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Thread: The Second Look Act - Prisoner Pardons

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    The Second Look Act - Prisoner Pardons

    https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarkn...en-booker-says

    NEWARK, NJ ? It's a chance to save U.S. taxpayers up to $16 billion a year. But according to Sen. Cory Booker, the Second Look Act is also an opportunity to give hundreds of thousands of people in prison something they desperately need? hope.

    On Monday, Booker ? the former mayor of Newark who represents New Jersey in the U.S. Senate ? announced that he and U.S. Rep. Karen Bass of California are introducing a bill that would give a "second look" to the sentences of inmates across the nation.

    Here's what the bill would do if it becomes law, according to Booker:

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    People sentenced to more than 10 years imprisonment and who have served at least 10 years could petition a court to be released or have their sentences reduced. Factors for courts to consider would including whether a person "demonstrates a readiness for reentry," or if they no longer pose a danger to their community.
    A "rebuttable presumption of release" would be created for petitioners who are 50 years of age or older. The government would then have to prove why the person should remain behind bars.
    According to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, more than 82,000 people currently in federal prison have sentences longer than 10 years.

    The bill would also potentially impact about 250,000 inmates aged 50 and above, whose imprisonment costs U.S. taxpayers about $16 billion annually, Booker stated.

    For people like William Underwood, a 65-year-old Tenafly resident serving life without parole in New Jersey, the Second Look Act could mean the difference between dying in jail and greeting his family as a free man.

    According to Booker, Underwood ? a father of four and grandfather of three ? was convicted for a nonviolent drug crime he committed in 1988. He's since served more than 30 years behind bars, becoming a "model prisoner" with a pristine record.

    If convicted under the existing federal sentencing policies, Underwood would likely be at home with his family right now. But instead, he's a constant reminder of just how unfair the criminal justice system can be, Booker said.

    If it becomes law, the Second Look bill could be a candle that leads people like her father out of the darkness, said William Underwood's daughter, Ebony Underwood.

    "For 30 years, my siblings and I have held onto hope for our dad's freedom when freedom was never an option, but rather a hopeless dream," Underwood said. "This hope, instituted by our father, wasn't always vocalized, but rather expressed constantly through his actions despite prison walls."

    Underwood said it isn't only prisoners who suffer because of unfair laws; it's their families, too.

    "[The Second Look bill] gives a second opportunity to not only the incarcerated individual, but provides a second opportunity for their children and families to restore, repair, and renew those broken bonds that have been severely severed by such harsh, cruel, and unusual punishment, such as life without parole," Underwood stated.

    An online petition in favor of releasing Underwood has gained more than 80,000 signatures.

    As part of the petition, Ebony Underwood offers the following details about her father's arrest and imprisonment:

    "My Dad's name is William Underwood. He is a devoted father of four and a grandfather of three and a former music industry executive who promoted, managed and jumpstarted the careers of top R&B and pop stars of the 80s and 90s.

    "But he wasn't perfect and made mistakes by selling drugs before his music career. What originally was a way out of poverty when he was a teenager, and for so many others, eventually became a one-way ticket to prison. Prosecutors, hoping to get a lengthy sentence under the 1980's War on Drugs, painted him as being a part of a narcotics enterprise. Prior to his arrest, he had never been convicted of a felony.

    "Although he once was a part of the negativities of drug street life culture, he had positioned himself legitimately in the music industry as a highly regarded manager, publisher and advisor who was in constant demand by artists and labels requesting his work. Indeed, his involvement in criminal activity had ended years before his arrest, as evidenced by the fact that the FBI closed his case 'due to lack of activity.' However, 2 ? years later, in 1988, he was arrested and charged with a continuing leadership role in a narcotics conspiracy, despite being engaged in a full-time career in the music industry. In 1990, as part of the first round of drug convictions made under the newly enacted federal Sentencing Guidelines of 1987 and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, he received three mandatory minimum sentences of 20 years on drug conspiracy charges plus, life without the possibility of parole. This was my dad's first and only felony conviction. The life without parole sentence was the result of a decision by the judge, not a jury."

    "Our bill targets a harsh reality," Booker said. "There are hundreds of thousands of people behind bars ? most of them people of color ? who were sentenced under draconian laws during the height of the War on Drugs that we have since recognized were unfair."

    "Our bill recognizes this unfairness and gives people who have served their time a 'second look,'" Booker said.

    Rep. Bass concurred that the bill is a way to counteract unfair sentences doled out during the War on Drugs and the "over-criminalization" of narcotics that took place in the 1980s.

    "Unjustifiably long prison sentences aren't just immoral, but also a waste of valuable federal resources," Bass said.

    Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, also lent support to the Second Look Act, writing that long prison sentences ? especially life in jail ? tend to incarcerate people into old age, long after the likelihood of criminal activity has passed.

    "Further, they add little deterrent effect on crime since deterrence is a function of the certainty of punishment, not its severity," Mauer said.

    The Second Look Act is one of several recent criminal justice reform laws proposed by Booker, who said his efforts have been partly inspired by his experience living and working in Newark.

