Gregory

"After a traumatic childhood, Gregory entered adulthood drug addicted and desperate. To fund his habit, he robbed a sandwich shop in 1995. His offense was a serious one, and on its own, would have resulted in a sentence of up to 14 years. But this wasn't Gregory's first offense and under the Persistent Offender Accountability Act also known as the "Three Strikes" laws, which was passed by Washington state voters just one year prior, Gregory was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Sadly, Gregory did not live long enough for his clemency petition to be heard. In July 2017, Gregory passed away, having served 22 years of his life sentence. During his time in prison, Gregory dedicated himself to self improvement through sobriety, education, and vocational training. Attorneys Adrienne McKelvey, Ben Hodges, Ken Lederman, Jack Zahner and Joana Boisen had the pleasure of working with Gregory and noted his kindness and genuine desire to become a reformed, valuable member of society. The Foster Pepper Clemency Team, along with the Seattle Clemency Project, finds comfort in knowing that their work gave Gregory hope in his final days."*

*Excerpt from the Foster Pepper 2017 Probono Report.