A judge who helped orchestrate one of the worst judicial scandals in American history — a scheme to send children to for-profit prisons in exchange for kickbacks — was among 1,500 people whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden this week.
Biden’s decision to commute Michael Conahan’s 17-year prison sentence angered many in northeastern Pennsylvania, from the governor to the families whose children were victims of the disgraced former judge. Conahan had already served the vast majority of his sentence, which was handed down in 2011.
“I strongly believe that President Biden was absolutely wrong and has caused a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Friday during an unrelated news conference in Scranton.
Trusted news and daily treats, straight to your inbox
See for yourself: The Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
The scandal “affected families in a very deep, profound and sad way,” he added. Conahan “deserves to be behind bars and not walk as a free man.”
A message seeking comment was sent to an attorney who recently represented Conahan, the former presiding judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.
In what became known as the kids-for-cash scandal, Conahan and Judge Mark Ciavarella shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and accepted $2.8 million in illegal payments from a friend of Conahan who built and helped build two was the owner. profit blocking.
Ciavarella, who presided over the juvenile court, pushed for a zero-tolerance policy that guaranteed large numbers of children would fill the beds of private detention facilities. The scandal prompted the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to throw out some 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 children.
Sandy Fonzo, whose son committed suicide at age 23 after Ciavarella locked him up as a teenager, called Conahan’s commutation an “injustice.”
“I am shocked and hurt,” Fonzo said in a statement to The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre. “Conahan’s actions devastated families, including mine, and my son’s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power. This pardon feels like an injustice to all of us who continue to suffer. Right now I’m processing and doing my best to cope with the pain this has brought.
The Juvenile Law Center, which represented plaintiffs in a $200 million civil judgment against Conahan and Ciavarella, said in a statement that it “supported President Biden’s actions” but wants “the same kind of compassion and mercy” also is granted to juvenile defendants around the world. country.
Conahan was a powerful figure in northeastern Pennsylvania before his arrest and regularly met for breakfast with the alleged boss of an area mafia family.
When he pleaded guilty in 2010, Conahan apologized to the young people he hurt.
“The system is not corrupt,” Conahan said at the time. “I was corrupt.”
In 2020, Conahan was released to home confinement with six years left to serve as part of an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in federal prisons.
Ciavarella, who went to trial and was convicted of some of the charges, is serving a 28-year prison sentence.
