Larry Hoover Seeks Clemency in Illinois

Larry Hoover, the 74-year-old founder of the Gangster Disciples, is making another push for freedom. Following Donald Trump’s commutation of his federal life sentence earlier this year, Hoover’s lawyers are now petitioning Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for state clemency. The plea highlights Hoover’s deteriorating health and over five decades spent behind bars.

Health Concerns and ‘Slow Death Sentence’

In a petition filed with the prison board on October 22nd, Hoover’s legal team described his treatment as “a slow, state-sanctioned death sentence.” They detailed that he has suffered three heart attacks while performing prison labor, with the most recent occurring in September. His lawyers are urging Governor Pritzker to recognize Hoover’s alleged transformation and allow him to spend his remaining years out of prison.

Attorney Justin Moore stated in the petition, “To deny clemency now is not a neutral act. It is a willful decision to let a 74-year-old man with significant health challenges die in a cage.” Despite receiving federal clemency, Hoover remains incarcerated due to his 1973 state murder conviction.

Harsh Prison Conditions and Labor

Hoover’s lawyers allege that he is being held in “extreme conditions of confinement” at the Colorado State Penitentiary. Since his transfer from a supermax facility, they claim he has been subjected to “excruciatingly intense labor,” including demanding kitchen duties with strict time constraints. Moore elaborated, “He’s the oldest person on the work line… He’s been rushed to the hospital at least once, and there’s great concerns that the condition that he’s in could lead him to actually die in prison due to the labor conditions.”

A Long History of Convictions

Hoover, who co-founded the Gangster Disciples in the late 1960s, was initially sentenced to 200 years under Illinois’ old indeterminate sentencing system for ordering the 1973 murder of a 19-year-old drug dealer. Further charges followed in 1997 after a lengthy federal investigation revealed Hoover was directing gang operations from prison. He was convicted on 40 counts, including drug conspiracy and racketeering, charges whose sentences were commuted by Trump earlier this year.

Hoover’s Personal Plea for Redemption

The 39-page clemency petition submitted to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board includes two personal letters from Hoover. In these letters, he reflects on his decades-long journey, acknowledging the “disservice” he caused by remaining silent about his public persona and the harm inflicted upon Chicago and his community. He asserts that the man depicted in old newspaper photos as a rebellious gang leader no longer exists.

“I am no longer the Larry Hoover people sometimes talk about… That man has over these many years, transformed into the man I am today,” Hoover wrote. He expressed “immense remorse” for his past actions and stated he has renounced all ties to the Gangster Disciples and criminal activity, wishing to have no part in that life “now and forever.”

• Deteriorating health, including three heart attacks.
• Over 50 years served since his 1973 state murder conviction.
• Alleged harsh labor conditions in prison.
• Personal letters expressing remorse and transformation.

The petition now rests with Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, who will decide whether Hoover gets a chance to spend his final years outside of prison walls.