisons today. While Hunter Biden was selectively prosecuted, he’s not the only one…We welcome a conversation with President Biden to discuss ways to use his pardon power to free those ‘others’ who deserve justice also,” Crump said in a statement.Link Copied
“It is time for Joe Biden to pardon Marilyn Mosby,” said attorney and political strategist Angela Rye in reaction to President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. Mosby’s pardon application had remained in the hands of the Department of Justice and the White House for months before Mosby was sentenced to home detention, which has ended.
Angela Rye, who is working on Mosby’s legal team, told theGrio the pardon application was submitted “earlier this year” with an email expressing “receipt of the application on May 28.” The application is still viable, along with over 91,000-plus signatures petitioning the federal government to pardon Mosby, who gained national notoriety in 2015 when she, as state’s attorney, charged six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, Jr.
There are similarities between Mosby’s pardon request and Hunter Biden’s pardon. On Instagram, Rye noted that Mosby was investigated by the same prosecutor, Leo Wise, who successfully sought charges against Biden. She also said attorneys pushing for Mosby’s pardon made the request on the same basis President Biden used to justify pardoning his son: selective prosecution.
“They need to find a rule and equally apply it,” said Rye.
What’s Next?
While Mosby continues to fight her conviction through appeals, Gardner is focused on meeting the terms of her diversion agreement. Advocates are pushing for a broader conversation about justice and equity in federal prosecutions, urging Biden to consider pardons for individuals they believe have been disproportionately targeted by the legal system.
As the debate over presidential pardons grows, all eyes remain on how the Biden administration will respond to these calls for action.
