Huge congratulations to Ricardo and his family, especially his daughter, Cynthia who called CAN-DO’s president, Amy Povah after she got the wonderful news! It could not have happened to a nicer man, nor anyone more deserving! Please sign Ricardo Riojas’ change.org petition Name: Ricardo Riojas #71508-079 DOB: 10/27/1942 Race: Hispanic Marital Status: Married Age: 77…
Excerpts: “With about four months to go before Obama’s term ends, time is running out to even that proportion, according to Amy Povah, a former federal inmate whose 24-year sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton in 2000.” “Povah, who recently spoke about her clemency in the documentary “Incarcerating US,” said it’s unfathomable that so…
CAN-DO Founder Amy Povah collaborated with The Council* to write an ‘Open Letter’ to President Obama which was published in Business Insider on Dec 12, 2016. CAN-DO coordinated with other advocacy organizations plus reached out to, and secured 42 clemency recipients who attached their name to the letter. Our main concern was due to the…
On President Obama’s last day in office, he granted another 330 commutations to nonviolent drug offenders, bringing his total number of clemencies to 1,715—more than the last 12 presidents combined. But clemency advocates argue that Obama’s clemency policy consistently overlooked one group: women. “We’re upset he didn’t increase the number of women prisoners, most of…
Reuters reached out to the CAN-DO Foundation seeking the names and intel regarding specific cases of clemency applicants who were experiencing difficulties after submitting applications to President Obama’s Clemency Project 2014 (CP14). We had become extremely concerned over several cases, specifically Josephine Ledezma, a prisoner serving a life sentence that CAN-DO Founder Amy Povah had…
Amos Irwin reached out to CAN-DO for input regarding the conspiracy law for an Op Ed he authored for Huffpost. He focused heavily on Barbra Scrivner, profiled on the CAN-DO site for years leading up to Barbra Scrivner’s long overdue freedom and justice through clemency. Exposing the dark side of the conspiracy law and how…
CAN-DO provided Kindland reporter, Aimee Kuvadia with the cases of Craig Cesal, Patricia Albright and Michael Pelletier as potential subjects for the following article. Craig Cesal became the anchor story and both Patricia and Michael are profiled therein. Read the entire story on Kindland “The conspiracy statute is the most evil tool in the Department…
CAN-DO President Amy Povah was the focal point of an article in Reason that used her case as an example to emphasize what is wrong with this nation’s conspiracy laws and why there should be more scrutiny and oversight. Read the whole story. Reason: by Lauren Krisai |Apr. 29, 2016 10:20 am
“It was a great day for those who won the lottery and one more disappointment for everyone in the pipeline who should be on the list,” said Amy Povah, a former inmate and the founder of the CAN-DO Foundation, a clemency advocacy group. Update: Weldon Angelos regained his freedom on 6/3/16. He was released through…
CAN-DO Foundation founder Amy Ralston Povah, a clemency recipient herself who helped prepare Pelletier’s application, says she’s holding out hope that Obama will issue a final list of commutations on Friday. “If a paraplegic serving life for pot is not worthy, then who is?” Povah says. “It’s frustrating, because you’re powerless,” she says, describing the…