Newsletter Vol 5 No 11

November 2023

On Thursday November 16th PLSE hosted a fundraiser, “Justice, Food, & Art”, at The Lucy across from our office on Broad Street. Attendees enjoyed delicious food and drink while viewing the work of artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia. Following remarks from the chair of PLSE’s Board of Directors, the Hon. Karen Y. Simmons and PLSE’s Executive Director, Renee Chenault Fattah, artist Valentino Dixon shared his moving story about the 27 years he spent behind bars before being exonerated in 2018. Valentino’s story is a reminder of the critical importance of PLSE’s work and of art’s potential to transform lives, even in soul-crushing circumstances. 

In addition to Valentino, we were proud to celebrate the incredible talent of local artists from Mural Arts Philadelphia. These artists, each with a unique and inspiring journey, have made a significant impact on our community:

• December Collins: A formerly incarcerated female, WRP alumni, writer, and public speaker.
• Donnie Lopez: A formerly incarcerated father of a toddler daughter, Guild Alumni, and artist.
• Tony Burton: A formerly incarcerated father, Guild Alumni, business owner, spoken word, and visual artist.
• Janir Bagwell: Affected by the incarceration of both parents, Janir is a podcaster and artist, advocating for justice in our community.

The evening culminated with a competitive auction for one of Valentino’s works. We send our congratulations and thanks to LaMont Brown for winning the auction and supporting both Valentino and PLSE. We are also extremely grateful for the support of the Hon. Joanna McClinton and State Senator Vincent Hughes who lent their support as co-chairs for this groundbreaking event. And once again we are extremely grateful to our generous sponsors:

The Andréa W. and Kenneth C. Frazier Family Foundation

Comcast

H. Chase Lenfest

Independence Foundation

Labors District Council

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Amalgamated Bank

Tucker Law Group

Keystone First

Our Executive Director has been asked to serve as a vice chair on Mayor-Elect Cherelle Parker’s Public Safety Committee. For the next month, the volunteer committee will assist the Mayor’s transition team in drafting a report surfacing key insights, ideas, and proposals to help solve long-standing challenges and advance the Mayor-elect’s vision for making Philadelphia a safer city.

Former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey Chairs the committee and Brandon Flood the former Secretary of the Board of Pardons and current Deputy Director of Government Affairs of Cease Fire Pa is a member of the committee.

On Saturday, November 18th, PLSE conducted a record-clearing clinic funded by The Promise at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center. The clinic was hosted by the Father’s Day Rally Committee. We met with over 50 potential clients to fill out our intake form and review their criminal records. Special thanks to The Promise and to FDRC President Bilal Abdul Qayyum. If you are interested in hosting a record-clearing clinic with PLSE, please email Program Director Patrick Jackson Keough at keough@plsephilly.org.

BOP Secretary Sherry Watson has made herself wonderfully available all around the state, visiting clemency events and screenings of the film Pardon Me. On December 12 at noon, the Secretary will join PLSE senior attorney and Pardon Project Director Tobey Oxholm in a one-hour conversation about “Pardons 2024: A Look Ahead”. For attorneys, it’s approved for CLE credit, AND satisfies the requirement for free malpractice insurance. No registration required!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89818002997

 It was September 2012. Our client B.H. was arrested and pled guilty to selling knock-off Adidas sneakers. It was his first offense. His sentence: 3 years of probation plus pay restitution. Fast forward 8 years and his Felony-Theft conviction is holding him back big time. With PLSE’s help, he applies for a pardon and, 2 years later, gets the two votes needed for a hearing. 

Enter Morgan Gallagher, PLSE Legal Administrative Assistant. Reviewing our clients’ cases before their hearings, Morgan sees that there’s a $9000 restitution award still out there, completely unpaid, entirely unpayable, and likely fatal to BH’s chances for a pardon. She checks the underlying court documents and sees the restitution award was entered in favor of Adidas. PLSE Managing Attorney Sarah Coyle then leaps into action, filing a motion to vacate because the restitution award was completely illegal! Several years after the client was convicted, the PA Superior Court ruled that the restitution law was only intended to benefit human victims, not corporate ones.  

On October 31, 2023, after granting an expedited hearing, the Honorable John Padova issued an Order voiding the restitution debt. (Thank you, Judge!) The Order came just in time! Ten days later, the client’s pardon application was heard by the Board of Pardons and he was recommended to the Governor without a single question about “unpaid legal financial obligations.”

Kudos to Morgan and Sarah for their quick work! Sarah’s motion can be found online in our Pardon Coach Toolkit in case you or your client has a restitution Order in favor of a non-human that was entered before January 2019 (when the law was changed).

