08/24/21 08/24/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> crisis unfolding before our eyes. for million people are facing severe hunr. to push and already dire situation into catastrophe.

amy: as the united states flies out nearly 60,000 people and counting from kabul, we will look athe growg community during castrop across afghanistan with the u.s. and imf blocking afghanistan's access to money, what will happen to the millions who desperately need help? we will speak to the head of the u.n. humanitarian office in afghanistan. then to the pandemic. pres. biden: the fda has reaffirmed its finding that the pfizer covid-19 vaccine is safe and affect the -- effective and the fda has given its full and final approval. amy: as the fda fully authorized the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine, doctors without borders is calling on the companies to immediately share the vaccine technology with manufacturers in africa where less than 2% of the population is fully vaccinated. in andrew cuomo commute the

sentence a former weather underground member david gilbert . it was one of his last acts before he resigned as new york governor at midnight. we will speak to david gilbert's wyer. >>n david's case, there someone who w incredibly remorseful for the harmaused the lives lost and someone within the confineof priso had invoked himself to making the world better for everyone. amy: plus, we speak to ben jealous of people for the american way about what he and other voting rights activists will be risking arrest outside the white house today will demand president biden call on the senate to eliminate the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. leaders of the g7 group of wealthy nations are meeting virtually today to discuss the taliban's takeover of

afghanistan, where they're expected to ask president biden to extend the u.s. troop presence in kabul past the august 31 deadline for withdrawal. on monday, taliban spokesman suhail shaheen told sky news the u.s. would face consequences if its troops remained in afghanistan into september. >> president biden announced august 31 they would withdrawal all of the military forces. so if they extend it, that means they are -- we are extending occupation. amy: thousands of people remain camped outside of kabul's airport in a desperate bid to fly to safety. the white house says the u.s. has evacuated more than 58,000 people since the taliban swept into kabul on august 14. on mony, the united nations top human rights official site to credible reports of serious

human rights violations committed by the taliban, mmary executions of civilians and afghan soldiers who had surrendered, and severe restrictions on women and girls. meanwhile, "the washington post" reports cia director william burns held a secret meeting in kabul monday with the taliban's de facto leader abdul ghani baradar. it was reportedly the highest level face-to-face meeting between the taliban and the biden administration since the taliban takeover. after headlines, we will speak to that head of the u.n. humanitarian office in afghanistan. the world health organization is calling on wealthy countries to impose a moratorium on covid-19 booster shots until poorer nations can inoculate their most vulnerable residents. who director-general tedros adhanom ghebreyesus said monday that global vaccine inequity was not only unfair, but could lead to new, more dangerous coronavirus variants spreading around the globe.

in the united states come the food and drug administration has fully authorized the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine for u.s. residents age 16 and over. the vaccine still has emergency use authorization for children aged 12 to 15. president joe biden said the fda's move should convince vaccine holdouts to get inoculated. pres. biden: if you are one of the millions of americans who have said they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of the fda, it has happened. the moment you have been waiting for is here. it is time for you to go and get your vaccination. get it today. amy: the fda's announcement set off a wave of vaccine mandates by corporations and governments and the pentagon said all 1.3 million active-duty troops will be required to get vaccinated. new york mayor bill de blasio said all school employees, including principals, teachers, and custodians, will be required to have at least one vaccine

dose by september 27. in new jersey, governor phil murphy said all state employees will be required to be fully vaccinated by october 18 or undergo testing up to twice a week. this comes as the u.s. is recording an average of over 150,000 daily infections and over 1000 daily deaths from covid-19. in florida, thousands of students returned to classrooms monday even as the state recorded one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the world. miami-dade county schools opened the fall semester with a mask mandate in place, defying republican governor ron desantis' threat to pull funding from the district and to cut off the salaries of school officials who require masks. at least seven florida districts that serve more than a million students are defying desantis' ban on mask mandates. this comes after more than 10,000 students in hillsborough

