 Washington Examiner quotes CAN-DO prisoners seeking clemency - Each year Steven Nelson of the Washington Examiner writes about the Presidential Turkey pardon as a means to raise awareness for people seeking clemency from draconian sentences that sprang from the “tough on crime” era of the late 80s and 90s. We collected quotes from several of the people profiled…  Clemency and Pardon FAQs - As someone who has actually been through the process of filing and receiving executive clemency (I served 9 years of a 24 year sentence before being granted clemency by President Clinton), I thought I would share some important factual information that may help our understand the Pardon Process. Q and A…  Maurice Clifton Sr. 33 years 4 months NOW FREE 12/10 due to First Step Act - Just spoke with Maurice Clifton who is FREE AT LAST!!! Please sign Maurice Clifton’s change.org petition Name: Maurice Clifton Sr. #28332077 DOB: June 24, 1965 Age: 53 Raised: Mound Bayou, Mississippi Tried: Northern District of Mississippi Will Live: Mound Bayou, Mississippi Charges: Trial ( 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1) (A) (i) Money…  Betty Jo Rains – 22 years – First Offense – NOW FREE due to First Step Act - Name: Betty Jo Rains #20446-017 Age: 60 Race: White Raised: Florida Case: Florida Will live: Florida Charges: Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilos of cocaine and possession of firearms in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Pled guilty: revoked Sentence: 22 years and 7 months Served: 10…  Laura LaPaz – Goes free on 12/2/2019 due to First Step Act - Name: Laura LaPaz #30388-034Age: 39Race: White Raised: Texas Tried: Louisiana Will live: Texas or California Charges: Count 1-conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetimine 21USC 841 [a] [1] and 841 [b] [1] [A]…  Nicole Walker – 10 years – First Offender – NOW FREE released 12/18/19 - Name: Nicole Walker #12462-030 DOB: June 4, 1970 Race: White Marital status: Single Age: 49 years old Children: 1 daughter and 1 grandson Raised: Iowa Charged: Southern District of Iowa Charges: 1 count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute meth Sentence: signed a 5 year plea agreement but received 10 year…  Mary Beth Looney – serving 42 years is NOW FREE thanks to First Step Act - Congratulations to Mary Beth Looney who received clemency on 12/19/16 but still had to serve 6 more years. Thanks to the First Step Act Mary Beth was released on 12/5/19 as was her husband Donald, “Dody” Both received the Elderly release program. …  Patricia Cooney – 1st Offender – 30 years – NOW FREE due to First Step Act! - PLEASE sign Patricia’s Change.org petition Name: Patricia Cooney #50662-004 DOB: 7-18-1953 Race: Black Marital Status: Single Age: 66 Children: One adult daughter and one adult son; four grandchildren (one due in August) and three great-grandchildren. Grandchildren: One granddaughter who was disabled by gunshot accident Raised: Florida Case originated: Tennessee Will…  Aaron Sandusky – 10 Years for Medical Marijuana is NOW FREE! Early release due to First Step Act - Aaron Sandusky #63038-112 DOB: 01/08/1970 Marital status: Engaged to Darlene Buenrostro Children: None Raised: California Tried: Los Angeles, CACharge: Conspiracy to manufacture and Distribute Marijuana Sentence: 10 years Incarcerated Since: 2012 Sentencing Date: 1/07/2012 Served: 7 years Will Live: Rancho Cucamonga, CA Priors: DUI Alcohol Incidents: None – Perfect Conduct…  Michael Bryant – LIFE – NOW FREE due to First Step Act - We are pleased to say that Michael was released from prison on Nov. 1st, 2019. Name: Michael Andrea Bryant DOB: 5/14/79. Race: Black Marital Status: Single Age: 39 Raised: Alabama Indicted: Alabama Sentence: LIFE Charges: Possession with intent to sell a crack cocaine Served: 12 years Clemency status: Denied by President Obama Accomplishments: Graduated…  Patricia Albright – 5 years 5 months for cannabis NOW FREE!!! - Patricia is under house arrest under Elderly Release Program but happy to be among her loved ones. Please sign Patricia’s change petition Name: Patricia Albright #66096-097 DOB: 11/2/51 Race: caucasian Marital status: Divorced for 28 years Age: 67 Children: 3 (one deceased) Grew up: California Case based in: California Trial/plea: Faced…  Patricia Clarke – 1st Offender – Life – RELEASED due to First Step Act - I hope and pray that what I did when I was 20 will not define me for the rest of my life and mandate a death sentence. I’ve read that people