• The accolades for Mike Lee Fellow Shuja Moore’s inaugural documentary Pardon Me www.pardonsnow.org have been pouring in from all around the state. But the great news is that Shu himself has now been recognized for all he’s doing to help others. On November 16, after giving the keynote address to the American Society of Criminology’s Division on People of Color and Crime, he was presented with its Community Service Award “in recognition of his outstanding contributions to improve the quality of life for underserved populations and communities affected by crime.” Check out the ASC’s website to see just how huge this international organization is!

• Community Action Agencies exist to end poverty, and there are 42 CAAs across the state. That’s why it’s so cool that last month, at the annual meeting of the Community Action Association of PA, the CAAP decided to give its first-ever Dependable Difference Maker Award to Megan Foy. Megan is a simply amazing contributor to the Pardon Project of Somerset County and, in “real life,” a RISE Program Specialist with Tableland Services, Inc. the Pardon Hub there. It’s just wonderful that she was recognized for her “excellence, dedication, and hard work in the fight against poverty.”   

• The National Reentry Workforce Collaborative (NRWC) is the only national organization founded by workforce practitioners committed to advancing socio-economic mobility for people impacted by the justice system. This year, its annual three-day meeting was held in Philadelphia and Akeem Sims was honored to be invited. Akeem is a member of the PLSE Board of Directors and is chair of the Pardon Project Steering Committee (PPSC). He called the event “eye-opening” and “inspiring.” The conference is billed as “a launch pad for collaborations that will advance equity, elevate best practices, and promote fair chance hiring” and the PPSC is eager to be a partner in those efforts. Many thanks to Jason Whyte, the NRWC’s Founder, President & CEO, for extending the invitation.

• Everyone knows Brandon Flood – or at least knows of him. He was the first-ever justice-involved person to be appointed Secretary of the PA Board of Pardons, and during his three years in that post, he worked diligently to make pardons more accessible to low-income people. But he did more than just that: he helped turn the PPSC into an advocacy organization. That process began with him accepting the PPSC’s invitation to meet with them in Philadelphia in March 2020, which resulted in major changes to the pardon application and to the “present status interview” in September 2020and then, the next month, adding to the official Board of Pardons website our instructional peer-to-peer pardon videos.Brandon also participated in several virtual Town Halls hosted by the PPSC which tips and insights with people across the state. So it was on November 1 – right before he participated in yet another PPSC electronic Town Hall, on “Preparing for YOUR Pardon Hearing” - that the PPSC presented Brandon with “The Rev. Michelle Excellence in Advocacy.” Named in honor of the PPSC’s longtime Chair, the Rev. Dr. Michelle Simmons, it is presented to an Outstanding Advocate for Second Chances. Calling him an “Instrument Of Justice,” the Award recognizes him for “his vision of restorative redemption that is not for the few but for us all, and for his many reforms of the pardon system, that helped sow faith, hope, freedom and understanding across Pennsylvania.”  

PLSE would like to give many thanks to the team at TrailBlaze Creative who work to ensure our website, printed materials, digital communications, and social media represent us in a professional and aesthetically pleasing way while reaching the widest audience possible. A very special thanks to Erin Sogal and Hunter Smith for their diligent work in assisting with every aspect of our Justice, Food and Art fundraiser. Also, we’d like to thank Jared Roberts for ensuring our website looks fresh, is up to date, and user friendly. Jared is also extremely prompt and accommodating in his responses to last-minute requests and edits. We could not do all we do so effectively without everyone at TrailBlaze. Thank you, team! 

It has been 167 days and Gov. Shapiro has not acted on the 94 pardon recommendations he received from the Board of Pardons in June. That does not count the 58 people recommended to him on October 13, or the 114 more on November 9 (with another 150 or so coming on January 12th). Please take just 2 minutes to add your name to the list of 885 people from 59 counties who have already signed our open letter to the Gov asking him to make pardons more of a priority!

“The work PLSE is doing is important. The average person on the street does not think about it, but if you sat them down and explained one person’s or family’s case, the response 9 out of 10 times would be, ‘Yes, we need to help that person or family.’”  

– Jim DeAngelo, Acting Executive Director, PA Legal Aid Network

“Really? Is that right? I cannot believe it! Thank you!”

–B.H., when told that Sarah Coyle’s motion had been granted and $9,000 in restitution had been erased from his sentence as having been illegally imposed in 2012. 

“So glad to be a part of this amazing program!”

– Megan E. Foy, the first-ever CAAP Dependable Difference Maker (2023)