The Root: “Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Randall Woodfin gave residents a reason to celebrate when he officially pardoned anyone convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession by the city over the last three decades.
On Tuesday, Woodfin announced a blanket pardon for anyone with a closed marijuana conviction in the Birmingham Municipal Courts between 1990 and 2020. The blanket pardon, issued in conjunction with the city’s Pardons for Progress initiative sent more than 15,000 possession cases up in smoke. In an exclusive interview with The Root, Woodfin explained that the move was a last-ditch effort to blunt the devastating effects of the war on drugs.
“We started Pardon’s for Progress in 2019,” explained the 2018 Root 100 honoree. “The program was intended to help people with marijuana convictions obtain driver’s licenses, jobs and other opportunities. But I was not pleased with the number of people participating.”
Progress for Pardons allowed anyone convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession to apply for a pardon and have the conviction sealed. After fewer than 20 people signed up for the project, many from outside the city, the mayor launched a campaign involving media appearances, town halls and a direct mail blitz to inform citizens about the initiative, to no avail. Undeterred, the mayor concluded that there was only one thing left for him to do.”