 The Case for Second Chances – Sept 22, 2023: Office of the Pardon Attorney, Dept of Justice - CAN-DO Foundation President Amy Ralston Povah is honored to speak at an event entitled The Case For Second Chances. Although the event is not open to the pubic, it will be live screened at this link on Sept 22, 2023 at 10 am Eastern. Please review the event calendar below to see the list of […] Pardon Attorney, Liz Oyer hosts Second Chance Month event in DC – April 21, 2023. - For Second Chance month, Liz Oyer hosted an event in DC and brought together many former clemency recipients. Three former clemency recipients were asked to share their stories, which included Norman Brown accompanied by his attorney, Danielle Metz accompanied by Kevin Polite, a US Attorney from Louisiana who supported her clemency and Evans Ray Jr […] CAN-DO and Rachel Hanson in Wall Street Journal on Biden’s clemency spree - By Sadie Gurman Updated Apr. 26, 2022 12:17 pm E WASHINGTON—President Biden on Tuesday granted his first pardons and commutations to 78 people convicted mostly of nonviolent drug offenses, part of a broader White House effort to address inequities in the criminal-justice system. Mr. Biden is issuing pardons to three people and reducing […] CAN-DO pot prisoners in New York Post for 420 - Huge thanks to Steven Nelson who quoted many of our pot prisoners in the following article, including, Pedro Moreno, Luke Scarmazzo, Donald Fugitt, Lance Gloor, and Michael Pelletier WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 4/20 cannabis holiday, federal inmates again are wondering if and when President Biden will make good on his 2020 […]Clemency for 75 individuals + 3 Pardons from President Joe Biden - Clemency Recipient List APRIL 26, 2022•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is granting clemency to 78 individuals, consisting of three pardons and 75 commutations. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is pardoning the following three individuals: Abraham W. Bolden, Sr. – Chicago, Illinois Abraham Bolden is an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent […]  Joanne Tragas – Serving 16 years for Nonviolent Offense – NOW FREE! - Joanne is now out but needs help. Please consider giving to her Gofundme campaign so she can afford to pay for an apartment during this transition time: Name: Joanne Tragas #51090-018 DOB: March 24 Race: White Age: 54 Children: 1 Born/Raised: Toronto, Canada Will return: 1st to Canada, but hope to return to Sparta, Greece Charge: Access Device Fraud […] NBC covers CARES Act cases and Clemency - Sept. 12, 2021, 6:37 AM PDT / Updated Sept. 13, 2021, 9:02 AM PDT By Patrice Gaines Brian Foster was released from prison nearly a year ago under the CARES Act, a government policy that prioritized the use of home confinement as an appropriate way to release some incarcerated people as Covid-19 roared through facilities. When Foster, 54, […] Politico Breaks Story about Biden’s CARES Act Clemency Effort - By SAM STEIN 09/13/2021 01:17 PM EDT The Biden administration has begun asking former inmates confined at home because of the pandemic to formally submit commutation applications, criminal justice reform advocates and one inmate herself tell POLITICO. Those who have been asked for the applications fall into a specific category: drug offenders […] High Times focuses on Pot Lifer Ismael Lira - Most Affected: Ismael Lira’s Family Torn Apart as a Cannabis Lifer This edition of Most Affected focuses on Ismael Lira, whose family was torn apart by the war on drugs. Here is his tragic story. Ismael Lira grew up in the border town of Del Rio, Texas. He’d live there until getting caught up in […] CAN-DO President Amy Ralston Povah on Rev Al Sharpton’s Politics Nation about CARES Act - Link below to an interview between Rev Al Sharpton and Amy Ralston Povah discussing the current state of affairs regarding the CARES Act and why the criminal justice reform community is up in arms about CARES Act prisoners left in limbo about the looming Barr Memo that states all prisoners on home confinement must return […] New York Post references three CAN-DO cases: “Biden ‘exploring’ clemency for federal drug crimes” - Biden ‘exploring’ clemency for federal drug crimes, Psaki says By Steven Nelson August 11, 2021 WASHINGTON — President Biden is “exploring” the idea of granting clemency to people who are serving federal prison sentences for drug crimes, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday. It would be a dramatic pivot for Biden, who […] Intercept focuses on marijuana offenders – Diana Marquez and Raquel Esquivel - DIANA MARQUEZ HAS spent the last 14 