    One of those pieces of legislation ? the First Step Act ? gained an unexpected supporter last year in President Donald Trump, who said "the whole nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens."

    See related article: Trump, Booker Find Common Ground On Criminal Justice Reform
    Mathew Charles, the first person released from federal custody under the First Step Act, has continued to fight for prisoner rights since returning home. He lent support to the Second Look bill on Monday.

    "People can and do change," Charles attested. "I have friends who are still incarcerated who are not the same people they were when they entered prison. This bill will make sure that people who have made significant strides towards rehabilitation in prison have an opportunity to return to society."

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    Sen. Cory Booker

    @SenBooker
    There are hundreds of thousands of people behind bars?most of them people of color?who were sentenced under draconian laws during the height of the War on Drugs that we have since recognized were unfair. But many of the changes we?ve made to these laws have not been retroactive.

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    Senior Member Jumaki15's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KambingSociety View Post
    Holy fuck. You actually posted something that isn't total cancer.

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    For people like William Underwood, a 65-year-old Tenafly resident serving life without parole in New Jersey, the Second Look Act could mean the difference between dying in jail and greeting his family as a free man.

    According to Booker, Underwood - a father of four and grandfather of three ? was convicted for a nonviolent drug crime he committed in 1988. He's since served more than 30 years behind bars, becoming a "model prisoner" with a pristine record.

    I hope Mr. Underwood gets his "Second Look".
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

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    https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...19/1820393001/

    Cyntioa Brown 16 needs a second look and its in play.

    Cyntoia Brown will leave the Tennessee Prison for Women next week after serving 15 years of a life sentence for the 2004 murder of a Nashville real estate agent.

    She was 16 at the time of her crime. Earlier this year, former Gov. Bill Haslam took the rare step of commuting her sentence, paving the way for her Aug. 7 release.

    Brown is now a 31-year-old woman who has been institutionalized for more than half her life. Before she shot a stranger who picked her up at an east Nashville fast food restaurant one warm August evening, she spent two years in facilities operated by the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.

    In the years leading to her release, Brown's complicated story has served to rally celebrities and lawmakers, juvenile justice reformers and critics of Tennessee's unusually harsh life sentences for teens, those working to expose child sex trafficking and others highlighting racial inequities in the justice system. Brown is African American.

    Next week, Brown will finally have the chance to decide how to tell her own story, on her own terms. She declined through her attorneys to comment for this story.

    Her longtime inner circle — including her attorneys, friends and family — have also declined to comment, citing Brown's desire for privacy.

    Kate Watkins, Brown's college teacher and executive director of Lipscomb University's LIFE program, which brings college courses to women in prison, said Brown's upcoming release made her "thankful and grateful that this story is not going to be wasted, that this young, brave, passionate woman would take this pain and use it for the good of others."

    "It makes me so hopeful," she said "I am so confident in her, absolutely confident."

    Brown is not entirely a free woman. Under the terms of her release, she will report to a parole officer regularly for the next ten years. She must hold down a job, perform community service and participate in counseling.

    The crime
    Brown was sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of 43-year-old Johnny Allen.

    Allen was found dead from a single shot to the back of his head. Brown has never denied pulling the trigger.

    Brown said she was sent by her then-24-year-old boyfriend and pimp to make money. According to Brown, Allen picked her up at a Nashville Sonic restaurant, bought her food and then took her to his home. She said he wanted to have sex with her, and intimidated her by pointing out the guns he owned and his experience as a military sharpshooter.

    Johnny Allen, 43, who was killed by Cyntoia Brown in 2004.Buy Photo
    Johnny Allen, 43, who was killed by Cyntoia Brown in 2004. (Photo: File | Tennessean)

    Brown shot Allen as he lay in bed, saying she feared he was reaching for a gun.

    Allen's father suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after his son's death. In a parole hearing last year, Allen's supporters placed the blame squarely on Brown for causing two deaths and noted Allen was no longer alive to tell his side of the story. They don't believe Allen propositioned Brown, only that he was trying to help her stay off the streets.

    At the age of 16, Brown was given a life sentence. In Tennessee, a sentence of life requires a minimum 51 years behind bars before being considered for parole. Tennessee has the longest minimum sentence in the country for teens and adults who receive a life sentence.

    Eight years later, in 2012, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling found sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.

    The ruling does not apply in Tennessee because a life sentence includes a possibility of parole after 51 years. Juvenile justice reformers call it a "virtual life sentence." At least 185 people are now serving life sentences in Tennessee prisons for felony murders committed as teens.

    Brown, officially known as inmate No. 00410593 behind bars, earned her associate's degree in 2015 and her bachelor's degree in the Tennessee Prison for Women in May.

    She has served as a mentor and advocate for women in prison, herding reluctant female inmates into college classes and leading efforts to bring in education programs for those with limited English, Watkins said.

    In part, Halsam cited Brown's academic work in prison as a factor in granting clemency, citing "the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life."

    In a statement issued after Haslam granted her clemency, Brown credited Watkins and others at Lipscomb for "opening a whole new world for me."

