WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s pardon attorney is resigning at the end of the month after less than two years on the job.
Deborah Leff was appointed in an acting capacity in April 2014, when the Justice Department announced a revamp of the clemency process to encourage more inmates to apply. She was appointed to the position permanently that November.
In a statement, Leff says she’s known President Barack Obama for more than 20 years and believes that he’s committed to reinvigorating the clemency process. She says she thinks it’s “essential that this groundbreaking effort move ahead expeditiously and expand.”
The Justice Department expects to name a replacement before Leff leaves.
The department has more than 9,000 pending petitions for clemency, but has already identified inmates who are potentially good candidates.
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