months going on long walks, hitting the treadmill, and cooking with her daughter. She’s gotten to know her grandson, a fourth grader, helping him with his math homework. She has also lived with a weight hanging over her head — and an ankle bracelet strapped to her leg. […] Politico focuses on CARES Act and Rufus Rochelle – quotes CAN-DO - For weeks, the Biden administration has kept thousands of people in a state of panic by letting a single news report linger without formal denial or confirmation. The report, published on July 19 by the New York Times, said the administration’s “legal team” had concluded, based on prior legal guidance, that […] Honoring Men in Prison on Father’s Day – Huffpost - This article was written in 2017. Most the men featured in the Huffpost tribute to men in prison for Father’s Day are NOW HOME, including but not limited to Michael Pelletier, Andy Cox, Tim Tyler, David Barren, Jimmy Romans, Robert Shipp, John Knock, Corvain Cooper, Antonio Bascaro, Darryl Hope, William Underwood, Aaron Sandusky, Craig Cesal, […] High Times featured Pot Lifer Pedro Moreno - Most Affected: Pedro Moreno is the Last Brother Still Incarcerated for a Family Pot Operation Pedro Moreno deserves to gain clemency from prison after serving decades behind bars for a cannabis-related crime, while his four brothers were released in 2016. BYANDREW WARD JUNE 4, 2021 Photo Courtesy Alejandra (Moreno) Lopez Growing up in the border […] New York Post spotlights 420 – asks CAN-DO for quotes from cannabis clemency candidates, Ismael Lira and Pedro Moreno - Ismael Lira and Pedro Moreno provided quotes to Steven Nelson regarding their hope for clemency under a Biden administration. On 4/20, pot prisoners ask Biden to honor campaign pledge and free them By Steven Nelson April 20, 2021 | 8:00am | Updated People imprisoned for marijuana are asking President Joe Biden to release them.Photo by […] Clemency recipient Chalana McFarland and her daughter Nia on PBS - Watch this extremely poignant segment on PBS entitled Mothers leaving prison encounter uphill battle as they try reconnecting with family that focuses on the reunification of Chalana McFarland and her daughter Nia, who were severed due to harsh mandatory sentences back in 2005. Fifteen years later…they beat the odds and celebrated the miracle of clemency […] PBS special about Charles “Duke” Tanner’s clemency miracle! - The ability to pardon criminals is a unique power of a president, one that can be politically motivated and often draws criticism. But as Reveal’s Michael Schiller explains, pardons can also change lives. The CAN-DO Foundation advocated on behalf of Duke Tanner for years, including a previous segment by Reveal’s Michael Schiller that aired on […] Luke Scarmazzo – 21.8 years for Medical Marijuana — NOW FREE ON COMPASSIONATE RELEASE! - Luke’s co-defendant, Ricardo Montes received clemency. They were charged together and are co-defendants. Please sign this petition supporting Luke’s clemency on change.org Luke Scarmazzo # 63131-097 DOB: 1980 Age: 41 Race: White Raised: California Tried: Went to trial in the Eastern District of California Will live: Modesto, California Children: One daughter Charge: Conducting a continuing […] Andy Cox – Life for Pot is NOW FREE due to Compassionate release! - Andy Cox was Serving Life for Pot and walked out of prison on 1/6/20. We are elated for Andy and his family!!! Please sign Andy Cox’s change.org petition Name: Andrew Cox, #89487-020 DOB: 7/13/1963 Children: 3 Born and Raised: Vero Beach, Florida Tried: Atlanta, Georgia Will Live: Florida Offense: Conspiracy to Manufacture Marijuana Sentence: Life plus 2 […] New York Post quotes several CAN-DO clemency candidates in annual Turkey pardon article by Steven Nelson - Trump will “pardon” gobblers named Corn and Cobin an annual tradition at the White House on Tuesday, but in a potential twist, allies and reform advocates are anticipating more serious reprieves in the coming weeks. “President Trump has moved mountains since taking office and I’m certain he’s not done yet,” said Amy Povah, a clemency advocate […] Angela Wright – 30 years – Compassionate Release – NOW FREE! - Congratulations Angela Wright! We are so happy you are now free! Please sign Angela Wright’s clemency petition: Name: Angela C. Wright #: 12118-017 DOB: 1/1/1977 Age: 44 Marital Status: Single Children: One son, Brad Moore, Jr. Sentence: 30 years, 4 months Date Sentence Started: 2/24/2007 Years served: 12 Release Date: 3/2026 Charge(s): 21 USC 841 and 846: Conspiracy to Distribute […]Angela Wright has served over a decade and needs clemency - By Joe ChenApr 3, 2020 Angela Wright, 