Signed, Sealed, Delivered

In the summer of 2024, the men from the 8th and H Case submitted applications for a Presidential pardon. Lawyers Shawn Armbrust (Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project) and Eden Schiffmann (Williams & Connolly) share what went into this arduous process. Chris Turner discusses the immense impact a Presidential pardon would have on his life.

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There are two critical actions you can take to support the pardon effort.

1. First, you can go to 8thandHjustice.com  to add your name to the list of supporters. It takes no more than two minutes. There are two separate links: one for former or current DC residents and one for non-DC residents. You can find this on the "get involved" page.

2. Second, share your thoughts about the case on any social media platform using the hashtag #8thandHJustice. In recent years, we've seen the power of social media in influencing Presidential pardon decisions. Your posts can increase public pressure, making it more likely that the 8th and H case will catch the president's attention.

 

 

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
On a windy D.C.
fall morning, my colleague
Maika Moulite and I met outside
the Department of Justice on
Pennsylvania Avenue.
The leaves crunched under our feet
as we walked the perimeter of the
building.
The Justice Department has a
plethora of quotes etched
onto its exterior, pointing

(00:21):
to its core principles.
One inscription in particular stood
out to us.
Where law ends, tyranny begins.
Law alone can give us freedom.
Just beyond the building's
limestone facade lay the
fate of the men from the eighth and

H case (00:38):
Chris
Turner, Levy Rouse,
Cliff Yarborough, Russell Overton,
Timothy Catlett and Charles
Turner. In the summer of 2024, these
men submitted applications to the
Department of Justice for a
presidential pardon.
A pardon would reverse the wrongful
conviction they were handed 40

(00:58):
years ago, which they've
collectively spent more than 200
years in prison for.
The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
played a vital role in this process.
We need to seek a presidential
pardon in this case because
prisoners convicted in D.C.
can't go to a governor because D.C.
isn't a state. So they have to go
to the U.S.

(01:18):
president to be pardoned.
That's Shawn Armbrust,
executive director of the
Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
The pardons were filed,
so they are in line
and in the cue to be considered
by the Department of Justice and
by the President.
And so we are hopeful
that they will be considered

(01:39):
and that they'll be granted.
Historically, most presidential
pardons occur between Election
Day and Inauguration Day, when
an outgoing administration is
preparing to leave the White House.
This period is referred to as
a lame duck session.
Since Biden is not running for
reelection, the accused men
are uniquely positioned to receive

(02:01):
a pardon in the next several months.
When the clock strikes midnight
on November 6th, 2024,
the men's lawyers and supporters
will officially be in full
game time mode.
Over the coming months, we're really
going to be making a push
to explain to the administration,
explain to the Department
and explain to the public

(02:22):
why this case
deserves a pardon.
The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project
is collaborating with some of the
best lawyers in the city to push for
this pardon, including attorneys
from the prestigious law firm
Williams and Connolly.
In May of 2024, Williams
and Connolly associate Ben Waldman

(02:43):
invited me into their super chic
office overlooking the Washington
Channel.
I'm early...thank you
I was honored when they asked if
this podcast could be included
as supplemental material in the
pardon application.
A few months later, I spoke with
Williams and Connelly partner Eden
Schiffmann on the phone.
Each of these wrongfully convicted

(03:05):
men has now submitted their own
application to the Department of
Justice for a pardon.
Cliff, Chris, Charles,
Timothy, Russell and Levy
all submitted separate pardon
applications for each
roughly 300 pages in length.
The contents of the six applications
are extensive.
These pardon applications include

(03:26):
practically everything you could
ever want to know about these men.
They go into their life history.
They go into the details
of the crime that they were accused
of. We submitted the evidence
of their innocence.
These presidential pardon
applications differ from most
other applications in several ways.
First, they provide evidence that

(03:47):
these men are actually innocent
of the crime they were convicted of.
The government's case against the
defendants relied heavily
on false confessions of involvement
in the crime, all of which
have now been legally recanted.
Furthermore, the applications remind
the reader that not a single piece
of physical evidence tied any
of the defendants to the crime

(04:08):
scene. In fact, the physical
evidence directly contradicted
how the prosecutors claimed the
crime occurred.
The pardon applications go a step
further, providing details on
the likely actual perpetrator of
Mrs. Fuller's murder.
Shawn Armbrust explains.
There's also a really powerful
alternative suspect.
One of the two men who had been

(04:30):
seen walking up and down
the street and then was
seen running from the crime
scene, that was a man named James
McMillan, who at the time
was known to the police because he'd
been robbing and beating women in
alleys and became
even better known to police
when he brutally beat
and sodomized a young woman

(04:51):
in an alley around
8th and H streets northeast.
So a nearly identical
crime to the crime
we have here.
It's pretty clear to most people who
have looked at the case that the
person who did this was James
McMillan.
Listeners of this podcast wrote
in Letters of support to supplement
the pardon applications.

