ARTICLE
29 April 2026

Clemency, Mandatory Minimums, And Why I Left The Federal Bench | Kevin Sharp (Video)

SH
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight

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Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is committed to litigating and resolving public interest, social justice, and civil rights matters that add significant value to individuals and communities across America. We excel at representing individuals, groups of individuals, and public entities in employment discrimination, whistleblower, ERISA, sexual violence, Title IX, victims’ rights, and public sector litigation.
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In this conversation, Kevin Sharp reflects on a career defined by an unrelenting pursuit of justice. From trying a landmark race discrimination case against Whirlpool in Nashville, to being confirmed to the federal bench 89 to zero with bipartisan support from two Republican senators, to sentencing a young man named Chris Young to life without parole for a nonviolent drug offense under mandatory minimum laws he believed were fundamentally unjust, and then doing something about it.

Sharp traces the path from that sentencing to a meeting in the Oval Office with Kim Kardashian and President Trump, a clemency order that brought Chris Young home, and a college graduation at SMU he wouldn't miss for anything. He also takes us inside the decades-long fight to free Leonard Peltier, Native American activist and political prisoner, and what it took to finally secure clemency on the last day of the Biden administration: a coalition of Native American tribes, civil rights organizations, Stevie Van Zandt, and a phone call to the Vatican at three o'clock in the morning. This is a conversation about what the law can do, what it fails to do, and what happens when someone decides to fight back.

Kevin Sharp is Co-Vice Chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, a national civil rights and employment law firm, and a former United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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