Larry Hoover Had His Federal Sentence Commuted by President Trump — When Will He Be Released?

In the late 1960s, Larry Hoover co-founded one of the most ruthless gangs Chicago had ever seen. In 1969, the Gangster Disciples were born from what could only be described as a corporate-style merger between two rival gangs: the Black Disciples and the Supreme Gangsters. Hoover and David Barksdale ran the new gang together until the latter's death in 1974 from kidney failure due to a 1970 assassination attempt, per Chicago Gang History.

By the time Barksdale died, Hoover was already in prison for the murder of 19-year-old William Young, whose death the gang leader ordered after Young was accused of stealing from him. Being behind bars didn't stop Hoover from continuing to run his criminal enterprise, which eventually led to more prison time. More than 50 years after Hoover was first sentenced, President Trump commuted his federal charges. When will Larry Hoover be released from prison? Here's what we know.

Hoover was sentenced to 200 years in prison for the murder of Young, and in 1997, he was hit with another life sentence. The Illinois Department of Corrections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives launched an exhaustive 17-year investigation into Hoover's criminal activities behind bars. They found he had been running a "30,000-member, militaristic gang and its drug trade from Joliet State Prison in Illinois," per the DEA.

According to ABC News, in May 2025, President Trump commuted Hoover's federal charges from 1997. "Mr. Hoover, who is now 75 years old, spent nearly 30 years in solitary confinement at ADX Florence — the most restrictive, draconian supermax prison in the United States," Bonjean Law Group said in a statement to the outlet. "The courts have demonstrated a complete unwillingness to consider Mr. Hoover's considerable growth and complete rehabilitation."

White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson posted a photo of Trump's signed commutation order to Instagram with the caption, "Almost home!! Too short to hold a long conversation." However, the commutation is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, as Hoover still has to serve his 200-year sentence for the 1973 murder of Young. Because this is a state crime, the only person who can pardon Hoover is the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker.

In a court filing from 2022 obtained by The New York Times, Hoover's lawyers wrote that he spends "23 hours a day in a concrete cell no larger than a parking space." They continued, "For over two decades, he has had virtually no contact with the outside world. He is, quite literally, buried alive."

Ronald Safer prosecuted Hoover's federal trial in 1997, during which he laid out an "outlaw form of government" which included using money made from the drug trade to start businesses, lead voter registration, and hold political rallies. Despite Hoover's crimes, the community thought of him as a Robin Hood type. Safer admitted this was good work, but noted it was funded by "drug money and supported by gang muscle."

In response to President Trump commuting Hoover's sentence, Safer told The Times he was baffled by the decision. "I believe in mercy, I believe in redemption, and I believe in rehabilitation," he said. "But there are some crimes that are so heinous, so reprehensible, that they are not deserving of mercy."