county, florida, alone have had to quarantine over possible exposure to the coronavirus at school. meanwhile, florida's hospitals are overrun with covid-19 patients, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated. on monday, 75 south florida doctors staged a symbolic walkout from palm beach gardens hospital, pleading with members of their community to wear masks and get vaccinated. this is dr. rupesh dharia. >> we are not only doctors, but we are your neighbors and your friends. many of our children go to school here with your children. we are exhausted. our patience and resources are running low and we need your help. amy: in haiti, the death toll from the massive august 14 earthquake has passed 2200, with thousands of survivors growing increasingly desperate. people left homeless by the quake have been living in squalid camps in the mountains north of the hard-hit city of les cayes, where they say

children are suffering from hunger, fevers, and infections. >> our throats are dry because we are thirsty. we have no choice but to stay here. children crying for water and food stay here because there is nothing else we can do. amy: unicef says 1.2 million people were affected by the earthquake, including over half a million children. here in new york, kathy hochul was sworn in as new york's first woman governor early tuesday just after outgoing governor andrew cuomo's resignation took effect at the stroke of midnight. cuomo announced his resignation two weeks ago after new york attorney general letitia james released a damning report finding he sexually harassed at least 11 women. cuomo released a recorded video statement monday in which he portrayed himself as the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by his political rivals. >> you know me. i am a fighter. my instinct is to fight this

because it is unfair and unjust in my mind. amy: cuomo said he was resigning not because he was guilty but to prevent governmental paralysis. former aide charlotte bennett, who says cuomo repeatedly made inappropriate comments to her, told spectrum news she was disappointed cuomo refused to admit to sexual harassment. >> he did not take responsibilityor his actions. his resignation said it all, right? he really was defending himself until the last second. amy: cuomo could still face criminal and civil charges, and he's under investigation for covering up thousands of covid-19 deaths in nursing homes early in the pandemic. during his final hours in office last night, governor cuomo granted clemency to six new yorkers, including former weather underground member david gilbert who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in the robbery of an armored truck. the 1981 robbery left a security guard and two police officers

dead. it was aimed at expropriating money from a brink's armored car for the republic of new afrika. david gilbert is 76 years old and has been incarcerated for four decades. he'll now have an opportunity to apply for parole. gilbert's son is chesa boudin, who's serving as the district attorney of san francisco. we will have more on this story later in the broadcast and speak with david gilbert's attorney. in north carolina, a three-judge court panel has ordered the immediate restoration of voting rights for tens of thousands of people who were convicted of felonies and are currently on parole, probation, or supervised release. the 2-1 preliminary ruling will impact some 56,000 formerly incarcerated people, most of whom are black. in oregon, dozens of members of the far-right group the proud boys gathered in portland for a rally sunday where they assaulted and opened fire on counter-protesters. at least one counter-protester fired back.

proud boys members descended into portland from california and as far as new york for the gathering which quickly evolved into a violent clash over the incarceration of far-right extremists accused of being involved in the january 6 insurrection at the capitol. members of the proud boys also vandalized cars, smashed windows, slashed tires, and shot at counter protesters with paintball guns. proud boys leader enrique tarrio has been sentenced to five months in jail for burning a black lives matter banner that was torn down from asbury united methodist church, a historic black church, during a pro-trump rally in washington, d.c., in december. tarrio will also be serving time for bringing two high-capacity rifle magazines to washington, just days before the january 6 insurrection at the capitol. the sentencing judge said even though tarrio was not present at the capitol during the assault, his actions contributed to undermining democracy. in britain, the climate justice group extinction rebellion launched a new resistance

campaign with a series of protests in london monday. the group says they want to highlight the destructive role financial institutions play in the climate crisis. this is a member of extinction rebellion at one of the actions in london yesterday. >> i care about all living things on this earth. i am doing something about it. amy: and u.s.-born, french performer joséphine baker will be given a memorial in paris' panthéon mausoleum, making baker the first black woman to receive the honor. her induction into the panthéon will take place in november, joining other beloved french icons such as writer victor hugo and scientist marie curie. josephine baker was born in st. louis, missouri, in 1906. she rose to international stardom in the 1930's after moving to france, where she became a singer and dancer.

