Letters of Support

COLLEGE OF JUSTICE & SAFETY
A Program of Distinction
School of Justice Studies
http://justicestudies.eku.edu

467 Stratton Building
521 Lancaster Avenue
Richmond, Kentucky 40475-3102
(859) 622-1978
FAX: (859) 622-1549

August 20, 2020

Governor Andrew Cuomo
New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Executive Clemency Bureau
The Harriman State Campus – Building 2
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12226-2050


Dear Governor Cuomo,

My name is Dr. Judah Schept, and I am writing to support Mr. Gregory Mingo’s request for clemency. I have written on Mr. Mingo’s behalf before, first in 2001 and again in 2008. In those letters, I wrote with conviction and asked a judge to reduce Mr. Mingo’s sentence. Today, almost twenty years since my first letter, Mr. Mingo remains in prison, where he has been since 1983. He had just turned 30 when he was incarcerated; I was four years old. He is now 67; I am 41. Mr. Mingo has spent the last 37 years in prison, an amount of time that far exceeds any reasonable definitions of justice, fairness and even retribution. It is past time for Mr. Mingo to come home.

I am writing not just as a friend of Mr. Mingo’s, but also in my capacity as an expert in criminal justice. I am a tenured Associate Professor of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University. I have a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Indiana University. I published a book with New York University Press in 2015 and have a second book forthcoming in 2021, in addition to having authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles. I teach undergraduate and graduate students about punishment, law, social change, and mass incarceration. In a very real sense, I owe my life’s trajectory, and the successes within it, to Mr. Mingo and the conditions of our meeting. We first met in 1999. I was a junior at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, and Mr. Mingo was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility. As part of a college credit program that sent Vassar students into Green Haven, I had the opportunity to learn with and from Mr. Mingo in his capacity as one of the inmate peer counselors in what was then known as the Pre-release Center. During my four semesters in the program, I witnessed Mr. Mingo’s insights into issues of domestic violence, masculinity, and victimization during our group discussions; his mentorship of the other peer counselors; his dedication to helping other inmates prepare for transitioning home; and his gentle encouragement of, and nurturing attitude toward, college students. All of this challenged my own stereotypes and assumptions about people in prison. The experience shifted my entire academic focus, informed my work choices and my eventual decision to attend graduate school, and influenced the focus of my research and teaching. The time we spent together at Green Haven Correctional Facility was so memorable, and remains so deeply influential, that I begin every semester telling my students about our interactions.

Mr. Mingo is a thoughtful, kind, and intelligent man whose work while incarcerated has extended his positive influence far beyond the confines of the prison walls. His presence has been felt and invoked all around the country by those of us who had the honor and privilege to study and work with him. Governor Cuomo, I urge you to grant Mr. Gregory Mingo's application for clemency. He is a warm, good-hearted man who I have no doubt will return to his family and community ready to give back. Granting Mr. Mingo clemency is more than an act of compassion. It is an action which, I have no doubt, is what justice and fairness command.

Sincerely,

Judah Schept, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Justice Studies
Eastern Kentucky University
judah.schept@eku.edu

Ana Vuk-Pavlovic
Brooklyn, New York 11215


September 12, 2020
Governor Andrew Cuomo
New York State DOCCS Executive Clemency Bureau
The Harriman State Campus — Building 2
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12226-2050

Dear Governor Cuomo:

It is with great honor that I write in support of Gregory Mingo's application for clemency. Gregory Mingo is the reason that I went to law school and became a public defender. He is one of my favorite people and a true friend.

I first met Mingo — "Mingo" is what people who know him from inside of prison affectionately call him — in 1999, when I was a junior at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. As part of my college curriculum, I signed up for a fieldwork program at Green Haven Correctional Facility. Along with a group of other students, I went into the prison every week to talk with prisoners in discussion groups that were part of the prison's Transitional Services program. Each Friday, our group sat in chairs arranged in a circle and talked for almost three hours about college, prison, social problems — about life.

Mingo was the facilitator of the "Communications" discussion group in which I participated. We focused on various topics related to human interaction, including barriers to effective communication. As the facilitator of the group, Mingo created a respectful and comfortable environment that encouraged all participants to talk openly about our own barriers to communication, such as our insecurities, our prejudices, and our social and cultural circumstances. Mingo listened to other people, and he respected and appreciated people's differences. With his empathetic approach and calm demeanor, he was able to gently challenge participants' long-held beliefs. He was also able to think about topics from different perspectives and to reflect on his own experiences. Friday after Friday, I was impressed by Mingo's ability to relate to such a variety of people, and to bring us all into one deep, genuine, honest conversation.

Every time I visited the prison, I engaged in some of the most meaningful discussions of my college experience. Because of all that I was learning from Mingo and the other people there, I signed up to go to Green Haven a total of three semesters, the maximum allowed by my college.

One day, wondering why such an empathetic, altruistic person was in prison, I asked Mingo why he was there, and how much longer he had to serve. I was deeply saddened to learn that he would not be eligible for parole until he was nearly eighty years old. Wanting to see if there was anything I could do to help him with his case, I asked him whether we could exchange letters after I finished with the program. Ever since, and for the past nineteen years, Mingo and I have kept in contact through letters, telephone conversations, and visits. Now, Mingo is one of my best friends; I consider him family.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have gotten to know Mingo’s sister, Evonne, her husband, Bernard, and their daughter, Ava. Evonne and Mingo have remained close throughout his incarceration, and they talk frequently. Mingo also has a special bond with his niece, whom he has provided with guidance and emotional support throughout her life. Ava received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and has gone on to become a Physician Assistant who cares for patients in and around New York City. Over the years, I have seen how Ava’s many successes as a person have made Mingo immensely proud.

To me, one of the greatest things about Mingo is that he cannot pass up an opportunity to help somebody. For the last few years that he was incarcerated at Green Haven, Mingo worked in the law library. When I would be sitting with him in the visiting room, other incarcerated people would regularly approach him to ask for help with their legal work. Although Mingo always had a lot on his plate – with his employment, his own legal work, and his involvement in inmate organizations – Mingo never shied away from helping anyone who asked. Every time somebody approached him to ask for help, Mingo always said yes, and made plans to find them after the visit, to figure out a plan.

This is just who Mingo is. Even now, as he prepares to submit his clemency application, Mingo spends much of our call time asking me how I am, taking an interest in my personal life and offering an empathetic ear, wisdom, and some laughter, to help me through. This week, he was also concerned with obtaining resources to help a younger person who is struggling.

I went to law school so that I could help Mingo get out of prison. As a lawyer, I have recognized the lack of opportunities to help Mingo at this late stage in the legal process. Still, I sought to educate myself in criminal and post-conviction law so that I could serve as a resource to him if I were ever in a position to assist him. To that end, I worked as a Senior Staff Attorney at the Office of the Appellate Defender, where I represented people convicted of felonies in Manhattan and the Bronx, and as a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of New York’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit. I currently represent people alleged to be in need of involuntary psychiatric treatment, including people incarcerated in New York State prisons.

I met Mingo twenty-one years ago, and he remains one of the wisest and most compassionate people I have ever met. I believe he has a lot to offer the world. For himself, for his family, for me, and for the community at large, I hope that Mingo will be given a chance to live life on the outside.

If he is released, there is nothing I would rather do than stand with him and help him make the transition from prison to the outside world. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ana Vuk-Pavlovic