Ahead of the June 5th meeting, Western Massachusetts Governor’s Council representative Tara Jacobs told WAMC the three pardons before the body were unusual and that despite her pro-clemency standard, she had unanswered questions.
“The way pardons generally work, so, we have our parole board," Jacobs explained. "The parole board wears two hats: They are the parole board, [and] the same exact people also have a secondary function, which is called the Advisory Board of Pardons. And so, in addition to processing parole applicants, they process applications for clemency. So, pardons, commutations. It's unusual- In general, beyond this administration to past administrations, generally speaking, pardons that come through to council are ones that have been recommended by this Advisory Board of Pardons.”
Two of the three names before the council – Kenny Jean and William Veal – had not garnered the support of the board. The third man, Danis Reyes, had.
Before the vote, the Governor’s Council had approved all 13 pardon requests brought to them by Healey since she took office in 2023. When the dust settled, Reyes’ and Jean’s pardons were approved. Jacobs says that in the case of Jean – who had already received a conditional pardon prior to the request for an unconditional one – her qualms had been resolved.
“I really feel for that particular individual, and if we had known the first time around that an unconditional pardon was needed to satisfy the immigration requirements, we would have given it then," the councilor explained. "The really, the most important thing is to ensure he's never in danger of being deported, and secondly, to give him the tools he needs to have a thriving, successful life with employment and housing that was a barrier without having his green card. So, paving the way for him was paramount, and I have been from the beginning very much invested in making sure he gets what he needs to be successful.”
Jean emigrated from Haiti as a child, and experienced a life of trauma and developmental delays before being convicted of armed robbery in 2016 as an 18-year-old.
Jacobs says when it came to Veal’s case, the Governor’s Council decided to punt.
“His record is extensive, and some of it was during that time period of emerging adulthood and cognitive development, but the most serious of the charges were when he was in his late 20s, early 30s, and no longer an emerging adult," she told WAMC. "And during – I watched his entire pardon hearing – during his hearing, while he acknowledges he was guilty of those crimes, there wasn't really a full accountability. It was very much a minimizing and trying to distract from what happened, what his involvement was, and that that gave me further pause, and I think that was the case for my fellow councilors. I can't speak for all of them, but I know there were other people in the room were equally concerned about that.”
Veal’s convictions run from 1981 to 1991 and include Knowingly Receiving Stolen Property, Assault and Battery, Conspiracy, and Larceny.
“We delayed the vote," Jacobs continued. "There is still ongoing discussion and decision making about whether simply to delay the vote, because several of us, including me, felt the need for further due diligence. We’re not done connecting with all the people we want to connect with on the matter, and some people in the room want to hold a hearing. So, the motion itself was to delay to give us the opportunity to do a hearing if we decide that's what we want to do as a council. That is still up for question. We haven't scheduled a hearing yet, there's still ongoing discussion. My feeling on that is the level of due diligence that I am doing, and I still have some outstanding calls to finalize my own decision making, when I get to that point, I don't personally feel that I'll need a hearing myself. I feel like the diligence that I'm doing on my end will- Anything that happens in the hearing will be duplicative to my own work, but I strongly support, if there is even one person in the room who feels the need to have a hearing to make their decision, I fully support having one. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.”
Earlier this year, the Governor’s Council approved Healey’s historic bid to issue sweeping pardons for misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions prior to March 2024.
