The Right Pleads With Trump To Pardon A Man Who Rebuilt His Life After Prison
Luke Rohlfing
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When Matthew Charles was released from Prison after twenty-one years, he did what many find trouble doing, he turned his life around. He found himself a steady job and a girlfriend, he began volunteering on the weekends. To every account, he was a model citizen.
But to a federal appeals court, his two years out of prison were a mistake. You see, Charles was originally sentenced to 35 years in prison, but his sentenced was reduced, resulting in him being released in 2016 after 21 years in prison.
Despite him spending two years as a model citizen, the federal appears court felt that a mistake was made, and that Charles should never have been released in the first place. This was done because he was originally classified as a “career offender,” making reduced sentences impossible.
Charles was originally charged with selling crack to an undercover police officer, and has acknowledged his mistakes, admitting that he was not a model citizen at the time of his arrest. But during his two years being released, he stayed out of trouble, and proven he’s a changed man.
Despite his proven change, he’s back in prison, and many people are furious. Specifically, people on the right have come in heavily in support of Charles. Dozens of high-profile individuals on the right have come out in support of Charles, asking President Trump to commute his sentence.
Here’s just a sampling of those calling for President Trump to grant Michael Charles a full pardon:
This story broke my heart. It is my deepest hope that @realDonaldTrump will consider a pardon for this man. Trump has made great strides already in the area of prison reform and this story is worthy of his attention.
No American deserves this. #MAGA https://t.co/H7YNLo5dDZ
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 29, 2018
Is it fair? Full interview on our #DailyBriefing @facebook page: A man sentenced to 35 years for selling drugs got his term reduced. He was released & started living a responsible life. Then he was ordered back to prison. https://t.co/xBulf0vb4k #PrisonReform pic.twitter.com/jm6GxmUk58
— The Daily Briefing (@dailybriefing) May 29, 2018
I applaud the White House and .@realDonaldTrump for taking the lead in #CriminalJusticeReform. As a former prosecutor and Assistant District Attorney, I believe the system needs fixing .@RealCandaceO .@KimKardashian .@IvankaTrump .@jaredkushner https://t.co/2T7EPEj8bt
— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) May 30, 2018
My statement on the case of Matthew Charles @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/GGnmWCK856
— Steve Dickerson (@DickersonforS20) May 29, 2018
Hey @realDonaldTrump – you can fix this https://t.co/8ZSP1eCNwd
— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) May 30, 2018
President Trump! https://t.co/roYkvmHuSr
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) May 30, 2018
Dear @realDonaldTrump, please look into this case. There is an injustice here that you have the power to set right. https://t.co/HVKRYosG5q
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 29, 2018
A man goes to prison. For more than 20 years he is a model prisoner. He finds God, he reforms. He is released. But the state must not be questioned, and it claims he owes more. A free people will only tolerate such capricious injustice for so long. https://t.co/A4o7TFjNQW
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) May 25, 2018
Our criminal justice system shouldn’t be like this. Our government is destroying lives. I’ll continue to push for reforms, and I hope others in Congress will join me. @POTUS, please consider commutation for Matthew Charles and others in similar circumstances. https://t.co/Iao3QdhXeh
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 27, 2018
#TuesdayThoughts —> Hmmm, Matthew Charles really shouldn’t be back in prison. #cjreform https://t.co/OoGmKMzcve
— Matthew Hurtt (@matthewhurtt) May 29, 2018
I join a large chorus of others asking @POTUS to #FreeMatthewCharles. This is a travesty in our criminal justice system. POTUS needs to pardon and then Congress needs to clean up the law that allowed this in the first place. https://t.co/HXWJJU7l3t
— Matt Krause (@RepMattKrause) May 29, 2018
This is everything that’s wrong with our broken criminal justice system. Matthew Charles is rehabilitated. He’s paid his debt and created a new life. Our system has failed thousands, let’s not fail Mr. Charles. @realDonaldTrump should commute his sentence. https://t.co/XyMpoEIznp
— Jason Emert (@JasonEmert) May 29, 2018
Along with an outpouring of support on Twitter, a petition asking for President Trump to commute his prison sentence has been started at change.org.
With such vocal support from those on the right, there is a good chance that President Donald Trump will choose to pardon Matthew Charles. After all, it was pressure from friends of his that led towards the post-human pardon of heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson.
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