WILLIAMSPORT, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Reaction continues to be heard regarding the Presidential commutation of notorious Kids for Cash Judge Michael Conahan.
President Biden granted clemency to Conahan who pleaded guilty for his role in accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for sending juveniles to two private detention centers. Juveniles who were wrongly imprisoned for minor crimes.
The former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and current Lycoming County District Attorney Tom Marino says he's downright angry and calls the commutation an injustice to the victims.
‘Kids for Cash’ victim reacts after Biden commutes sentence for Luzerne County judge
Marino, a former federal prosecutor who helped guide the early days of the investigation into the now infamous Kids for Cash scheme in Luzerne County reacted to the news with 28/22 News' Andy Mehalshick Monday.
Marino, like many people, are downright angry about the clemency acton for Conahan. He says that action itself.. is a crime.
"This is offensive. This is beyond ridiculous," Marino said.
Marino, who is now the district attorney for Lycoming County, said he could not believe it when he heard about President Biden commuting the sentence for Conahan.
"It's an insult to the criminal justice system number one, it's more than an insult to the parents who had kids subjected to that. It's even more of a travesty that these kids had to go through that," Marino explained.
Conahan and former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella were sent to prison for accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks for sending thousands of juveniles to two private detention centers in which they had a business interest. The juveniles were wrongly imprisoned for minor crimes, if any crime at all. We spoke to one of the victims last week.
"There's never going to be any justice for us, Andy," said Amanda Lorah, who was sent to a detention center during the ordeal.
Ciaveralla is serving 28 years in prison. Conahan was sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in prison. He was released in 2020 to home confinement because of Covid-19 health concerns. The Biden clemency action will clear out the remaining two years or so of his sentence. For Marino, it was tough to talk about.
"The other thing I can say… give me a moment... that I'm so sorry from the bottom of my heart that this is talking place and took place. I've explained to some people there's actually nothing we can do about it," Marino concluded.
