John,
People in prison are people. They are our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and friends. Our community members and neighbors.
Right now, Pennsylvania has many wonderful people who are stuck with the impact of serving sentences of excessive incarceration and community supervision. Until recently, this included Dr. Paul Ezell.
Dr. Ezell is a Black optometrist from Havertown, PA. More than seven years ago he lost his freedom, all for growing medical marijuana for his sick wife who was dying.
In April of 2014, police burst into Dr. Ezell’s house, arresting him and confiscating plants he had grown to ease his wife’s pain. He pled guilty and was served a prison sentence. He was stripped of his medical license, his life and livelihood destroyed.
Just like that — a man without even a speeding ticket on his record — was given a felony conviction for a medical plant that years later would become completely legal in Pennsylvania.
John, the harms that Black and brown people have endured under marijuana prohibition and the War on Drugs are so deep. In fact, Black people are arrested for violating marijuana possession laws at nearly four times the rate of white people.
The upsetting truth is that Dr. Ezell’s case isn’t an outlier. Multiply his case by tens of thousands each year, and we’ll scratch the surface of good people who have unjustly lost their freedom.
John and I firmly believe that EVERYONE is better off when we invest in people and second chances, instead of excessive punishment.
We need criminal justice reform. And along with legalizing weed for recreational and medicinal use, it is urgent that we expunge all marijuana records and release all those incarcerated for marijuana.
John’s dedication to second chances is one of the main reasons why I am proud to serve as Political Director here on our campaign. In the two years since taking office as Lieutenant Governor, John committed not only to seeing Dr. Ezell’s case though — but to reimagining second chances in PA in a way that hasn’t been done before.
After eliminating pardon application fees, Pennsylvania saw a 500% increase in clemency applications. PA commuted more deserving lifers (folks serving Life without Parole) in the past two years than in the previous 25 years combined. John also helped establish an expedited review process for low-level cannabis charges.
This work is making a real difference. In May, Dr. Ezell’s pardon was approved and signed (though as John has made clear, while a pardon will help Dr. Ezell get some measure of his life back, it should have never been stripped from him in the first place).
That's why John and our entire campaign are dedicated to fighting for second chances, dignity, and humanity for our incarcerated community members and their loved ones.
Thank you so much for your support,
Celeste
Celeste Trusty
Political Director
John Fetterman for U.S. Senate
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