Watch out 7 minute video of clemency success stories!
CAN-DO wants to thank everyone for all your hard work, support and tenacity in this herculean effort to save people from more years, if not a lifetime of suffering behind bars. With your help, 13 CAN-DO members received clemency in the last batch that President Obama granted on August 3, 2016. A historic 214 people were given back their freedom.
We are elated for 13 CAN-DO members who received clemency. SEVEN were on our Top 25 lists for WO/MEN, including:
Josie Ledezma
Minnie Pearl Thomas
Pauline Blake
Charceil Kellam
Dicky Joe Jackson
Antonio Lopez
Tommy Martinez
Six more members include:
Debra Brown,
Donella Harriel
Kenneth Choice
Ricky Darden
John Hill
David Wise
FIVE clemency recipients had a petition on the CAN-DO movement page of change.org that many of you signed!!!
Only 10 women were on this last list of 214 recipients! Of those ten, SIX were receiving assistance from CAN-DO and benefiting from our Guardian Angel program. That’s something we are very proud of. FOUR of the SIX were on our Top 25!
If you haven’t signed the Top 25 Women Who Deserve Clemency petition – please do!
CAN-DO Founder, Amy Povah served time with Josephine Ledezma at FCI Dublin. CAN-DO typically does not assist people with clemency petitions but there have been a few that CAN-DO could not let fall through the cracks. Josie was one of those people who was not going to receive assistance to get her petition filed, so we reached out to Jason Hernandez of Crack Open the Door; the first latino to receive clemency from President Obama. Without hesitation he agreed to help Josie get her petition filed. CAN-DO sent Jason’s Op Ed to Fusion that focused on Josie’s case and Jason rallied the hispanic community to get behind Josie, plus additional Latino cases. Josie’s clemency is a heartwarming victory for everyone involved, but mostly for Josie and her family, who were also hands on, especially Josie’s daughter, Lizette Ledesma. Channel 7 interviewed the family and Fox 11 L.A. aired a second, follow up segment on Josie’s clemency with Amy Povah and Miquelle West (daughter of #3 on Top 25 Michelle West) as guests.
Please consider signing this petition for our Top 25 Women – we have already replaced the names of those who received clemency with four additional deserving applicants on Top 25 Women webpage.
Josephine Ledezma has a fundraiser on change.org and only needs less than $2,500 to reach the $10,000 goal – please consider giving even a small amount – ALL PROCEEDS go to Josephine. CAN-DO does not receive one dime.
Antonio Lopez also has a fundraiser on his change.org petition.