    Haslam also called Tennessee's sentencing laws requiring juveniles to serve at least 51 years "too harsh."

    Efforts in Tennessee to reform sentencing laws for children have thus far failed to pass the legislature for the past two consecutive years.

    A troubled childhood
    By 2004, Brown already had several brushes with Tennessee's criminal justice system.

    Raised in Clarksville by her adoptive mother, Brown was arrested for theft at the age of 12. She was placed in an alternative school system.

    Months later, she was charged with assaulting a teacher. Brown would spend more than a year at the now-defunct Woodland Hills detention center, which held youth convicted of felonies in a secure Nashville facility surrounded by fences and barbed wire.

    After her release, Brown returned home for a short time, attending Northwest High School before she ran away. In Nashville she met a 24-year-old man nicknamed "Kut Throat." Brown said he forced her to work as a prostitute, and physically and sexually abused her. The night she killed Allen, Kut Throat sent her out to make money by selling sex, Brown said.

    Sametria Hayes, a childhood friend who attended ninth grade with Brown, remembered her as a "normal kid," who was "a little reserved." Hayes has followed Brown's case but is no longer in touch with her. She remembers how shocked she felt as a teenager learning of her friend's arrest and conviction.

    "It was kind of shocking to me to know that a childhood friend could be sitting right next to you in class and could be a victim of sex trafficking," Hayes said.

    Hayes said Brown's story had opened her eyes to the plight of child sex trafficking. An amateur songwriter, Hayes wrote a song about sex trafficking and performed it at rallies demanding Brown's release.

    Circle of support
    In 2011, California-based filmmaker Dan Birman released the documentary "Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story," which chronicled Brown's transfer to adult court and her life in prison.

    The film received worldwide attention, including from Charles Bone, a prominent Nashville attorney whose practice focuses primarily on business law, negotiating mergers and acquisitions for high-profile companies.

    He agreed to represent Brown pro bono.

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    https://www.tennessean.com/story/new...19/1820393001/

    Cyntioa Brown should get full pardon.

    By then, Brown had a committed group of advocates. Kathy Sinback, one of Brown's original defense attorneys, now serves as administrator for Davidson County Juvenile Court. Sinback has visited Brown in prison every two weeks for years.

    Preston Shipp, a former state prosecutor who fought Brown's appeal then got to know her when he was a teacher in prison, has advocated on her behalf. Shipp has said that getting to know Brown in prison prompted him to make a career change, resigning as a prosecutor to work for the Board of Professional Responsibility.

    Juvenile Judge Sheila Calloway has also advocated on Brown's behalf.

    But Brown's legal appeals made little headway.

    In 2016, The Tennessean teamed with Birman and Independent Lens, the documentary arm of PBS, to produce "Sentencing Children," a seven-part series highlighting Brown's case and Tennessee's unusually harsh sentences for teens convicted of murder.

    A local television station also highlighted Brown's story.

    Celebrities took notice, too.

    "Did we somehow change the definition of #JUSTICE along the way??" superstar singer Rihanna wrote on her Instagram page. "Cause..... Something is horribly wrong when the system enables these rapists and the victim is thrown away for life! To each of you responsible for this child's sentence I hope to God you don't have children, because this could be your daughter being punished ..."

    Brown's story exploded on social media, with other celebrities including Kim Kardashian West and LeBron James speaking out on her behalf. Hundreds of thousands of people retweeted and responded, signed petitions and contacted the office of former Gov. Bill Haslam.

    The public outcry focused largely on the role of sex trafficking in Brown's case. When she was convicted in 2005, minors could still be convicted on prostitution charges. Brown's case became a rallying cry in the age or #MeToo for justice for teenage victims of sex trafficking.

    The national attention did not persuade all members of the state Board of Parole, which split on its recommendation to the governor over granting Brown parole in 2018.

    Freedom approaches
    In January, Brown was sitting in the prison's visiting room when her lawyers walked in with the life-changing news.

    "You're getting out in August," Bone said as soon as he saw her.

    Her reaction was immediate.

    "She just lit up with a joy I've never seen before," Sinback said.

    A member of the legal team asked Brown if she was disappointed it would take another seven months before she was free.

    "She said, 'Are you crazy? I was supposed to get out when I was 67 years old,'" Sinback said.

    Tennessee's sentencing laws
    For first-degree murder, there are three sentencing options that apply equally to adults and children tried as adults: the death penalty, life in prison with no possibility of parole, and life with the possibility of parole.
    In 1995, Tennessee lawmakers adopted a "Truth in Sentencing" law that established a 51-year minimum sentence for those facing life with the possibility of parole. It is the longest in the nation.
    In total, 185 juvenile offenders are serving life sentences in Tennessee. Of those, 120 are serving time for crimes committed after 1995, when lawmakers lengthened the minimum sentence. Those convicted before the 1995 law have parole dates that vary from 25 years to 30 years post-conviction.
    Doing stories that make our community better takes times and resources. A Tennessean subscription gives you unlimited access to stories that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you. You also get the ability to tap into news from the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.