baker went on to fight with the french resistance in world war ii and was involved in the civil rights movement here in the u.s. she died in 1975 and received french military honors at her funeral. her remains are currently buried in monaco. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in afghanistan as the uted states flies out nearly 60,000 people and counting from the kabul airport. the united nations is warning afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe as the nation faces political upheaval, a worsening economic crisis, and a devastating drought. the world health organization says about one-half of afghanistan's population, including nearly 10 million children, already need humanitarian assistance and the numbers are expected to soar. more than half of all children under the age of five are malnourished. the u.n. estimates nearly

400,000 afghans have been forced from their homes so far this year. this is on top of nearly 3 million afghans who were already internally displaced at the end of 2020. as tens of thousands of afghans attempt to flee the country by land or air, united nations and many humanitarian groups are vowing to keep working in afghanistan following the takeover of the taliban. this is the u.n. secretary-general speaking last week. >> i urge all parties, especially the taliban, to exercise most restraint to protect lives and to ensure humanitarian needs can be met. conflict has forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. the capital city as an huge influx of internally displaced people where they felt insecure or fled during fighting. the humanitarian crisis in

afghanistan affects 18 million people. it is vital the basic services continue to be provided. in a statement issued yesterday, the taliban said they would work with existing institutions. it is crucial salaries continue be paid, infrastructure is maintained, airports are reopened, and health and education services continue. the united nations presence will adapt to the security situation, but above all, we will stay and deliver in support of the afghan people in their hour of need. amy: this all comes as afghanistan is facing an economic crisis. the united states recently blocked the taliban from $9.5 billion held by the afghan government in u.s. banks. the international monetary fund has also suspended afghanistan's access to funds. we go now to kabul, where we are joined by isabelle moussard

carlsen, head of the u.n. humanitarian office in afghanistan. thank you so much for joining us. why don't we begin -- we are seeing all over the world these images of thousands of people trying to flee afghanistan at the airport. what we don't see is the rest of afghanistan. can you tell us what is happening? >> good morning. thank you very much for having me. today in afghanistan, we are seeing a potential humanitarian catastrophe. since the beginning of the year, we are facing a number of factors for the afghan population. half of the population is in need of humanitarian aid. we see half a million people displaced just this year. we have seen people displaced to urban centers but we have also seen a pendulum of the

population movement fleeing the conflict and moving from one location to the next. we also are very concerned by prices that are increasing. and obviously, the two other important factors that have been impacting the afghan people are drought as well as economic impact of covid-19. amy: can you respond to the united states blocking the taliban from $9.5 billion that were held by the afghan government in afghanistan lede? the imf also suspending afghanistan's access to funds. the world health organization saying it has been unable to fly 500 tons of medical supplies into afghanistan due to restraints at the kabul airport.

can you respond to all of this, the withholding of the funds? >> as humanitarians, we have funding for continued operation. it will be essential in the coming days and weeks that there is an important scale up and fast tracking of the humanitarian funding to allow the agency -- aid agency to continue saving lives and deliver the very much needed essential services to the affected population. in our commitment to stay and deliver, it is really fortunate that we have the ability and the funding to do so. today in afghanistan, we have over 160 partners delivering aid. since the beginning of the year, 8 million people have received

aid. so we need to scale up. we consider 60 miion people will require aid in afghanisn. obviously, with the increase of fighting that we have seen, with the drought, with the winr coming very soon, we need to be able to continue ensuring that we are alongside the afghan people and that they have access to all essential services. amy: i want to play a clip of the u.n. world food program's country director warning of the horrendous consequences of international funding is halted. >> the decision to halt -- will have horrendous consequences. 14 million people suffering

hunger, over 2 million children suffering from a nutrition. incredible shelter and health needs. the needs are enormous. to scale back on funding now will only add to the instability and the desperation -- you saw the desperation at the airport with people trying to leap. multiply that across the country . it will not help afghanistan. i would urge the international community to rethink if they are reducing the funding. now is the time to act. now is the time the afghan people need the international community to stand beside them. amy: that is your colleague in

afghanistan. you cite everything with the hashtag #stayanddeliver. today there is a virtual meeting of the wealthy countries, the g7 and president biden is a part of that, will be addressing them. what do you think are the absolute priorities at this point that they should be addressing? >> the absolute priority is to remain alongside the afghan people. and to not abandon afghanistan. it is absolutely essential that as humanitarians, we are able to stay and deliver and we are able to ensure that after 40 years of conflict, after -- in situation of drought and food insecurity, my colleagues have mentioned half the children under five years old are suffering of acute malnutrition.