(05:11):
Alley listener Jeanette Hodge
wrote in her letter...
In light of the extensive hardships
these men have endured and their
steadfast commitment to proving
their innocence, I urge you to grant
them a Presidential pardon.
Clearing their names would not only
rectify a grave injustice,
but also serve as a testament to
the integrity of our justice system.

(05:32):
Here's what happens next.
The pardon applications will go
through multiple rounds of rigorous
reviews by the Pardon Attorney
and her team in evaluating
the merit of each request.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney
considers various factors,
including the person's conduct
following conviction, both in prison
and out in society.

(05:53):
In addition, the Deputy Attorney
General, the second most senior
official at the Department of
Justice, may weigh in on the
recommendation about whether to
grant a pardon.
Following the completion of all
review rounds, the Pardon Attorney
will present her recommendation to
the President.
However, it's important to note
that the ultimate decision to pardon

(06:13):
or not lies solely with
the President. This discretion is a
unique power of the President who
can choose to pardon a person at any
time, regardless of the pardon
attorney's recommendation.
There are no limits to how
many people the President may
pardon. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, for example, pardoned
2819

(06:33):
individuals during his time in
office, more than any other
president. President Obama gave 212
pardons while in office, and
President Trump granted 143.
Over the past 35 years,
roughly 2 to 6%
of pardon requests are successful.
A pardon has a profound effect
on the recipient as it completely

(06:54):
nullifies the legal consequences
of a conviction.
The individual is no longer
considered a criminal, and any
collateral effects of the
conviction, such as the loss of
voting rights, are reversed.
While we await the possibility
of a pardon, the gravity of the
situation is, of course,
felt most strongly by the six
accused men.

(07:15):
I got to catch up with Chris Turner
recently to see how he's feeling.
If a pardon is granted, my life
would change dramatically.
It would erase anything
from my record.
So my record would
be completely cleared
of any wrongdoing.
Mr. Turner looks forward to the
possibility of traveling, a freedom
most of us take for granted.

(07:36):
It will allow me to go
places that I always wanted to go
and do a lot of things
that I still want to do.
There's some countries that I can't
go to because of a wrongful
conviction.
Furthermore, a pardon would
drastically change these man's
job prospects.
Several of them are working

(07:56):
multiple jobs just to get by.
There are jobs that
I cannot hold or apply for
that I think I would be great at
because of the conviction.
I can begin to
do a number of things and maybe
create jobs for other people
because I love working
in the community, being an activist,

(08:18):
looking out for people, giving
people second chances.
If a pardon is granted.
Cliff, Chris, Charles,
Timothy, Russell, and Levy
could be compensated for the decades
of their lives that were stolen from
them. Lastly, and perhaps
most importantly, a Presidential
pardon remains the last
and only option for these

(08:39):
men to clear their names in the
court of public opinion.
They will need all the help they can
get to push this effort over
the finish line.
We're asking for something pretty
extraordinary, and
asking for something extraordinary
really does require
a full court press.
And that full court press

(09:00):
definitely involves
normal citizens
reaching out, getting engaged
and showing their support, not
just in D.C., but all over the
country.
You, listener, have a vital role
to play in getting these pardons
signed.
There are two critical actions
you can take to support the effort.

(09:20):
First, you can go to
8thandHjustice.com
to add your name to the list of
supporters.
It takes no more than two
minutes. There are two separate
links, one for former or
current D.C. residents and one for
non D.C. residents.
You can find this on the get
involved page.
Second, share your thoughts on
any social media platform using

(09:42):
the hashtag 8th and H
justice.
That's the number 8,
T H, A N D, H,
J U S T I C E.
In recent years, we've seen the
power of social media in influencing
Presidential pardon decisions.
Your posts can increase public
pressure, making it more likely

(10:02):
that the 8th and H case will catch
the President's attention.
I'll put all of this information
in the show notes.
I'm feeling right now about
a presidential pardon...I'm
optimistic we can close
this and maybe move on with
our lives as best as possible.
Law alone can give us
freedom. These words

(10:24):
etched into the stone of the
Department of Justice building
indicate its intention to forever
protect the integrity of the U.S.
legal system.
Our laws are meant to give
us freedom from repressive
or biased government actions.
If the DOJ is to remain
true to its guiding principles,
it will advise the President to

(10:44):
grant pardons for the men of
the 8th and H case.
This podcast was executive
produced, written and
mixed by Shannon Lynch.
Joe Wilkes and David Lanham
are our co-producers.
Media outreach by Heidi

(11:06):
Lewis.
Social media by me,
Maika Moulite.
Visuals by Alex Briñas.
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