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    https://www.kron4.com/news/cyntoia-b...son-wednesday/

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The woman who was granted clemency from former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam will be released from prison Wednesday.

    Cyntoia Brown will be released to parole supervision on Aug. 7, exactly 15 years to the day when she was arrested in 2004.

    In preparation for her release, Brown met with counselors at the Tennessee Prison for Women to design a reentry plan, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. The plan reportedly includes an updated risk/needs assessment, placement in the transition center and continuing her current course of study through the Lipscomb University LIFE Program.

    Her parole supervision will continue until August 7, 2029.

    Brown released a statement prior to her release, which reads:

    “While first giving honor to God who made all of this possible, I would also like to thank my many supporters who have spoken on my behalf and prayed for me. I’m blessed to have a very supportive family and friends to support me in the days to come. I look forward to using my experiences to help other women and girls suffering abuse and exploitation. I thank Governor and First Lady Haslam for their vote of confidence in me and with the Lord’s help I will make them as well as the rest of my supporters proud. “

    Haslam granted clemency to Brown just days before leaving office on Jan. 7, 2019.

    Shortly after announcing his decision, Haslam said during a fundraiser that his clemency for Brown was “the right thing to do.”

    Brown was 16 when she was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Nashville man in 2004.

    Gov. Haslam said his decision to grant Brown clemency comes after “careful consideration of what is a tragic and complex case.”

    Brown was reportedly trapped in prostitution and a victim of child sex trafficking at the time when she shot and killed Jimmy Allen.

    Allen picked up the then 16-year-old at the Sonic on Murfreesboro Pike and brought her home.

    The two got into bed together and at some point, Brown killed Allen. She claimed self-defense, but prosecutors maintained that Brown killed the 43-year-old real estate agent in order to rob him.

    “There is nothing I can say. There is nothing to justify what I did,” Brown previously said.

    “Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16. Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life. Transformation should be accompanied by hope. So, I am commuting Ms. Brown’s sentence, subject to certain conditions,” Haslam said.

    Brown released a statement shortly after the governor’s decision writing in part, “Thank you, Gov. Haslam for your act of mercy in giving me a second chance. I will do everything I can to justify your faith in me.”

    The statement continued, “I am thankful for all the support, prayers and encouragement I have received. We truly serve a God of second chances and new beginnings. The Lord has held my hand this whole time and I would have never made it without Him. Let today be a testament to His saving grace… With God’s help, I am committed to live the rest of my life helping others, especially young people. My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been.”
    This person should get a full pardon

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    Senior Member Jumaki15's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KambingSociety View Post
    https://www.kron4.com/news/cyntoia-b...son-wednesday/



    This person should get a full pardon
    No, they shouldn't.

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    https://www.change.org/p/masha-grant...life-sentences


    https://www.change.org/p/leslie-abra...dez-brothers/c

    Now there are groups that want the Menendez Brothers to be free from prison. That is something to be considered

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnLanders View Post
    https://www.change.org/p/masha-grant...life-sentences


    https://www.change.org/p/leslie-abra...dez-brothers/c

    Now there are groups that want the Menendez Brothers to be free from prison. That is something to be considered
    No, it shouldn't be. They murdered their parents in cold blood. They had plenty of money and other options to get away, even if there was abuse going on. They didn't have to do what they did.

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    Quote Originally Posted by raisedbywolves View Post
    No, it shouldn't be. They murdered their parents in cold blood. They had plenty of money and other options to get away, even if there was abuse going on. They didn't have to do what they did.
    I don't agree with the group but I agree that if they were free at some point they will end up abusing their spouses and the "Cycle of Abuse" will continue.

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    https://www.fox5vegas.com/news/us_wo...faf494f73.html

    (CNN) -- In a stunning reprieve for a man sentenced to more than five centuries behind bars for a nonviolent offense, a judge in Los Angeles on Thursday summarily slashed his sentence to time served and ordered his immediate release.

    Juan Carlos Seresi, a convicted money launderer whose projected release date from the federal Bureau of Prisons had been July 8, 2419, was suddenly ordered to be freed "without delay" by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson. Once out, Seresi will be subject to a three-year term of supervised release, according to Wilson's order.

    "It's a miracle," Seresi said after hearing the news from his daughter, Patti Mawer, she told CNN. Mawer, 46, said her father has been behind bars since she was a teenager, but has remained an integral part of her family's life.

    "After all this praying and all this hoping, he can't believe it," Mawer added.

    Seresi, 73, was one of four defendants sentenced to 505 years behind bars in 1991 for laundering cocaine cartel cash who were featured in a CNN report published in August. The article noted how the sentences were considered harsh even back then and represent the sort of draconian punishment that has since been widely condemned amid a national conversation around justice reform.

    When the case was before Wilson in August, he denied a request by prosecutors to overturn the men's convictions "in the interests of justice" due to special treatment given to a government witness by FBI agents that was not disclosed to the defense. Wilson conducted a months-long review into the matter and concluded that the men's convictions were sufficiently supported by evidence and testimony unrelated to that particular witness.

