Former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan, who gained notoriety for wrongfully imprisoning juveniles in the Kids-for-Cash scandal, is one of nearly 1,500 inmates whose sentences President Joe Biden commuted Thursday as his term in office comes to a close.
Conahan, 72, was convicted along with former judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., 74, of funneling juvenile defendants to two private, for-profit detention centers in exchange for $2.1 million in kickbacks.
Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges and was sentenced in 2011 to 17½ years in prison. However, he petitioned the courts for a “compassionate release” during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing that he was “in grave danger of not only contracting the virus, but of dying from the virus.”
Michael Michael T. Conahan is the last person in jail you'd want to let out . He is truly evil.