all of these elements we need to be able to stay and respond and be alongside thefghan people to do that. amy: this acute drought that is taking place in afghanistan that has contributed to food insecurity and hunger. you tweeted -- joint "this year, one in three people will be food insecure and half of all children acutely malnourished." these are astounding figures. >> they are. and it is a deadly combination of those factors that we have discussed. you know, the drought, the conflict, the displacement. when we talk to the people in those displacement sites and we ask them what are their priorities, what are their needs, we see as a priority they havehelter, they have access

to clean water, they have access to health care. obviously, access to food. i have been in different locations -- just a few weeks ago, we were able to travel. i was in a con heart hospital discussing with the head of pediatrics about the situation and what he was being in terms of children being admitted in his unit. he was telling me then and the first six months of the year of 2021, he h been the number of children admitted severely monetarist -- malnutrition unit double. they are coming in and very large numbers to be treated. we have to ensure that the treatment can continue, that there is no pipeline limitation,

and that as a humanitarian community, we can continue to address those things. amy: we are talking to isabelle moussard carlsen head of the u.n. humanitarian office in , afghanistan. cbs news had a recent article. you have these figures that even before the taliban took over, at the beginning of 2021, cap the population of afghanistan already needed humanitarian assistance. so right now we have news that the head of the cia has met with the taliban. of course those negotiations have been ongoing in doha. have you been meeting with the taliban? how the manager and crisis can be dealt with?

>> as humanitarians in this country and other countries, we are speaking to all parties and negotiating access to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach the most vulnerable people. this is the way we are working. this is part of our mandate. amy: we are seeing these harrowing pictures of thousands of people trying to get to the airport, surrounding the airport. at this point, i think the u.s. alone has flown out 58,000 people on nonstop flights. but there are thousands of afghans who are fleeing over land through iran d turkey. reports y turk is turning away refugees. what responsibility to neighboring countries have and other countries overall to accepting refugees?

>> refugees have rights and are protected. it is very important that they are accepted in the countries when required. but when we see mostly as what we see mostly today in afghanistan is internal displacement. those populations are very much at risk and they also need protection. amy: thank you for being with us isabelle moussard carlsen, head , of the u.n. humanitarian office in afghanistan. speaking to us from kabul. coming up, as the fda fully authorizes the covid vaccine, doctors without borders is calling on the companies to immediately share the vaccine technology with manufacturers in africa. were less than 2% of the

population is fully vaccinated. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "life's gone down low" by the lijadu sisters. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the food and drug administration has fully authorized the pfizer-biontech covid-19 vaccine for u.s. residents age 16 and over making it the first covid vaccine to be fully approved by the fda. in response, doctors without borders called on pfizer and biontech to immediately share the vaccine technology with manufacturers in africa where less than 2% of the populaon is fully vaccinated. the medical humanitarian group is also urging the united states to demand the companies share information about the vaccines which were created with significant public funding. pfizer has said it expects global sales of the vaccine to reach $26 billion this year.

one study estimates it would take just $127 million for an existing manufacturing site to set up production and make 100 million doses. doctors without borders say there are sites in africa -- including in egypt, morocco, south africa, and tunisia -- that could make 100 million doses annually within a 10-month timeframe, but only if pfizer shares the technology. we are joined now by dr. manuel martin. he is the medical innovation & access policy advisor for doctors without borders' access campaign. dr. martin, thank you for joining us. talk about what this full approval by the fda means when it comes to global access to the vaccine. >> for now, the full approval just means they consider this a safe and effective vaccine. unfortunately, this does not have consequences for global