    All four defendants filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is pending.

    But Seresi's attorneys also filed a motion seeking his release on compassionate grounds, due in part to his advanced age and a diagnosis of high blood pressure making him susceptible to serious complications from Covid-19. Prosecutors in the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles did not oppose the motion.

    While Wilson found that those factors alone did not entitle Seresi to early release, he noted other factors that — taken together — amounted to "extraordinary and compelling reasons" for granting his freedom.

    Seresi was convicted of a nonviolent offense, had already served more than 30 years behind bars, earned three associate degrees while incarcerated and had a near spotless disciplinary record, the judge noted.

    "The Court's findings should not be construed to minimize the severity of the Defendant's conduct," Wilson wrote, noting that Seresi was "a key employee of the ringleaders of a substantial money laundering conspiracy."

    Wilson wrote that he was ordering the release under a "catch all" provision of federal law that, in his view, allowed him to consider a wide variety of factors concerning Seresi's continued imprisonment.

    "Very few cases will fall within that provision," Wilson wrote. "Most will not."

    "We are so happy for Juan Carlos and his beautiful family," said Reuven Cohen, one of Seresi's lawyers, whose firm took the case on a pro bono basis.

    Seresi, along with brothers Vahe and Nazareth Andonian and Raul Vivas, were convicted of helping to launder more than $300 million in drug cartel money through their precious metal and money exchange companies. Seresi, considered the least culpable of the defendants by the sentencing judge, worked as an employee of Vivas.

    None of the men was convicted of direct involvement in the massive cocaine distribution ring at the center of the case.

    Following their sentences, the men languished in prison for decades as one appeal after another was denied.

    But last year they got what seemed like an extraordinary break when federal prosecutors sided with the defense in seeking to have their convictions overturned based on special treatment given to a key government witness by the name of Sergio Hochman.

    Hochman, a co-conspirator in the drug and money laundering case who cut an early deal with the government, disclosed decades later that agents treated him to a handcuff-free seaside lunch in Malibu and allowed him visits with his wife in the backseat of a car and in her apartment in Tucson, AZ.

    The benefits were not disclosed to the defense. Prosecutors confirmed the information with Seresi's FBI handlers and ultimately concluded the information was sufficiently damaging to warrant throwing out the case.

    Wilson, however, launched his own inquiry, which included a review of thousands of pages of documents from the trial.

    He issued a 32-page ruling in August denying the prosecution's request to overturn the convictions.

    Wilson said he found that Hochman's testimony had been "helpful" to the government, but "not critical."

    "It's not enough that the government's case would be slightly weaker without Hochman," he wrote.

    Attorney Jerry Newton, who represents Vahe Andonian, praised Wilson's decision to grant Seresi early release and said he believed the Andonian brothers were similarly strong candidates for such mercy. He said he intends to file a similar motion in front of Wilson while their appeal is pending in the 9th Circuit.

    "They're essentially around the same age. They've spent 31 years in prison without one incident. They've taken every educational course they could get their hands on," Newton said. "It's a fair and just result to let them enjoy the remainder of their lives outside of prison."

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    Senior Member Queena's Avatar
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    I don't know about Cyntonia Brown getting pardon. She did that shit. Drug dealers should be pardon. The government is upset because someone was making more money selling drugs than they make. Pardons should be given on a case by case basis.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnLanders View Post
    https://www.change.org/p/masha-grant...life-sentences


    https://www.change.org/p/leslie-abra...dez-brothers/c


    Now there are groups that want the Menendez Brothers to be free from prison. That is something to be considered


    Quote Originally Posted by Queena View Post
    I don't know about Cyntonia Brown getting pardon. She did that shit. Drug dealers should be pardon. The government is upset because someone was making more money selling drugs than they make. Pardons should be given on a case by case basis.
    Yeah I dont think she should be pardoned. If she killed the "pimp" to escape then maybe I might reconsider, but she killed a john.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Chelsea, if you are a ghost and reading mds, I command you to walk into the light.

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    https://fox40.com/news/national-and-...d-from-prison/

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — Richard DeLisi is a free man after serving 31 years of a 90-year sentence for selling cannabis.

    The 71-year-old walked out of a Florida prison Tuesday saying he’s not bitter about the lost years and prefers to focus on creating memories with his family.

    According to The Last Prisoner Project, DeLisi was believed to have been the longest-serving nonviolent cannabis prisoner.

    He was sentenced to 90 years in 1989 at the age of 40.

    While he was in prison, his wife, parents and 23-year-old son all died.

    On Tuesday, he met two granddaughters for the first time and ate at his favorite crab restaurant.

    Congrats to Richard DeLisi but at the same time its hollow too given that he has lost family members and also have grandchildren he never knew about when he was in prison. All this for Pot even though in the 30 years hes been away pot has been debated and became legal in some states.

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    https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021...ijuana-crimes/



    LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Corvain Cooper, a Los Angeles man who was facing life in prison for nonviolent marijuana crimes, returned home Friday after a last-minute commutation.

