Dear Governor Lee:

On behalf of Free Hearts, TN Students for Free Hearts, and community organizations and community members across the state, we would like to personally thank you for the effort you have poured into reform and reentry. We extend our gratitude for your service in utilizing executive clemency powers, especially with granting 64 clemencies in 2022. While reform and reentry are still a priority across the political spectrum, it is our hope that moving forward you continue to exert your clemency power broadly to commute sentences within the incarcerated community, pardon justice involved individuals who have been released, and restore voting rights to people who have been disenfranchised.

Concerning commutations, Free Hearts has observed through the lens of Tennessee's Participatory Defense Hubs that aging women and men (60+), individuals with chronic illness, survivors of sexual trafficking and trauma along with domestic and sexual violence abuse, people who have been incarcerated over 20 years, people who have been convicted under the felony murder rule and criminal responsibility, as well as, justice impacted individuals who have lifetime and lengthy parole supervision, are all worthy of clemency relief through a commutation. It is here, Governor Lee, where we believe that using your clemency power more broadly can help to reconcile some of the deep injustices that have occurred within our Tennessee criminal legal system. For example, individuals such as Octavia Cartwright who is serving a 91-year sentence and whose co-defendant, Jeremy White, spoke passionately in her defense at her clemency hearing and to other decision makers, as well as Quinton Sanders, who has been incarcerated since he was 17 years old with a 51-year life sentence for an accident. In addition, there are also names such as: Latisha Jones, Sharon Phillips, Almeer Nance, Keesha Washington, Mark Lee, and many others - phenomenal human beings who deserve the chance to realize their full potential as returning citizens of our beloved community.

We also know several people that have applied for pardons that deserve a second chance at life. As you know, a felony conviction can prevent people from obtaining housing, securing gainful employment, having professional licensures, driving for Uber, purchasing life insurance, visiting incarcerated loved ones, traveling to see family in some countries abroad, and hundreds of other collateral consequences. People such as Jawharrah Bahar, Shelia Pearce, Lamon Moore, Gilbert Johnson, Donnell Glass, Terry Anthony, Barry Simmons, Terrain Tipton, Jason Jackson, and many more deserve the opportunity to truly be all that they can be and to be granted clemency in the form of a pardon. A felony conviction should not be a perpetual life sentence and we would love to see you continue to use your power to grant mercy and second chances to those who need it most.

Lastly, in Tennessee we have more than 456k people disenfranchised and that number is continuing to rise. Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa, has set a wonderful example on how clemency powers can be used to reconcile this issue. It is particularly noteworthy that a supermajority of Iowans who regained voting rights through Governor Reynolds’ clemency efforts cast ballots in 2020. Using your clemency powers to restore voting rights will further demonstrate your priority of second chances, and mean so much to people who want to exercise their constitutional rights and feel like citizens of the Tennessee community once again, or even for the first time in their lives.

Overall, each topic discussed (clemency in the forms of commutations, pardons, and rights restoration) are issues that directly impact formerly incarcerated individuals, as will be the decision you make concerning the lives that are at stake. Governor, if you truly want change, now is the time to work alongside Free Hearts so that individuals like ourselves are represented accordingly. We believe that Tennessee can be a leader in true criminal justice reform. We are dedicated, have a statewide base in every Tennessee county, and we will continue to take action so that justice impacted individuals and their families’ needs are met. Therefore, our ask is that when you make these decisions, please be mindful that change is inevitable, but working collectively, we can make a real transformative difference in the State of Tennessee. Thanks again for your leadership, and we look forward with hope to the future ahead.