A Plea for Compassionate Release From Prison

A short while back an acquaintance of mine approached me at a meeting and asked me for help on a pardon project for a prisoner. A part of me winced, "Oh, no! I don't see me getting involved in this", but I listened as he pleaded for help in the release of Gary Tyler from Angola prison in Louisiana. He was looking for employment for Gary Tyler in hospice care IF Gary Tyler could get through the pardon hearing that he had been granted a right to.

When I looked into the information about Gary's case I immediately became interested in helping out. If you google Gary Tyler, Amnesty International, many articles will appear that explain the unjust circumstances that made Gary the youngest person ever on death row over 33 years ago at the age of 16. He has been in Angola prison ever since. Yet, he has made the very best possible effort with his life in prison. Ten years ago he was asked by Warden Cain to help set up a Hospice program at Angola prison. Gary did that and he has been a compassionate leader and companion for prisoners preparing to die ever since (and 75% of those sentenced to Angola prison die in Angola prison). In addition, for the last year and a half he has traveled daily the 100 mile trip each way from the prison into New Orleans where he has worked hard in Katrina cleanup and reconstruction after the hurricane damage. Geary is also a Character Counts counselor to other prisoners and he clearly demonstrates the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

That was what I found out about Gary Tyler. How could I not help? My friend was trying to find employment, counseling and health care in Los Angeles so that Gary could move closer to his sister if he was granted release. The Venice Family Clinic has now offered Gary Tyler free health care and a job, plus there is a second job offer in the printing field, where Gary has also been trained. In addition he has been offered free counseling and even private parole counseling if the state of Louisiana or California requires such help.

I have no real connection to the hospice care field but I do have a wealth of experience in mentoring at risk youth in Los Angeles through my work at A Place Called Home. So I called one of my "graduates" from that program, Chico Brown, who has set up a large program in Watts to mentor at risk youth into developing their lives and talents outside gang life. Upon learning of Gary's case Chico Brown was hooked immediately and Reach Back LA has offered Gary Tyler work that will really use every talent he has developed in service to others. Reach Back LA has a brand new gymnasium/ basketball court, television broadcast facilities, plus programs for drill teams, sports, computers and so on. Chico feels this is a match. He would love to have Gary mentor the youth of Los Angeles.

All Gary's work in service to others has earned Gary Tyler the support of past pardon boards, the current and previous wardens, and the staff of the prison and hospice program. Yet even after three pardon board votes to release him, Gary Tyler has never made it past the governor.

What can we do to help secure Gary's release? Governor Kathleen Blanco is about to leave office and is relatively free of the political pressure that weighs on the issue of pardons. We can ask for her compassion to both hear the pardon plea of Gary Tyler and to grant his release after thirty three years of incarceration so that, as a free man, he can pass on his message of service to others.

Sadly, though Gary was granted the right to a pardon hearing he was not actually granted a hearing date during Governor Blanco's final months in office. The window for a compassionate release is rapidly closing and I would ask all who can to look into Gary's case and to humbly ask for Governor Kathleen Blanco to grant Gary Tyler a compassionate release form prison. Please act , time is running out.

Please send polite and concise Letters to:

Governor Kathleen Babineau Blanco
Office of the Governor
Attn: Constituent Services
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004
225-342-0991

Cc to:
Attorney Keith Nordyke
427 Mayflower Street
Baton Rouge,LA 70802

And email to: [e-mail] or [e-mail].

I thank you sincerely,
Debrah Constance

Comments

[1will]

It's interesting that the author never saw fit to list Tyler's crimes.

[Changeizgood]

This is what we, African Americans are talking about. A teen is a teen with peer pressure and the no snitch terrorism flowing through our urban communities that kill our children.
How do you overcome the pressure of witnessing and not doing your God fearing duty to claim justice for yourself or others injured by crime?

There are no whislte blower protections, when pleas are made to get right with God and tell the truth of something riding your soul, that you did and know is wrong.

This Locking unmature teens up that have no outlets in the developemnt of being a productive member of society, is solved through jobs programs and business community involvement that enable the teens to work during the summer months to help earn money for school clothes notebooks and we've had teachers providing these things to students who are too poor.

Where is the public funding when the child can't take the book home to have the parent help them with their studies and homework.

I know if the schools in the upper crust neighborhoods had students that couldn't take books home for study, or had to share books with the following class, their would be an uproar.

What's worng with this picture is, we are being taught to kick a person when they are down and penalize anyone who doesn't make over 50,000 annually.

The unjust sentencing is just one of the horrors, we African Americans and poor face, when we can't afford a good lawyer and have to risk a public defender who is so bogged down with cases, we slip through the cracks.

[FearlessFreep]

33 years in prison for a crime committed by a minor seems far more than enough.