President Trump Issues Executive Grant of Clemency For Terrence Sutton

You may not immediately recognize the name Terrence Sutton, but he’s just one more American citizen persecuted by a weaponized Biden Regime.

Many consider the case against Sutton to be egregious and unfounded, merely pandering to BLM and the Far-Left social justice warrior contingent.

Here is a fairly neutral summary of the facts and circumstances around the case:

Terrence Sutton, a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer, was involved in a high-profile case following the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown in October 2020. Here is a summary based on available information:

• Incident: Sutton and his supervisor, Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky, were part of an unauthorized police pursuit of Hylton-Brown, who was riding an electric moped on a sidewalk without a helmet. The chase, which lasted for about three minutes across 10 blocks, ended when Hylton-Brown was struck by a civilian vehicle after exiting an alley. Hylton-Brown died two days later from his injuries.
• Charges: Sutton was charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice. Zabavsky was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The charges stemmed not only from the pursuit but also from an alleged cover-up, where both officers reportedly turned off their body cameras, failed to secure the crash scene, and provided misleading accounts of the incident.
• Trial and Conviction: The trial took place in the federal court, with Sutton convicted of second-degree murder, alongside the conspiracy and obstruction charges. Zabavsky was convicted of the conspiracy and obstruction charges. The jury found that Sutton’s actions during the pursuit showed a conscious disregard for an extreme risk of death or serious bodily injury, and that both officers conspired to hide the true circumstances of the incident from MPD officials.
• Sentencing: In September 2024, Sutton was sentenced to 66 months in prison, and Zabavsky to 48 months. Both were also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. The sentences came after significant public and media attention, with protests occurring in Washington, D.C., following Hylton-Brown’s death.
• Public and Legal Reaction: The case drew considerable attention due to its implications for police conduct, accountability, and the handling of pursuits. Defense motions for a new trial were filed but were considered unlikely to succeed based on legal expert opinions, suggesting the convictions would likely stand.

The Law Enforcement Legal Defense reports that the prosecutors had to take this case to SIX different grand juries before they found one that would indict:

“𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐈𝐗 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬…”

Criminal defense attorney Carmen Hernandez lays out the egregious case against Terence Sutton—an MPD officer pardoned by President Trump. pic.twitter.com/wDcKWmSZSo

— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) January 23, 2025

More here:

MPD officer Terence Sutton has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for the death of Karon Hylton Brown… but Karon died after exiting an alley on a scooter and colliding with a civilian car.

Sutton had been part of a 3 minute, low-speed pursuit of the known gang member. pic.twitter.com/LQttvPnaKF

— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) December 18, 2024

Today President Trump finally corrected this injustice.

Here is the full text of the Executive Grant of Clemency from the WhiteHouse websiste:

EXECUTIVE GRANT OF CLEMENCY FOR TERENCE SUTTON

January 22, 2025

Executive Grant of Clemency
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States of America

To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting:
    Be it Known, that This Day, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto
TERENCE SUTTON
A Full and Unconditional Pardon

For His convictions in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, on an indictment (Docket No. 1:21-cr-00598-PLF), of violations of section 2103, title 22, District of Columbia Code; section 371, title 18, United States Code; and section 1512, title 18, United States Code; for which he was sentenced on September 12, 2024, to 66, 48, and 48 months of imprisonment, respectively (all to run concurrently); 3 years of supervised release; and a special assessment of three hundred dollars ($300).

I HEREBY DESIGNATE, direct, and empower, the Pardon Attorney, as my representative, to sign a grant of clemency to the person named herein. The Pardon Attorney shall declare that her action is the act of the President, being performed at my direction.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of the Department of Justice to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington in the District of Columbia this 22nd day of January in the Year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the two hundred forty-ninth.

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