Adam Bentley Clausen
| Adam Bentley Clausen | |
| Occupation | Criminal justice reform advocate; life coach |
|---|---|
| Known for | Serving more than two decades of a 213-year federal sentence, and later advising the U.S. Sentencing Commission |
Adam Bentley Clausen is an American criminal justice reform advocate and life coach who was sentenced in 2001, at the age of 24, to 213 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole for a series of robberies committed over a period of weeks. He served more than two decades before his release, and now works with the Legacy Impact Group and serves on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Sentencing Impact Advisory Group.[1][2]
The Sentence
Clausen's 213-year term was the product of stacked mandatory minimums. At the time, consecutive sentences under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) could be piled one on top of another within a single prosecution, so a defendant convicted of multiple counts in one case faced decades of additional time per count. The result in his case was a sentence that, in practical terms, meant he would die in prison.[1]
The practice of stacking § 924(c) counts in a single case was substantially curtailed by the First Step Act of 2018, which clarified that the escalating penalty applies only after a prior conviction has become final.[1]
In Prison
Clausen maintained a clear disciplinary record for more than fifteen consecutive years, completed more than one hundred rehabilitative programs, became a certified life coach, and founded what has been described as the first life-coaching program inside the federal Bureau of Prisons.[1][3]
Release and Advocacy Work
Clausen was released following a grant of compassionate release. Attorney and law professor Shon Hopwood, himself formerly incarcerated, is credited with the work behind the petition.[4]
Since his release, Clausen has worked in reentry and workforce development and has spoken publicly about mandatory minimum sentencing. He testified before the United States Sentencing Commission as a representative of the Sentencing Impact Advisory Group, a body that brings the perspective of people who have served federal sentences to the commission that writes the federal sentencing guidelines.[2]
Clausen presented to the White Collar Support Group's Tuesday Night Speaker Series on September 29, 2026.[5]
References
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcando - ↑ White Collar Support Group, "Adam Bentley Clausen: Legacy Impact Group and U.S. Sentencing Commission Advisory Group Member," September 29, 2026. https://prisonist.org/resources/adam-bentley-clausen-legacy-impact-sentencing-commission/