Dear friends, family and mentors,
As many of you know, my law school experience was deeply influenced by the clinical work I did as a student. My time in the Federal Sentence Reduction Clinic is one of the main reasons why I'm a federal public defender today. In that clinic some seventeen months ago, under the supervision of now-Judge Lisa Lorish, I filed a motion to have Reggie Ismel's two federal life sentences reduced so he could have an opportunity to see how much the world has changed since he conspired to distribute crack cocaine at age nineteen, some thirty years ago. He was convicted at a 1994 trial on two counts: 1) the drug conspiracy he has long-since accepted responsibility for and 2) for "ordering" a murder as part of the same drug conspiracy. He has always maintained his innocence on the second count. In fact, his conviction on the latter offense was supported entirely by the testimony of a jailhouse informant who has since signed a notarized affidavit completely recanting his coerced testimony. Just last week, Judge Moon of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia ordered Mr. Ismel's sentence reduced to time served on the drug charge and to 360 months for the homicide. He cited, among other reasons, the "remarkable evidence of rehabilitation" and the recantation presented in his motion. With all the "good time" he accrued during his time in prison, Mr. Ismel was released on April 25. Mr. Ismel's story is a powerful testament to the value of second chances and underscores for me our collective responsibility in attempting to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs. I hope you'll join me in supporting Mr. Ismel as he starts writing the next chapter of his life.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
DONATE: Mr. Ismel is starting from scratch at forty-nine after spending nearly 60% of his human existence in prison for this case (twenty-eight years). The road ahead for him will be challenging but financial support will ease the way. Please consider donating to his GoFundMe page or--even better--send your donation to me directly and I'll get it to him without the fees. Any amount helps.
Via Venmo: @dfenton (last four of my cell: 1470; please put "For Mr. Ismel" in the subject line).
By check: Made out to me and mailed to 320 El Cerrito Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611.
SUPPORT: Mr. Ismel is hoping to settle in Charlottesville, so any leads on housing, employment and community would be fantastic. Friendship and help navigating reentry would also be greatly appreciated.
AMPLIFY: Feel free to share this email or Mr. Ismel's GoFundMe with friends, colleagues and family who might be interested in helping Mr. Ismel get a fresh start.
With profound gratitude,
Dominique Fenton