    “I want to give all glory to God,” he said. “I can’t wait to see my kids, I haven’t seen them in years.”

    Cooper, 41, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole in 2014 for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana — his third strike — and had been serving his sentence at a federal prison in Louisiana.


    But his prospects for an early release improved in 2017 when changes in California’s law reduced both of his prior drug convictions from felonies to misdemeanors.

    “And it’s just, thank my attorney for really delivering on his word and never giving up on me and all the people, all the letters, all the things, all the activists groups — there’s too many names to list — I love Last Prisoner Project, I love everybody,” he said. “It’s just too amazing. It’s better than the lottery. The lottery can’t touch this.”

    Cooper was one of more than a dozen people whose sentences for crimes related to marijuana were commuted by President Donald Trump during his final days in office.

    Marijuana is now commercially legal in 15 states and legal for medical purposes in 34 states.

  16. #16
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    https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/martypuccio

    https://www.facebook.com/pg/MartyPuccioFreedom/posts/

    https://loriajohnston.medium.com/bob...s-a3ba0ae2dee3

    There is a group that wants Marty Puccio to go free.

    “. . . They should be ashamed of what they did.”
    On July 13, 1993, a group of six teen girls and boys from the pleasant community of Hollywood, Florida, a middle class suburb of Fort Lauderdale, gathered at a local Pizza Hut, as many do during the carefree days of summer. This congregation, however, wasn’t meeting up to nosh and socialize but to discuss how they were going to commit murder.

    Their chosen victim was 20-year-old Bobby Kent, the only son of Fred and Farah Kent, who had immigrated to the States from Iran, changing their surname in the process. Fred was a successful stockbroker, allowing his family a privileged lifestyle. Bobby, popular, gregarious and handsome, had graduated from high school and attended community college. He was serious about bodybuilding and had entrepreneurial dreams — although those dreams were of a questionable nature.

    Bobby’s best friend was Marty Puccio. He and Marty had met in the third grade and developed a friendship that was dysfunctional at best. Marty’s parents would recall the young boy coming home, after spending time with Bobby, covered in bruises and, at time, bleeding. The Puccios believed this was some form of roughhousing and encouraged their son to cut off contact with Bobby or at least limit it but apparently did not take any other kind of action. Sadly.

    This love-hate relationship, with Bobby both being playful and punishing toward Marty, continued into adolescence. The bullying became so bad at one point that Marty begged his parents to move away from Hollywood so that he might escape. His parents refused, leading their son to live temporarily with relatives in New York. Before long, though, Marty returned to Florida and back into his cruel relationship with Bobby. He seemed unable to break away from the abusive connection.

    It was during their adolescent years that both young men took up bodybuilding, spending a great deal of their time at the gym. It was also said that they both began taking steroids, causing Bobby’s already volatile and aggressive nature to worsen.

    In the 11th grade, Marty dropped out of school. This added to the list of grievances Fred and Farah Kent had against him as they ironically believed Marty was a bad influence on their son and wished to stifle the friendship.

    At some point after Bobby himself graduated from high school, he entered the business arena as a filmmaker. As the gay subculture was at the height of its popularity in south Florida, he came up with the idea to film men masturbating and sell the tapes. The pornographic venture did not go as planned, however, as the generally poor quality of the films made them difficult to sell. It was also rumored, after the events of July 1993, that Bobby had pimped Marty, his taller, muscular friend, out at gay clubs.

    Marty had met Lisa Connelly, a shy, overweight 18-year-old high school dropout and the two had fallen quickly in love, spending all their time together. Lisa quickly noticed how Bobby treated his so-called friend and, hoping to take his mind off abusing Marty, introduced him to her friend, Alice “Ali” Willis. Ali, like Lisa, was also 18; she had already been married and given birth to a child that her parents cared for.

    While friends dating friends would have made for a cozy quadrangle, Ali and Bobby only dated for a few weeks. Bobby began abusing Ali, subjecting her to “bizarre” sexual behavior and, according to Marty later on, threatening both her and her child’s lives.

    Meanwhile, Lisa discovered she was pregnant with Marty’s baby. Feeling her boyfriend, and now the father of her child, would never escape Bobby Kent’s torture, she began to plot how she could eradicate Bobby from both their lives. Permanently.

    She recruited her friend Ali — Bobby’s most recent girlfriend — and Marty, of course. She also added Ali’s new boyfriend, Donnie Semenec; her own cousins, Heather Swallers and Derek Dzvirko; and Derek Kaufman to their murderous band. Kaufman was 22-years-old and claimed to be a mafia hit man; Lisa felt his so-called contract killing knowledge would come in handy for their plans.

    They chose July 14 as the day Bobby would meet his maker, one day after their Pizza Hut meeting in which all the future killers had attended — with the exception of Marty.

    Ali, the former girlfriend who Bobby had allegedly raped, was used as the bait. Marty called Bobby and invited him to a remote canal near Weston, stating they were going to race cars. As an added incentive he assured Bobby that Ali would be there and was anxious to have sex with him. Bobby agreed and was picked up from his home by the seven who would kill him around 11:30 p.m.