access. to the contrary -- [indiscernible] we will see a continuing gap between upper and middle income countries and low income countries. less than 1% of the doses have been delivered to lower and middle income countries while knotting a percent of all doses have been delivered to countries that represent just 50% of the world's population. amy: even if the u.s. is only thinking of its own self interest, you know, making to the population is vaccinated, talk about what it means to have the world vaccinated for national security in the united states or any country. >> while it is understandable for countries, it is regrettable for countries to try and limit the number of vaccines that are

exported from the country. [indiscernible] countries to refuse to sha the technology, recipes with others that would not take any doses from the u.s. or any other high income country. amy: looking at your press release, you say an analysis of the estimated total cost needed to starting up mrna vaccine manufacturing and producing 100 million doses, $127 million for pfizer-biontech vaccine and $270 million for moderna's vaccine. considering the estimated $2.5 billion a public money that has gone into the development of mrna vaccines and the forecasted revenue, as we said, $26 billion and $90 million for

pfizer-biontech and madrona respectively, they have an obligation to increase supply wherever possible. so many people say, wait a second. while moderna took money upfront from the u.s., pfizer did not but pfizer got a guarantee of sales in the u.s. talk about this public money and what exactly it would mean for companies around the world, factories that did not invent the mrna vaccine but do have the ability to scale up and make it. >> well, we have to think of public funding. you mentioned the purchase agreements, which they were made very early, are a way -- we also saw biontech received what a substantial amount. 450 laned dollars from the german government. not only the u.s. funding the recent involvement of these companies. the profits these are likely to

make independent of whether it is shared or not is in the tens of billions of dollars. no reason why they shouldn't share that with other manufacturers. if they would, we would likely have an effect where we would have many manufacturers in looking countries producing the vaccine. centralized model would reduce the risk of very narrow political -- export controls, for instance. like we have seen with the u.s. but also with india. amy: the world health organization is calling on wealthy countries to impose a booster moratorium on covid shots. let me play a clip. >> at present, just 10 countries

have 75% of all vaccine supply and low income countries have vaccinated barely 2% of their people. i called for a temporary moratorium on boosters to help shift supply to those countries thatave not en been able to vaccinate their health workers and at risk communities and are now is experiencing major spikes. last week, the who bught together to have experts to debate the data on boosters. it is critical to get third shots into arms and protect the most vulnerable before boosters are rolled out. amy: that is the who secretary general. your response, dr. martin? >> well, what we are weighing up right now and i think he i right, the possibility of

boosters is saving some lives and eyei him countries versus the certainty of first vaccinations saving many lives in low-income counies. that is the option. i think in the face of scientific uncertainty and given the historical vaccine inequity, what should be prioritized is getting vaccines to low and middle income countries and sharing the technologies. amy: what would you say to companies, we cannot guarantee the audio we give the recipe and the technology to these companies and factories that we are not familiar with? >> i would say that is -- there are ma manufacturers in though can countries that are capable of producing high-quality vaccines that are approved actually by regulators in europe and even by the fda, so that is not a good excuse for not sharing the technology. amy: dr. manuel martin, thank

you for being with us, medical innovation & access policy advisor for doctors without borders. he was speaking to us from portugal. coming up, governor cuomo commutes the sentence a former weather underground member david gilbert. it was one of cuomo's last acts before he resigned at midnight last night. we will speak with david gilbert's lawyer. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "father & son" by cat stevens. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. here in new york, kathy hochul was sworn in as new york's first-ever female governor early after outgoing governor andrew tuesday cuomo's resignation took effect at midnight last night after a state attorney general report finding he sexually harassed at least 11 women. cuomo used his final hours in

office to grant clemency to six men. the most high-profile case was that a former weather underground member david gilbert, who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison for his role in the 1981 robbery of an armored truck to expropriate money for the republic of new afrika that left a security guard and two police officers dead. the police union and some members of the victims families lobbied heavily to fight his clemency. he is 76 years old and has been incarcerated for 40 years. he will now be able to apply for parole. gilbert is the only person connected to the crime who is still in prison. nate 2016, -- in 2016, cuomo also commuted the sentence of judith clark who was released on parole in 2019. kathy boudin was paroled in 2003.

