President Donald Trump seems to be fond of handing out pardons to people who apparently make nice to him or to people who seem to not deserve it. We see it with the current batch of crooks he’s letting loose, including 1,500 January 6 rioters; two Washington D.C. cops who killed a Black man; and most recently, reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley who flexed $30 million in fraud.
Trump is getting headlines for commuting the sentence of Larry Hoover, co-founder of Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, who was sentenced to prison in 1973 for ordering the murder of a drug dealer. Trump said that these people and a list of others were victims of a “weaponized” criminal justice system, but there are others who he has not yet explained why they are being released.
Suggested Reading
Hoover was hit with between 150 and 200 years and was federally convicted in 1997, receiving a life term. He must still serve the state charges, so currently there’s no sign he’ll walk free.But Trump’s decision to commute Hoover’s sentence is a mixed bag. Here’s why:
He’s Been a Cause Célèbre For Years
Hip-hop has advocated for Hoover’s release for quite some time now. In 2021, Kanye West and Drake performed in a benefit concert for him, that was put together by Rap-a-Lot founder J. Prince. Many in hip hop have been part of an effort to gain awareness of Hoover’s efforts to reform the GDs (which he proclaimed in the 90s to mean “Growth and Development” and helping to form a record label and a nonprofit organization.
“There definitely was more to it than just him being a gangster. He was a real leader, and he was trying to lead people in the right direction,” Larry Hoover Jr. told WBEZ last year.
His Legacy is Unquestionably Sordid
On the other hand, nobody can deny what the Gangster Disciples meant in the streets of the Chi for many years. The GDs were one of a number of South and West side gang sets, which are still infamous. While the GDs evolved from other gangs that formed to push back against racist gangs terrorizing Black Chicagoans, the latter result was Black Chicagoans still living in terror.
The GDs were not responsible for all of this, but they did have their share, and it was largely the result of what emerged from Hoover’s actions.
A Leering Third Question
Okay, so Trump is saying Hoover is done serving time as far as he’s concerned. But if he’s granting him a reprieve, presumably because of the unfairness of the justice system, then can the governors of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York do the same for Assata Shakur, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Joy Powell, respectively?
Or at least get the FBI off Shakur’s back? Not to mention the people ICE is “disappearing” from the country just for being Latino or Muslim. Although the three names mentioned are state cases, the evidence is clear that what Trump considers justice means it’s time to question the entire justice system.
—————————————————
Madison J. Gray is a New York-based journalist. He blogs at www.starkravingmadison.com.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.