James Rosemond a.k.a. Jimmy Henchman continues to seek his release from prison.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, James Rosemond’s lawyer Michael Rayfield insists former President Donald Trump pardoned his client. Rayfield counters the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which argued Trump never formally granted clemency to Jimmy Henchman.
“President Lincoln granted pardons by scribbling them on pieces of paper handed to a prisoner, and by informing a single member of a prisoner’s family,” Rayfield writes.
The lawyer contends, “President Trump communicated Rosemond’s clemency to two high-profile people with no personal stake in Rosemond’s case and indisputable access to the White House. The Warden cannot credibly contend that a substantial number of people will be similarly situated to Rosemond, or that a grant of relief to Rosemond will somehow overwhelm the courts with meritless claims.”
Rayfield claims Trump expressed his intent to pardon Rosemond in a “sufficiently public” manner. Jimmy Henchman’s lawyer says Trump’s conversation with James and Monique Brown legally justifies a pardon for his client.
“On the December 18th, 2020 call, President Trump announced that he had ‘looked at everything’ in Rosemond’s file, that he believed the Browns that Rosemond deserved a commutation and that he ‘wanted to do this,’” Rayfield reiterates. “He then told his advisors point-blank: ‘let’s this guy home for Christmas.’”
He continues, “No reasonable listener would conclude from this exchange that President Trump was merely aware of and possibly considering’ Rosemond’s petition. The whole point of the call was for President Trump to inform the Browns that he had completed his review of the petition and decided to grant it- a decision the browns would then convey to Rosemond and his family so they could arrange for his return home.”
Rayfield suggests Trump did more than simply voice a desire to free Rosemond. The attorney says Trump ordered his subordinates to get Rosemond out of prison.
“When a superior tells his or her colleague to ‘get me a cup of coffee, or to ‘get my mother flowers for her birthday,’ or to ‘get Bob in my office,’ the colleague is being instructed to do something,” he notes. “President Trump’s aides were instructed to ‘get Rosemond home’ – to arrange for Rosemond’s transfer out of prison.”
Rosemond has been imprisoned for running a drug trafficking organization and ordering the murder of 50 Cent associate Lowell Fletcher. He’s serving eight consecutive life sentences.