they are the parents of chesa boudin, now the district attorney of san francisco. chesa boudin tweeted monday night -- "my heart is bursting. on the eve of my first child's birth, my dad -- who's been in prison nearly my entire life -- was granted clemency. he never intended harm, yet his crime devastated many families. my heart breaks for the families that can never get their loved ones back." while in office, governor cuomo granted 41 clemencies, including 20 during the pandemic, far fewer than many other governors. for more, we are joined by david gilbert's lawyer, steve zeidman, co-director of the defenders clinic at the city university of new york's law school. four of e men whose prison sentences were commuted monday by cuomo were also part of the defenders clinic. steve, welcome to democracy now! let's start with david gilbert. explain what exactly cuomo has

done, what this clemency, what this commuting of his sentence means. >> sure. when any governor, in particular andr cuomo, when they grant clemency, they have two options. this is i we of sentence, tatian. what he did for david is he commuted the sentence making david immediately eligible for parole. the other four men who sentences were commuted, essentially time served, meaning they will be home in two or three weeks once the department of correction handles the paperwork. david, we are grateful and overjoyed he has the opportunity to make his case before the board. that's what it means, the parole interview will be arranged and hopefully the next several weeks. amy: so he will then go before the parole board. judith clark also would before the parole board and she was denied theirst time around, right? >> that is correct. that is still a conrn.

that is exactly what cuomo did with judy, cmuted the sentence from 75 alive to essentially what is approximately 3536 to lie. since the minimum has been served, or eligible for parole and now it is a matter of hoping the parole board will do the right thing. amy: governor cuomo noted gilbert's convictions "were related to an incident in which he was the driver, not the murderer" and said in a statement -- mr. gilbert has made significant contributions to aids education and prevention programs. he has also worked as a student tutor, law library clerk, paralegal assistant, a teacher's aide, and an aide for various additional facility programs." also ,rapp responded, and i want to go to that clip right now. the release aging people in prison campaign said in a statement "kathy hochul will inherit an

indefensibly racist and brutal prison system and we are hopeful that she will lead our state toward a more humane system of justice for marginalized new yorkers by using her clemency powers and championing parole reform." so if you can talk about both. you clearly have been lobbying for david gilbert and others, and you have had enormous success at this point -- right before cuomo left, it was not only david gilbert, and we will talk about the others. what ist that did it this time? >> oh, my. if we can put our finger on exactly what it is that leads to clemency, that would be -- that would just be remarkable. i say that because the five men who had their sentences commuted, their emblematic -- this is not hyperbole -- thousands of others in new york prisons alone. is it a? the average age of the five men

were 65 years old. the collectively served almost 200 years in prison. they have vast amount of support inside and outside. from my perspective, i am thrilled their sentences were commuted yesterday, but it begs the question of why wasn't it two months ago, two years ago, 10 years a? how much time must someone serve? i agree with my friends from rapp. i am hoping governor hochul will take a look at clemency, look at the problem of incarceration and say to her and her step, you know what? we want do clemency on a rolling basis. we want to do it throughout the year, not just once at the end of the or not just when i have one foot out the door. that is my hope. take a look at remarkable 41 people who have been released in clemency. look at the lives they are leading, the remarkable work they're doing -- frankly, just living their lives with family and friends. i am cautiously optimistic.

amy: can you talk about the other men who grant to clemency to yesterday? of tse six, represented how many? >> of t five men who sentences were commuted, they were all clients of the defenders clini at cuny law school. amy: and then a sixth who was pardoned entirely. talk about them. talk about greg ne-yo, robert, ulysses, paul, lawrence received the full pardon. >> it is my pleasure to speak about them. i am almost at a loss for adjectives. these are remarkable, beautiful, extraordinary m whoave devoted their time inside to repair, transformation -- maybe perhaps the best word to describe is mentor. all of them have spent so much time with younger people coming

into prison, talking with them, understanding how people came to be where they are, and also trng to figure out how to build a better path for the future. so they are men who remain optimistic, forward thinking within the incredibly, stating the obvious, harsh confines of prison. they all suffered incredible losses while inside. i think paul clark of his beloved mother who visited him for 40 years passed away. i know all of them have experienced that kind of loss. i will say one other thing about them as well. certainly, for some of the men, profound issues of innocence and whether they were wrongly convicted. no question. amy: all convicted of murder. >> correct. we are talking 50 july. 58 to let. 75 july. draconian sentences known any

