Matthew Straton went missing Oct 28, 2013. All efforts by family,friends and the local authorities were used in efforts to find Matt. On Jan. 15, 2014, Matt's body was found in a shallow grave covered up with lawn furniture and garbage in the backyard of William Lewek, a local psychiatrist who specialized in alcohol/ drug dependence. Lewek admitted to buying and using drugs with Matt. He admitted that Matt died in his presence and instead of calling 911, he dragged his body down 3 flights of stairs and hid his body. Because of the nature and and amount of time Matt's body was hidden, all evidence was compromised. Lewek was charged with Tampering with evidence, which in New York state is only a 1 1/3-4 year sentence. Through the whole ordeal Lewek never showed any remorse for his actions, only self preservation and contempt for the law. He was even arrested again, this time for DUI. May 1, 2015 Lewek was sentenced and he is already up for parole. This is unacceptable. Please help by signing and sharing this petition in hopes he will be denied early release. From all Matthew's family, loved ones, and the community in which he lived, we thank you, from the bottom of our heart. JUSTICE FOR MATT.

On August 27, law enforcement officials across Northern California began arresting more than 30 bail bondsmen from seven different bail bond companies on charges that they illegally rewarded jail inmates with money for providing information about individuals newly entering the jails. The alleged corruption illustrates an important danger of the cash bail system, in which access to money—rather than risk—determines who stays in jail pretrial. No one should ever be held in jail simply because they are too poor to put up an arbitrary amount set by the courts. Jail should be reserved for people who pose a danger to our communities, or are a flight risk. No one should be able to prey on and exploit defendants simply because they are poor. Across America, jurisdictions are moving toward detention decisions based on risk, rather than money. More than 75 percent of voters support risk-based detention and believe it works. Governor Brown: You know California’s bail system is broken, and you have not yet taken action to fix it. End cash bail. -Cherise Fanno Burdeen of the Pretrial Justice Institute

The Petition was created on Move On's Petition site and states, "Pre-Determined Federal Prison Sentencing Guidelines are determined and based solely on the weight of the drug and not on an individual's case, background or morals. The guidelines are creating a "one size fits all" punishment. This means that in thousands of cases every year the punishment does not fit the crime nor the person. " My son, Terry Matthew Hall, was interrogated by Federal Agents, SBI Agents, and other Law Enforcement Agencies as a teenager in September of 2014 in reference to some alleged illegal drug activity that had been going on in Johnston County...Smithfield, NC for quite some time. Law enforcement and citizens in this County are well known as to what these people had been doing for generations.The Federal and State Agents assisted by local Law Enforcement officers ( Narcotic Division in that County) had been doing a two year investigation on some much older, lifetime criminals in this particular County. While being interrogated about any alleged activity my son was very cooperative.. He was scared and highly intimated so he thought if he "told them the truth" that he could come home. He had no lawyer present, and at such a young age wasn't even thinking on that level.This is a trend and happens to so many of young teens and what they don't realize is "they do need an attorney present!" His attorney told me if he had asked for an attorney to be present he would not be where he is sitting today. But, under peer pressure at such a young age they fold, only to incriminate themselves. He did not get to come home and was arrested right there where the interrogation took place.They arrested him on that day for "Conspiracy", simply because he knew what was allegedly going on. At the beginning of the Federal investigation he was only 16 years old and was introduced to a highly addictive drug by older, well known criminals. He now sits in a maximum security jail where he has been for over a year on 20 hours lock down per day due to his addiction and poor decision making. His lawyer states to me that due to Federal guidelines he is facing 30 years to life. Please print this petition on behalf of him and other youthful, nonviolent offenders who may also be affected by this. Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2015 H.R. 71. Our family is devastated by these guidelines.My son was lost in an addiction at 16 years old. He was introduced to this POWERFUL additive drug by a group of notorious criminals. He got involved with some really bad people, made some poor decisions, and violated the law.This case should be reviewed due to the age of this child, No Attorney was representing him and both him and his family have suffered beyond any sentence this child could ever receive. I pray God has mercy on the souls sentencing these children under this Federal requirement. We are losing young souls that can be rehabilitated.Matt was under major peer pressure. He would never physically harm an individual. Matt is a good life long friend of mine, it devastates me to think that I won't get to see his future unfold. Everyone makes bad choices in life, so, shouldn't we be willing to allow some slack for more adolescent offenders? After all, a one size fits all policy is not JUST. Matthew can be a great person, he has great people and family that love and care about him, He can get him a job, and get on the right path. He was working at 14 years old with a workers permit. But, how long will a youthful child stay sane enough to come out and make this change? If you put offenders in the environment and shove them away like nobody cares and they pretty much don't have a shot at "life" you're only making matters worse for a young offender. Help them. Care about them! I know Terry Matthew Hall can and will become a responsible citizen if given a chance. Of course he needs to be punished, but not for his entire life! Sincerely, Regina Morris