who commit murder, even in the state of Texas, face 5 to 99 years. I never killed anyone, yet, due to the conspiracy statute, I’ve been held responsible for the actions of others and given a Life sentence. Stet Frazier – serving LIFE – NOW FREE due to First Step Act - Name: Steffeny “Stet” Frazier Race: BlackAge: 51 Children: 2 daughtersState where you are from: Atlanta, GeorgiaWill release to: Atlanta, GeorgiaTrial or pled guilty: Trial – found guilty. Charges: Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine Length of Sentence: Life without parole Served: 25 years Started Sentence on: In custody since 1994 Release date: 8/02/2019Priors: First Offense Prison Conduct: Exemplary Institution: USP Atlanta Media: Washington…  Monique Horton – First Step Act Recipient – FREE AT LAST - Monique Horton received an immediate release on February 4, 2019 due to the First Step Act. She served 184 months (15 years) and was re-sentenced to 168 months so she served 1 year and 5 months more than the reduced term under the Fair Sentencing Act that reduced the 100…  Catherine Toney – 20 years -Immediate release per FIRST STEP ACT!!! - Congratulations to Catherine Toney and her family!!! Catherine, her daughter Brandy, and her granddaughter Channon, went to the White House and met President Trump on February 21st, for Black History Month. He introduced Katherine as the “First female to receive an immediate release under the First Step Act.” …  First Step Act recipient Catherine Toney goes to the White House - Catherine Toney has been profiled on the CAN-DO website for many years. We thought she would get clemency from the Obama administration because she not only met all the criteria of the Clemency Project 2014, she was assigned a CP14 attorney from Duke University who filed her petition, but sadly,…  Troy Powell – 20 years – First Step Recipient - Name: Troy Powell DOB: 3/29/77 Race: White Marital Status: Single Age: 41 Raised: LENOIR, NC Will live: LENOIR, NC Charges: CONSPIRACY TO SELL CRACK Sentence: 20 Years Served: 15 Years 6 Months Started Sentence on: 9/13/03 Release date: 2/22/2019 Institution: FMC LexingtonComments: I did way to much time for the…  360 Law focuses on John Bolen’s clemency petition and the backlog of other pending petitions - Because he let two Bahamian men use his boat to smuggle 188 kilograms of cocaine into Florida 13 years ago, John Bolen is going to die in federal prison. In his bid for presidential clemency, the former commercial fisherman cites several contributing factors that led to his fate. Hurricanes ravaged…  Aaron Sandusky’s medical marijuana nightmare – told by Reason - When Sandusky opened a marijuana dispensary in 2009, medical cannabis had been legal for 13 years in California. But in 2011, the feds carried out a series of federal raids on medical marijuana clinics in California, despite earlier assurances from President Barack Obama and his attorney general that they wouldn’t…  REVEAL’s “Pardon Me” featuring Charles “Duke” Tanner and CAN-DO - CAN-DO’s Amy Ralston Povah was interviewed for the “Pardon Me” episode on Reveal and connected the producer with one of our favorite clemency applicants – Charles Tanner. Listen to “Pardon Me” here. We start by meeting Charles “Duke” Tanner, a former boxer who is serving 30 years in federal prison…  Charles “Duke” Tanner – 30 years – First time offender - Charles Tanner’s case coveredby The Center for Investigative Reporting, REVEAL show. and Chicago Tribune Dec 29, 2018. Please sign Tanner’s change.org petition Name: Charles Tanner #08020-027DOB: June 9, 1980Age: 39Race: African AmericanRaised: IndianaTried: IndianaWill live: IndianaCharges: 5 Kilos or more of powder cocaineSentence:Two life sentences reduced to 30 years in 2017 per Drugs Minus…  Rufus Rochell in Daily Beast by Sam Stein - As he watched CNN from inside the federal correctional complex in Coleman, Florida, Rufus Rochell couldn’t suppress his joy at the news of Conrad Black. His old friend, the media tycoon with whom he shared a dorm years ago, had received a pardon from President Donald Trump. Surely this meant that…  Crystal Munoz in local Odessa press – MRT - An Odessa woman serving 15 years for conspiracy charges related to marijuana has petitioned U.S. President Donald Trump for a sentence reduction. A petition was filed on Crystal Munoz’s behalf by Texas A&M University’s Criminal Defense Clinic in November and supplemented with additional information in March. Munoz was found guilty… Jared