her nation. the point i also want to make, and i'm speaking on behalf o all of them, just to reiterate one thing that comes up all the time, the remorse they carry is so deep and genuine and profound. when you beat each of them come it is the first thing they talk about no matter what you ask them. they recognize the harm in the trauma and the grief their actions caused. i guess the most important thing is they have done everything a human being could do to repair and atone while inside. amy: all of the other men are african-american. >> correct. no, on ehrenberg is not. amy: werther others on your list and what happens now? >> the lt is eternal. not an understatement. there are 30,000 people in new

york state prison and i wish we could get to a place where we could annuay review all 35000 and just say what purpose is served by this person remaining in prison. if we took that approachnd put the burden on the department of corrections or the local profit why they believe it is necessary for someone to remain in prison -- if we did that, i think we could finally seriously address mass incarceration. what is next? we have about 40 pending, see applications. i want to emphasize it is arop in the bucket. again, we are talking about thousands and thousands people who i think from any objective, reasonable assessment -- i say no longer shall remain in prison. frankly, for a number you have to scratch your head and wonder why they are behind bars in the first place. amy: "the risk is low, let them go." explain.

>> it is one of the few things agreed upon in criminology, sociology, that pple aged out of crime. it has been proven over and over. you can look at new york, the people who have been released. no one has been arrested for anything. i think the better example is look at pennsylvania where there were close to 500 people who were sentenced to life without parole when they were teenagers. 17 and under. according to the supreme court mandatory life without parole for young people was unconstitutional. i think it was 469 have been released over the last several years. i believe the recidivism rate covers at about 1%. the risk is beyond low. there is no risk. he gets back to the question, what purpose is served by keeping people in prison as they age? frankly, the only answer i think anyone can give is those who are interested in eternal punishment. i hope we are better than that.

amy: as we wrap up, again, for david gilbert, we deceive go to the parole board >> well, if judy clark's example provides us some guidance, it will be within the next two or three months. i am hopingou will be expedited as much as possible. david turns 77 in november, has been incarcerated for 40 years. usually, this interview cannot happen in a. amy: gilbert survived? covid? >> he did. i think david's release -- what could be more appropriate? david devoted so much time and energy to velop training programs about aids prevention, for people who are incarcerated? who no doubt saved lives inside and outside. for david to receive clemency, just ideal. it would be ideal. amy: thank you for being with us. steve zeidman, lawyer for david

gilbert and a number of the others who were granted clemency by outgoing governor cuomo hours before he left albany. steve zeidman is with the defenders clinic at cuny law school and a professor there. as we ended today show and washington, d.c., warehouse lawmakers are said to vote this week on the john lewis voting rights act which restores key provisions of the voting rights act that were gutted by the supreme court. the act can pass the house without bipartisan support but will need 10 republican votes in the senate to overcome a filibuster. this comes as the democrats' other voting rights bill, the for the people act, is also stalled in the senate and republican-controlled state legislatures have introduced literally hundreds of restrictive voting laws this year. for more, we go to washington, d.c., wherwe are jned by ben jealous.

he is helping to lead a protest today at the white house, demanding president biden call on the senate to eliminate the filibuster as an obstacle to voting rights reforms. ben, you, along with the league of women voters, black voters matter, and others are taking this issue right to biden's doorstep. you are planning to be arrested? >> that is very much possible. there will be civil disobedience. this begins what will likely be a series of such protests as we up the pressure on biden to call on the senate to get ridf the filibuster as obstacle to protecting the voting rights of people across this country. amy: so explain who is opposed to getting rid of the filibuster and what exactly these acts mean for defending voting rights. why you are willingo put your body on.

