Parson reflects on clemency achievements in State of the State address
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
During Wednesday's State of the State address, Gov. Mike Parson touched on clearing the clemency backlog in Missouri.
When Parson first took office in 2018, there was a backlog of nearly 4,000 people waiting for clemency. Some of the applications Parson inherited, dated back to 2009. Today, that total is down to 200.
"As a former sheriff, this reform did not mean we were letting people out of prison or forgiving violent criminals. we pardoned people who deserved it," Parson said during his address.
During his final State of the State address, Parson recognized Kenny Baston, who spent the first half of his life in and out of prison and in substance abuse treatment programs. He is now a father of three, has a bachelor's and master's degree, and is a Christian pastor.
"Kenny and others like him might have made mistakes when they were young but he earned a second chance," Parson said.
Baston is one of more than 600 people who have received a pardon from the governor parson. Hundreds more have received reduced sentences. Diemtrious Woods was the first person to receive clemency from Parson back in 2020. Woods spent 11 years in prison for a nonviolent drug charge
"I believe there was no way I was going to get a clemency. That was kind of at the end of my list. that didn’t stop me from representing myself or trying but I never even believed for it to be a true fact or anything that would come to be a reality that would help me and so many people since then. "
Woods is now an entrepreneur who runs businesses in Columbia, including Woods Auto Spa. He had been out of prison for two years when he received his clemency. He said it gave him a newfound confidence.
"I’ve been out for over five-and-a-half years and I pay a lot of taxes nowadays. I never even imagined how tremendously good that could be to be a full citizen again. That’s redemption 101," Woods said.