Time has come to hear from our President

I was wrongfully convicted after 3 trials and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison over a mere story. That's right, no corroborating evidence. I am not alone, there are many of us. Please sign this petition in support of not only my pardon, but in support of the innocence movement to put an end to wrongful convictions once and for all!

I believe it is time to stand up for the falsely accused. I am one of them and it has been a nightmare that destroyed my family and life. I also advocate for others who are false accused and volunteer for the National Center for Reason and Justice who sponsor cases they investigate and believe in. Please help. Call 360-610-9411 if you want to talk to me. Lynn +

The current practice of convicting residents who fail to cut their grass as criminals is nearly criminal in and of itself. Opportunities are reduced for those with criminal records. While I believe code enforcement is necessary because I also want to live in a beautiful Hazel Park, the misdemeanor convictions may also affect home values negatively because of a higher rate of residents with criminal records.

Daniel Blan needs to be able to come home to be the husband and father he wants so desperately to be. He needs to be set free to continue on his journey through life with his loving family.

I relocated to the state of Arizona on October 29, 2013. My child was to accompany me. My dad and stepmom suggested that I leave alone to get a head start and send for my child. I agreed with their suggestion believing they were acting in good faith. I returned to the state of Michigan in June of 2014 to retrieve my child. The guardians were informed of my return and preceded to abduct my child and keep her away from me with a forged "Placement Plan". It was never signed by me; I never agreed to the terms of the Placement Plan.

My son, Mr. Antar Christmas was pointed out by a young boy that had gotten robbed at gunpoint because he had a jacket that fit the description. The first police report stated by the victim and his friend that the two guys that robbed the boy were 2 dark skin males over 6 feet, one with nappy hair the other with dreads. Antar Christmas is 5'10", light skined with good hair. The boy saw Antar Christmas in the library with this jacket and called the police and his mother. Police came and detained Antar Christmas but let him go because the first police report didn't fit Antar Christmas's description. The boy and his mother got upset and went to file another police report that now describes Antar Christmas all because of this jacket. In court, the victim and the friend had two different stories. I feel like the young boy and his mother are just looking for someone to blame. Antar Christmas is a young man that isn't perfect, made stupid mistakes when he was younger and made that clear to two judges but this crime he was no part of. The family can't afford an attorney so had to settle for a public defender. Antar Christmas is focused on working at a great job, helping his mother and little sisters and trying to finish school so he can become a professional business owner.

We want to improve the quality of life for all Norfolk citizens and avoid the social unrest and destruction of property that has occurred in other cities due to incidents involving the actions of police. The conditions for such unrest exist in Norfolk because for years the NPD has operated with a lack of civilian review, independent oversight, accountability, and transparency. This has led to high levels of distrust of the police in certain neighborhoods, and hinders effective crime prevention and apprehension of law breakers. A number of recent deadly force incidents have occurred under questionable circumstances. In these cases, and others where citizens have complained of misconduct, there has been a lack of transparency and accountability by the OPS and other officials regarding the conduct of officers involved. We request the following mechanisms to ensure greater community engagement with NPD: • Create a Civilian Governance Board that represents the citizens and provides input on policies, training, oversight, and ensures bias-free policing • Place a civilian with no connection to NPD as the head of OPS to ensure all complaints are effectively and expeditiously investigated with results publicly reported in all cases • Reform practices and policies regarding search and seizure, use of force, crisis intervention, personnel recruitment, training and ongoing supervision • Install and routinely use body and dash cams in all stops and public interaction with officers • Hire additional police officers and provide race and gender statistics of applicants and new hires. Reference: U.S. Department of Justice consent decree to Cleveland, OH. For more detail on reforms advocated herein see: http://cleconsentdecree.com/ and http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/cleveland-police-reform.

Telephone companies like Global Tel Link and Securus are pocketing millions of dollars from the families of prisoners. Through sky-high phone rates and unreasonable fees, these companies prey on the need from families to stay in touch with their incarcerated loved ones. This needs to end — sign our petition.