>> we have a situation in this country were corrupt politicians in states like georgia and texas have given tmselves e power toverturnuture tes. if they don'like theay the people ve for the next governor of georgia or the next governor of xas or the next presidential race, their state delegates have said, well, we ll just overturn it. please corrupt politicians have given themselves e power to overturn the pple. we have toass thfor the people act to st this. we have to pasthe johnewis vong rights restoratio act so we can prevent that loss from becoming laws in the future. e problem is in the senate right nowif you do't have 60 senators, then you cannot bring something to the floor for a vote. in this country, we believe majorities matter and so we

should be in the u.s. senate. president trump removed the filibuster as an obstacle to packing the courts with far right wing judges. president biden certainly can remove the filibuster as an obstacle, called the senate to remove the filibuster as an obstacle to ensure we can save our democracy. amy: earlier this year, democratic senator joe manchin of west virginia wrote a piece for the charleston gazette-mail headlined "why i'm voting against the for the people act." in it, manchin wrote -- "i believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, i will vote against the for the people act." manchin also wrote -- "democrats have again proposed eliminating the senate filibuster rule in order to pass the for the people act with only democratic support. they've attempted to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of democrats in the past."

your response? >> aga, there e multiple options on t table. one of them is to simply change the rules for the purposes voting rights forms. the filibust was the insulator of jim crow. it is an aidentf legislative history. it is not part of the constitution in any wa it has been used again and again to stymie civil rights progress. joe manchin is the reason we e callinon biden to put pressure on the sene. like johnson before him, biden habeen gen a situation where has to lean on the onomy d make tough cisions about wars oveeas and yet he also has to a with courage to protect voting rights, to protect our democry, to protect cil rights and so this presidt has sd one of the greatest crises

facing our docracy are the state level voter ppression laws. you believe that, mr. biden, acon it and have the courage to cl your former colleagues to the senate to do what they have to do to get these laws -- amy: howdy respond to biden who keep saying he was bipartisan support so he does not want to eliminate the fibuster? >> last time i checked, senator murkowski has not taken support of the for the people act off the tae. also, senatorngine bang has been involvein the redraft of that bill. that bill is still ver much ale. in the senate, things are a dance. ople can be agait sometng this week and aouple of words change and they are for it next week. it is not as cut and dry as that op-ed might suggest. amy: earlier this year, president biden says he supports a talking filibuster.

's comments came after senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said he would go "scorched earth" if democrats move to eliminate the filibuster, turning the senate into "a hundred-car pile-up," and warned republicans would retaliate with conservative laws if and when they retake the senate. this is senate majority whip dick durbin on the senate floor, where he called to abolish the filibuster, referring to it as a legislative rock bottom. >> today, nearly 65 years after strom thurmond's marathon defense of jim crow, the filibuster is still making a mockery of american democracy. the filibuster is still being misused by some senators to block legislation urgently needed in support by a strong majority of the american people. amy: if you can respond to that. ben,eople for the american ways to be pro-filibuster. what happened? >> one thing was on mitch mcconnell change the filibust rules in order to pack thert with far right wing justices,

which, again, this is th guy wh said he would not push through a justice if itas in the last year. you forgot about at. republicans areindly using power -- using power when they have it. they have pack our courts with justices even of they lost the popur vote again and again and again. this is what we're dealing with. mitch connell d hiepoxy don't hold much wght with us. ere was a time wheit felt like -- wh we have rht now is unbridled corruption in stat like texas and georgia where they have voted to empower politicians with the power to override the people in the next election. the only antidote to ate level votesuppressio is strong deral voting rights bills. that is how we ended jim crow and how we have to do with this. amy: before we go, i want to ask

about civil rights voting rights icon reverend jesse jackson who reportedly has covid-19 along with his wife jackie. they under doctors observation at a chicago hospital. he also has parkinson's. they were both fully vaccinated. if you can comment, someone who was but also for health care for all. >> jesse got me started when i was 14 years old. jackie is a saint. jesse is a unique power in our country. when i left the naacp, became a social iact investor in silicon valley, at that time i was one of 36 black men in the country who could write a check to start a new company. jesse jason literally opened up the floodgates for blac to comento investing in a tech simply showing uat shareholder meetings and shaming tikes of google. this is a guy who for 67 years

did nothing but serve the people of this country. i hope we are all praying for him. amy: ben jealous, thank you for being with us, president of people for the american way, former president of the naacp. that does it for our show. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]