Written by Tanya Terry
Featured photo: President Joe Biden with Shavon Arline-Bardley, president and CEO of NCNW (National Council of Negro Woman)
Photo courtesy of The J2C (Justice & a 2nd Chance) Coalition
Shavon Arline-Bardley, president and CEO of NCNW (National Council of Negro Woman) recently talked to the Courier about the fact 37 people on death row are having their punishments converted to life in prison. Her organization stands on the belief that this is a critical step to a more fair and just legal system.
“So we know that right now, 55% of the 40 people who were actually on death row were people of color,” said Arline-Bardley. “About 15 Black men were there, which really for us highlights the racial injustices that we’ve seen historically throughout the country. So, NCNW, of course, has been an organization that believes in the empowerment of women of African descent, their communities and their families. So, these kind of announcements actually affect the overall experience of Black families in this country.”
Arline-Bardley also broke down the reasoning behind why three individuals; sentences are not being converted.
She said: “As we think about the president – the president is really driven by a few things. One is commitment to humanity, but also a commitment to ensuring that crimes that have been committed do meet the intentions behind those convictions. When you think about the Boston Marathon bombing that took the life of a precious, young boy…when you think about those families that were murdered during the synagogue shooting…for us, as an African American organization, the connection that we had to the AME church down in down in Charleston, South Carolina, where we lost nine African American churchgoers to a white supremacist – you think about terrorism and white supremacy, those are the through lines of those sentencing that were actually subject to not having their sentences converted. They are actually going to continue on death row.”
The president’s decisions aligned with his belief as a faith believer that life is precious, but there still must be consequences for action, according to Arline-Bardley. She added: “if there is a crime and a sentence is given for life, versus a death sentence, many are in alignment with the person must pay until God ends their life.”
When previously serving as president of the United States, Donald Trump granted executive clemency to 237 individuals charged or convicted of federal criminal offences. At the same time, he is the president who had the most federal executions happen during his time in office than any other president in modern history.
“The timing of this is intentional. The election has already happened. The American people have spoken. So, President-elect Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. With that being said, President Biden is still the sitting president who has still the authority to move forward in this clemency process…This is not about missing out on consequences, this about the humane treatment of individuals.”
Arline-Bardley said she found it “interesting” to think about pardons as Americans and the world look at President-elect Trump “currently dealing with his own criminal challenges.”
Arline-Bardley stated NCNW is interested in advocating for and empowering women of African descent, their families and their communities.
“Black women are overrepresented in the federal prisons. We think about data that as of September 30 of 2022. There were over 1,680 Black women in federal prisons. If you look at that, 25% of Black women in federal prison are serving sentences more than 10 years and in federal prison serving for drug offenses – over 40% of them.”
Arline-Bardley sadly stated she does fear the racial disparities in federal prisons may never be fully addressed.
The organization is e supporting full pardons for Kemba Smith, Marilyn Mosby, Sandi Jackson and Karen Carter Peterson.
