| Hello, my name is Gary. I'm a Pennsylvania Lifer. I've been in prison for 17 years. I have no hope for freedom. I have no chance for parole. I have no chance for clemency or commutation. There's no hope for a second chance. This is it! You may say well, you shouldn't have killed someone. The fact is that I didn't kill anyone. I wasn't accused of killing anyone. I wasn't there. Pennsylvania law says I have to spend the remainder of my life in prison. Pennsylvania laws are too broadly applied. In Pennsylvania,L.I.F.E. means Life Is For Ever. The law says I have nothing to look forward to, nothing coming. Pennsylvania laws are wrong. The people of Pennsylvania can change the law. It's your voice that counts. Deserving Pennsylvania Lifers do need your help. Support Bills To Make Changes! Hello, my name is Danny. I'm also a Pennsylvania Lifer. I've been in prison for 35 years. I made a mistake when I was a kid, 17 years old. I must pay for that mistake for the rest of my life. There is no second chance. There is no forgiveness. There is no hope for freedom. I'm not the same person that made the mistake 35 years ago. I've grown older. I've learned from my mistakes. All people make mistakes as teenagers or young adults. People grow, learn and change as they get older. By nature alone, nobody is the same at 50 years old as they were at 17 years old. No matter how much I've changed, no matter how sorry I am for my mistake, no matter how much time I serve in prison, Pennsylvania law says there is no forgiveness. I'm so grateful the good man above doesn't believe that way. He has forgiven me for my mistake. Now I have one thing to look forward to, the same thing that 139 other Pennsylvania Lifers from 1987 through 1997 have met: Death In A Pennsylvania Prison! Pennsylvania laws should be changed. Only the people of Pennsylvania can make the changes. A change is long overdue. Your voice speaks loudly! Hello, my name is Virgil. I'm a Pennsylvania Lifer. I made a mistake when I was 17 years old. I've been a Pennsylvania Lifer for 5 years now. I am still in the appeal process. Should I be denied relief, I know that I have a long hard road to travel. The state of Pennsylvania will never forgive me. There's a good chance that I will never see freedom again, no matter what! Pennsylvania does not parole any Lifer. Commutation is non-existent in Pennsylvania. Forgiveness and a second chance are unknownwords in the state of Pennsylvania, so Life Is For Ever! Pennsylvania should recognize that some people for their crime should never see freedom again. But on the other hand, the state should recognize that deserving Lifers should have a second chance. Under current Pennsylvania parole laws, there is no way I can ever be free again. No matter if I am truly sorry for my mistake (which I am), no matter if I change my ways (which I have), no matter if I serve 40 years more in a Pennsylvania prison, the bottom line remains the same: I was wrong. Pennsylvania law is wrong. Two wrongs don'tmake anything right! Be heard. Voice your opinion. Lawmakers listen to thepeople. You can help make the right changes! Support Our Cause! Hello, my name isDon. I'm a Pennsylvania Lifer. I did something 17 years ago when I was 23 years old. I was forced to do what I did. I was defending myself. My crime was not 1st degree murder but needless to say, I was convicted of that. Appeals are ridiculous in Pennsylvania. The parole system for a Pennsylvania Lifer does not exist. I say I do not deserve to spend the rest of my life in prison. The law of Pennsylvania says I do not deserve any kind of a second chance or parole. Commutation in Pennsylvania means nothing in terms of any kind of relief, to a deserving Pennsylvania Lifer. L.I.F.E. should not mean, Life Is For Ever. Some Lifers deserve a second chance and forgiveness. You can see the results of Pennsylvania laws and you can make a difference to those who deserve it. Contact your state representative and state senator. Be heard! Only your voice and your support can change things. Support Bills For Parole Eligibility Hello, my name is Earl. I'm a Pennsylvania Lifer. I'm 52 years old. I'm doing a life sentence for a second degree murder. I have been incarcerated in Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for twenty-five consecutive years. While incarcerated at the State Correctional Institutionat Pittsburgh, I received my GED, and in 1982 I received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. Moreover,I took structural engineering and business courses at Allegheny Community College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Besides participating in the college programs, I was a member of the Academy of Prison Arts, which was financed by a National Endowment of Arts grant. As a result, I have been able to establish myself as a published poet. I am also a skilled welder. I am not acquiring an education to make parole or commutation because neither is possible for me in Pennsylvania. I am educating myself to be a better person and to be in accord with the righteous side of mankind, that God made me capable of, to change my moral perspective. Five other prisoners graduated with me in the class of 1982. All five of these baccalaureates were released from prison fifteen years ago, and all five of them have remained crime free and are very successful.I would like the same opportunity to prove myself. I would do the samething if you, the voters of Pennsylvania, would tell Governor Ridge and the Pennsylvania legislators that you support the passage of bills giving Deserving Pennsylvania Lifers a second chance! At this time, I cannot go into the details of my criminal case because I am seeking to appeal it on the basis of newly discovered evidence and/or governmental interference. However, if I fail in his endeavorI have no other recourse because only in Pennsylvania and one or two other states are life-without-possibility-of-parole for second degree murdercommonplace. Statistically, in forty-eight other states prisoners who are convicted and sentenced to life for second degree murder are eligible for parole or executive branch commutation and are typically released after eight to twelve years. Although there supposedly is executive branch commutationin Pennsylvania, Governor Ridge has elected not to grant commutation to deserving lifers. Remember, there has to be at least one fit lifer who deserves a second chance. After all there are 3500 plus Pennsylvania lifers. (as of November 1999, there were over 3500 Pennsylvania lifers, and growing). Please call or fax your Legislators Any one can respond personally to the above Lifers by writing to them at the addresses below: Gary Jones, Co-Chairman Virgil Tuttle Daniel O'Neill Donald Jones Pennsylvania Lifer's Support Group P.O. Box 256 Wellsboro, Pennsylvania 16901 phone: 570-376-2489  Dallas L.I.F.E. Association's Annual Family Day Return to the Dallas Home PageMenu. Return to the Doing Life in Pennsylvania Menu. Return to the Main Menu. |