    Upon arrival at the chosen site, Ali took Bobby off to a more secluded spot, on the pretext she wanted to talk with him. Those remaining assembled their weapons: a pipe, an aluminum baseball bat, and two knives.

    While Ali and Heather Swallers, who had caught up to them, distracted Bobby, the five co-conspirators snuck up on him.
    Image for post
    The body of Bobby Kent
    Donnie Semenec, Ali’s boyfriend, plunged a knife into Bobby’s neck. Seeing Marty, Bobby pleaded with him for help, apologizing for anything and everything he had done and begging for mercy. Marty responded by stabbing Bobby in the stomach. Bobby attempted to run but was outnumbered. Donnie, Marty and Derek Kaufman hit and stabbed his torso. Marty slammed Bobby’s head into the ground and cut his throat. It was Derek, the self-professed hit man, who dealt the final blow, beating Bobby’s head in with the aluminum baseball bat and making sure Bobby Kent was removed from this earth.

    The body was then rolled to the edge of the marsh. They had chosen the location specifically on the belief that alligators would find the corpse and consume it, effectively destroying all evidence. They tossed the baseball bat and knives into the ocean and decided they would all agree they had been together, hanging out, on the night of the murder while Bobby had been out on a date with an unidentified woman.

    Bobby’s family reported him missing when he didn’t return home that evening. Marty Puccio, as Bobby’s best friend, was contacted by the police about Bobby’s possible whereabouts. Marty feigned ignorance about where Bobby might be and professed to be worried about his friend. The cops may have had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right but had nothing to go on.

    However, like most teens, the seven killers could not stay quiet.

    Lisa Connelly, who claimed that Bobby had raped her, confessed to her mother about the murder. Her mother, in turn, contacted her own sister, who was Derek Dzvirko’s mother. The two sisters took their children to see their brother, who had friends in the police department. They were then directed to Detective Frank Illaraza of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Dzvirko not only confessed everything to Illaraza, he led the detective to Bobby Kent’s remains, still where his killers had left him. The wallet in the pocket of the pants confirmed that it was indeed Bobby Kent.

    Once Bobby had been found, the conspirators quickly cracked and began giving excuses as to why he had to die. They claimed they were merely bystanders to what they had thought was going to be a simple beating. Nope, they knew nothing about any murder. The prosecutors dealt with it by trying each of the seven defendants separately.

    Perhaps frighteningly, not one of the alleged killers displayed any remorse at trial. Three of the defendants had not known or even met Bobby Kent prior to the evening of July 14, 1993, making their lack of remorse difficult to grasp.
    Image for post
    Top from left, Puccio, Willis, Semenec, Swallers, Dzvirko, Kaufman, Connelly
    Marty Puccio, the so-called best friend of the victim and who himself had been victimized by Bobby Kent for years, received the harshest sentence. Charged with first degree murder, he was sentenced to death in the electric chair on August 3, 1995. Bobby’s mother, Farah Kent, believed justice had been served. “Now he will fear for his life, as my son did for his,” she remarked after sentencing. In 1997, the Florida Supreme Court overturned his death sentence and commuted it to life with parole eligibility in 25 years. He is serving his time at the Desoto Annex in Arcadia, where he has reportedly gone into the prison ministry.

    Derek Kaufman, the 22-year-old who had told the younger crowd he was in the Mafia in order to impress them and who showed up for the murder party with a bat instead of the promised gun, was sentenced to life plus 30 years. He is serving his time at the Gulf Correctional Institute in Wewahitchka, where he has incurred nearly 20 infractions, including drug use and disobeying orders.

    As Donald Semenec’s eighteenth birthday was on the day he helped to kill Bobby Kent, and having delivered the blow that started the frenzy, he was sentenced to life plus 15 years. He is serving his sentence, like Derek Kaufman, at the Gulf Correctional Institute in Wewahitchka. Also like Kaufman, he has racked up an impressive count of infractions , some 20 of them, ranging from weapon possession to drug and alcohol use.

    Derek Dzvirko was charged with second-degree murder and originally sentenced to seven years on May 12, 1995 but received an additional four years on his sentence for his attempt to lie on the witness stand after his initial sentencing, while testifying against the others. He was paroled on October 1, 1999, after serving four years, and left Florida for Missouri, where he worked as a truck driver.


    Part 1

  17. #17
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    Lisa Connelly was sentenced to life plus five years. Her sentence was reduced on appeal to nine years. The alleged mastermind of the murder, she was paroled on February 3, 2004, after serving a total of nine years. She gave birth to a daughter while incarcerated and is reported to live in Pennsylvania with her daughter and a younger son. She has kept a low profile since her release, running a cleaning business and becoming a certified optician.

    Alice “Ali” Willis was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to 40 years on May 31, 1995. That sentence was reduced on appeal to 17 years for the murder charge and 15 years for the conspiracy charge. She was paroled on September 16, 2001, after serving just over six years. Despite being picked up in 2013 for retail theft, a parole violation, she did not end up back in prison. She is said to live in Melbourne, Florida with her husband and children. She will remain under community supervision until September 15, 2041.