43, has served approximately 13 years of a 30-year sentence for convictions of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute. Criminal justice advocates say she is a deserving candidate for clemency. “My son, Brad, is my number one priority,” Wright told the CAN-DO Foundation. “I want to make up […]  Vietnam Vet Michael Montalvo deserves clemency - By April BamburgApr 4, 2020 Michael Montalvo is a Vietnam veteran, father of two, and grandfather of three. CAN-DO Foundation, a criminal justice reform advocacy group, says he deserves clemency from President Trump. The 73-year-old has served 32 years of a life sentence without parole for the non-violent crime of a continuing criminal enterprise between 1983 […] Rufus Rochelle deserves clemency per CAN-DO - By April BamburgApr 3, 2020 The CAN-DO Foundation supports Rufus Rochell in his bid for clemency. He was sentenced to 40 years and 8 months on charges of a conspiracy with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack, and possession with intent of the same amount. Rochell, 68, has served 31 years 8 months […] Peach Tree Times focuses on Chalana McFarland’s clemency campaign - By Juliette FairleyApr 20, 2020 When Chalana McFarland exercised her constitutional right to a trial for alleged mortgage fraud, she didn’t expect to receive harsher sentencing than her co-defendant who opted for a plea deal but that’s exactly what happened. “Chalana is serving time because she refused to cooperate,” said Amy Ralston Povah, president of the […] CAN-DO Foundation supports Pelletier as clemency candidate - By April Bamburg Apr 2, 2020 After President Trump commuted the sentences of multiple inmates in February, advocates are working to raise awareness of the cases of other inmates who are deserving of clemency. One of these is Michael Pelletier, 63, sentenced to life in prison in 2006 on charges of conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy […]CAN-DO supports Diana Marquez’s clemency - By Juliette FairleyApr 18, 2020 When Diana Marquez was sentenced to prison for money laundering and conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana, she was the young mother of five children and the allegedly abused wife of a man involved in the drug trade. Today, she’s 63 years old and has 16 grandchildren. At her husband Mario’s […]  CAN-DO supports clemency for LaShonda Hall - When President Trump granted clemency to nearly a dozen people in February, this included Crystal Munoz, 40, who spent 12 years in prison after being convicted on marijuana charges. Now supporters of LaShonda Hall are hoping the president will do the same for Hall. Hall, 45, is a first-time non-violent offender, who was charged with […] CAN-DO members Rufus Rochell and Chad Marks in Wall Street Journal re: Covid-19 - Prison and jail officials trying to stem the spread of the new coronavirus behind bars are releasing thousands of prisoners to await trial or serve their sentences at home, spurring a debate over public health versus public safety—and producing some seemingly inconsistent outcomes. Rufus Rochell, 68, who is serving a 35-year sentence for a drug […] Most vulnerable prison population is in great peril… - Roughly 50,000 inmates at federal prisons meet criteria for release to home confinement based on guidelines in the CARES Act, and the Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons has largely failed to act, according to those who work with the incarcerated. Amy Ralston Povah is a federal inmate-turned-advocate who was granted clemency during the Clinton […] CAN-DO’s Daniel Brown in Wall Street Journal seeking compassionate release - Daniel Brown has sought his release at least five times during his 14 years behind bars. Now the coronavirus pandemic might offer him his greatest chance at freedom. A federal judge in Iowa, where Mr. Brown was originally convicted on methamphetamine and gun charges, has agreed to reconsider his request for compassionate release—under which inmates […] Crystal Munoz, Tynice Hall and Judith Negron among clemency recipients by President Trump - Advocates for justice overhaul said Mr. Trump should be praised for his interventions. “Some people are trying to bash Trump for letting people circumvent the process and go directly to the White House,” said Amy Ralston Povah, the founder of the Clemency for All Nonviolent Drug Offenders Foundation. “But the system is broken.” While most […] 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 his time would come soon. […]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! This is an outrage that […] |
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