Kelly Brasier along with friends and supporters waited in the freezing cold in January in Sterling, Colorado for her 84-year-old uncle Anthony Martinez to be wheelchaired across the parking lot as he was being released from prison. Martinez served more than 30 years in prison for a series of robberies, a sentence greater than one may receive today for manslaughter.
Last year around this time, in the spirit of the season, Gov. Jared Polis exercised his unique and exclusive clemency power to release four people from prison. Martinez was one of those lucky individuals. Martinez鈥檚 petition for clemency had been on the governor鈥檚 desk since the Hickenlooper era. Martinez suffers from dementia, renal failure and relies on a wheelchair to get around. He really should have been released from prison long ago. In his statement to the press, the governor cited the need for second chances and referenced the Gospel of Luke citing the need to be merciful.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many governors from across the country met the moment by releasing hundreds and, in some instances, thousands of individuals from prisons. Our governor released a mere four, which is a far cry from the number of individuals that can be safely released from prison and that are serving unduly harsh and long sentences. As in the case of Martinez and the recently cited case by The Denver Post of Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, the harsh sentences are the result of draconian mandatory minimum laws.
The governor is aware that the United States incarcerates more people at a high rate than any other country in the world and that our addiction to jails and prisons has destroyed so many families, particularly those from our Black and Brown communities. Our carceral system is founded on racist principles and those who are in prison reflect that system.
I have no idea how many clemency petitions are before the governor because that process is not public. I do hope that the governor takes each petition seriously and reviews and evaluates each one and knows that the call for releases through clemency is not seeking the release of anyone who is dangerous. We all want to be safe and that is why clemency advocates have been seeking the release of those who are elderly, sick, or have otherwise proved they can safely be released into their communities.
This holiday season let抖阴ap hope the governor will exercise his power of clemency to show mercy to the many instead of just a few. By doing so, he can undo some of the harms of our mass incarceration machine and spread the message of second chances and redemption.
Denise Maes is the founder of Maes Solutions LLC and an advisor on criminal justice issues.
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