Kushner helps First Step Act recipient get a job at Walmart - Catherine Toney began February in prison and ended the month with a job at Walmart after White House adviser Jared Kushner called company CEO Doug McMillon on her behalf. Toney, 55, is believed to be the first woman freed by the FIRST STEP Act, which President Trump signed in December. She was released… Michael Thompson goes viral thanks to Tana Ganeva’s Intercept article - After Tana Ganeva’s article dropped about Michael “Meeko” Thompson, it has gone viral on twitter, thanks to Shaun King, Ava DuVernay, and many more…an attorney has been assigned to help Meeko file for clemency in the state of Michigan. MICHAEL THOMPSON IS serving a 40- to 60-year sentence in Muskegon Correctional…  America’s Voice News covers the First Step Act - America’s Voice News interviewed Amy Ralston Povah, Angela Stanton King and Topeka Sam about the First Step Act and the long road ahead for criminal justice reform. Watch the interview on American Voice News The bill known as the First Step Act would take modest steps to reform the criminal… First Step Act snafu – but not for long! CAN-DO in Washington Examiner - “The recalculation of ‘good time’ credit is simply a data entry,” agreed Amy Povah, founder of the Clemency for All Non-Violent Drug Offenders, or CAN-DO, Foundation. “That should take 15 seconds.” The White House and Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to requests for comment. Justice Department spokesman Wyn…  NBC interviews Robert Shipp’s sister, Veda to discuss the First Step Act - When NBC called CAN-DO seeking names of people who would benefit from the First Step Act, CAN-DO President Amy Ralston Povah had just the right person – Robert Shipp. NBC wanted to film family members of incarcerated people who would come home soon, if not immediately due to the passing…  Charles “Duke” Tanner in Chicago Tribune - Charles “Duke” Tanner is an extraordinary case of an undefeated boxer from Gary, Indiana. He’s a first offender serving a 30-year sentence, reduced from LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE. He is on the CAN-DO Top 25 Men deserving of clemency and is one of several cases we have sent to the White… Clemency: The criminal justice reform Trump can achieve without Congress - President Trump unveiled one of his top legislative priorities before Democrats take over the House of Representatives: passage of the First Step Act, which would reduce some prison sentences. Though he still must win a tug-of-war within the Republican Party to get that bill through, he has a Plan B… Three CAN-DO members featured in Washington Examiner seeking clemency - CAN-DO was asked to obtain quotes from several of our clemency candidates. Fortunately, we were able to get quotes from Michael Pelletier, Chad Marks and David Barren for the following article by Steven Nelson for Washington Examiner. When President Trump “pardons” a pair of Thanksgiving turkeys on Tuesday, prisoners will… CAN-DO’s Amy Ralston Povah quoted on prison reform and clemency in Washington Examiner - CAN-DO members Michael Montalvo and Lavonne Roach quoted in the Washington Examiner… “Last month, clemency advocates including Amy Povah of CAN-DO Clemency and Alveda King, the anti-abortion evangelical leader, hosted a panel at a Women for Trump event at Trump International Hotel in Washington. Povah hopes that Congress passes the… Sign our petition to FREE ALL POT PRISONERS! - The CAN-DO Foundation has submitted a list of clemency candidates to the White House. One list was comprised solely of 22 people serving time for marijuana-only offenses. Most of these individuals have already served over 10 years and Antonio Bascaro has served 38 years for a first time pot offense!…  Corvain Cooper in OC Register – Will Trump save his life! - Barbara Tillis isn’t sure when she’ll get to see her son, Corvain Cooper, again. (read the entire article here) Every few months for the past four years, Tillis, has driven five hours with her husband, daughter and Cooper’s oldest daughter, making the trip from Rialto to the federal prison in Atwater, near…  Amy Povah in Salon: “Is there hope…” - Back in the late ’80s, a few years into her marriage to her now ex-husband, Povah discovered that he had been involved in an international ecstasy business. He asked her to handle some “financial matters” for him while he was dealing with some legal wrangling. At her trial, there was… |
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