    Heather Swallers was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to seven years. When she took the stand on May 17, 1995, she did not follow Dzvirko’s lead and lie and, in fact, turned in evidence. She was paroled on February 14, 1998, after serving almost three years — the first to be released from custody. She reportedly resides in Georgia with her children.

    In 1998, Jim Schutze wrote a book on the case called Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge. Three years later, the book was adapted into a film by Larry Clark, also called Bully, which starred Brad Renfro and Nick Stahl. .

    In 2013, Bobby Kent’s sister Laila spoke publicly on the decision to allow all three female defendants and one male defendant to be released from prison. According to The Sun Sentinel she was quoted as saying, “It disgusts me that they have freedom after killing someone. They’re horrible people and they should be ashamed of what they did. They don’t even deserve to be alive.”

    Bobby Kent’s family had his body cremated and his ashes were scattered.

    Somewhat similar to the Kirsten Costas case I wrote about earlier, the Bobby Kent case is about bullying, although the Kent case much more directly so. Bobby Kent was and remains a much less sympathetic victim than Kirsten Costas as he not only verbally abused others (even those he claimed were his friends) but physically tormented them as well. If two of the women who participated in his murder are to be believed, Kent sexually assaulted and raped them — one of them being the girlfriend of his own friend, Marty Puccio.

    Also in possible opposition to the Costas case, there was a clear conspiracy and plan to obliterate Bobby Kent. His murder didn’t happen during an episode of assault or immediately following but was a clear, thought out design.

    While there is never any excuse for murder, in this case there does appear to be extenuating circumstances. The abuse dealt to Marty Puccio is not under dispute. It seems clear that he had a victim mentality and reacted much the way abused persons do. That gives me a small amount of sympathy for him.

    What I don’t understand though is why no one thought to take Bobby Kent’s abuse to the authorities before deciding to mete out their own version of justice. Maybe Marty Puccio had been beaten down, physically, emotionally and mentally, over the years by his so-called friend but the others cannot attempt to utilize that excuse. Of course I am seeing this from the viewpoint of a fully formed adult. The girls in the case were eighteen; is it feasible that while they may not have wanted their friends and family to know that Bobby Kent raped them, they were okay with being part of his murder? And Marty Puccio was 20 years old but do we know how old he was emotionally in 1993? He had been abused by Bobby for more than half his life by that point. Would he have had the wherewithal to approach authority figures, even his parents?

    And what of everyone involved in this sordid mess but Marty Puccio, Lisa Connelly and Alice Willis? They had no real connection or interaction with Kent and yet they decided to join in and participate, even tangentially, in the cold and brutal murder of another human being.

    I find the sentencing and time served troubling as well. Read anything about this case and you will see many accusations of the female defendants in this case getting much better treatment. I believe they caught a break due to their gender. One of them hatched the idea and put it in motion, recruiting everyone else. The other used herself in order to lure the victim and kept him occupied so that her fellow conspirators could get into place, readying themselves to murder. While none of the girls may have wielded a weapon, under the law they are just as guilty as if they did. Heather Swallers’ participation in the murder seems much less involved and given that she gave evidence truthfully, I don’t have a real issue with her brief sentence. Connelly and Willis may be a different story; although I would certainly have sympathy if they were indeed victims of Bobby Kent’s abuse.

    I am not pointing fingers at anyone because the parents of all these young people involved suffered but . . . it seems their attitudes towards their children’s behavior were excessively and exceedingly casual. Roughhousing during play, for boys, is one thing. But bruising of the body and bleeding is quite another. I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if Marty Puccio’s parents had taken this matter to Bobby Kent’s parents when they were still young children. Or, if necessary, to the authorities. Would it have saved Bobby Kent’s life and spared Marty Puccio from a life incarcerated? And what of Bobby Kent’s parents? Did they know their son was exhibiting such violent behavior?

    This case is troubling for many reasons. The fact that a cruel and sadistic predator was allowed to roam freely for so long is infuriating. The extreme violence dealt to him, while partly understandable in the eyes of his victims, is horrifying. As is the killers’ utter lack of remorse. Was it from a form of PTSD? Or worse, was it because these privileged and indulged teens simply had no conscience?

    Perhaps the biggest mystery of all to me is why Marty Puccio’s defense team never claimed any type of mental defect as a result of years of abuse. How he got sentenced to death while the other defendants avoided that punishment entirely. Was Marty judged more culpable because he made the phone call? Or because he was supposedly Bobby’s best friend? Is Marty really that much different than a battered wife who, after years of abuse and threats, kills her spouse? Or do we put a different light on things because Marty is a man?

    Does the Bobby Kent case trouble you as much as it does me?
    https://loriajohnston.medium.com/bob...s-a3ba0ae2dee3

    Part 2

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  19. #19
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    https://www.change.org/p/florida-gov...n-marty-puccio

    Interesting but that's questionable.

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