内容摘要：Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.

Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.

Trump’s move confused many, including Safer, who said the commutation was “extremely disappointing” given the years of trauma, drug addiction and lives lost in gang wars.“There are some crimes that are so heinous and so extraordinary that they do not qualify for mercy,” Safer said.

Hoover’s many previous attempts for a sentence reduction or parole have been swiftly rejected, including a federal judge denying Hoover’s request for a lower sentence in 2021. Last year, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board unanimously rejected his bid for parole and before that in 2022 with a 10-1 vote.Attorneys have said Hoover became a symbol of gang culture, making it hard for courts to consider resentencing him, but that Hoover has since denounced gangs and is a changed man.For instance, Hoover was illiterate when he entered prison and has since taught himself, earned his GED certificate and taken classes on robotics and art history.

Hoover remains eligible for parole in Illinois and has a hearing later this year.“He’s not responsible for all gang violence that ever has occurred,” said attorney Jennifer Bonjean.

She and others say they will push Gov. JB Pritzker to pardon Hoover, arguing that Hoover received a disproportionate sentence. Hoover’s co-defendants have received reduced sentences, clemency or already been released.

“There is no purpose in returning a 74-year-old man in failing health to prison after 52 years of incarceration,” said a joint statement from attorneys Joshua Dubin and Justin Moore. “Justice demands that Mr. Hoover’s time be considered served.”Alex Berrios of Louisville, Kentucky, needs a second transplant but finding another human match is proving impossible. So he’s closely watching for a chance at pig kidney research.

Alex Berrios walks into his dialysis session in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)Alex Berrios walks into his dialysis session in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

“It may not work, and I have to be OK with that,” Berrios said. “I think it’s worth the shot.”Now two U.S. companies aim to begin the world’s first clinical trials of xenotransplantation in 2025 –