A good story, but a tragic miscarriage of justice....

[umsami]

This man went to prison for 38 years for murdering his wife's abusive ex-husband.  His sentence was finally commuted.  While there, he helped over 1500 inmates get their degree.

"White was a highly decorated helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, which is where he earned the nickname Sneaky, for sneaking through a field filled with landmines. He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when in 1980 he shot and killed the violent ex-husband of his wife, Nancy. White said the man had threatened both of them and molested his own stepdaughter. In 1981 White received his life sentence with no possibility of parole.

 

Resigned to that reality, he began community outreach programs, including a Vietnam veterans’ group while in San Quentin, one of several prisons where he spent time. At Ironwood, after reading a study about the recidivism rates for those who leave prison with a college degree, he convinced a warden to help him start the college program. At the time there was only one other program like it in the state, at San Quentin; now nearly every prison in California has adopted the format.

White also created a culture of charity in prison, convincing fellow inmates and guards to donate to local organizations. Over the years, he helped raise several hundred thousand dollars for everything from seeing-eye dogs for veterans to a local girls’ softball team, all through in-prison fundraisers like walkathons and pizza sales."

https://www.jweekly.com/2020/01/23/jewish-lifer-who-helped-1500-inmates-earn-degrees-freed-from-prison-after-38-years/?fbclid=IwAR1Xk-IqCzO_4W1_PaJRS9aeO2lxl0D8Vt13SzWo5eUzBj9I2URIshXCPyI

[MaBelle]

Wow!

[MercyA]

I'm glad his sentence was commuted, but I'm not sure the initial sentence was entirely unjust. He committed premeditated murder. Perhaps life with parole would have been a better sentence, given the circumstances.

Props to him for turning himself in and for all the many wonderful things he has done since then.

Edited January 27, 2020 by MercyA