Marshall, Powell Pen Bill to Restore Prisoners’ Hope

Representatives David Marshall Sr. (R-7) and Khyl Powell (R-14) met with fellow lawmakers, corrections officials, and justice reform advocates on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, for an emotional policy briefing focused on giving life-sentenced prisoners a glimmer of hope. Marshall, a former Marine, police officer, and pastor, and Powell, once a prison counselor, announced their solution to a confusing state statute denying lifers a chance at clemency.

The bill, HB 2676, amends existing state law to ensure that those sentenced to life imprisonment are eligible for a hearing before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. The aim is to alleviate the law’s confusion by creating one cohesive certification statute.

The bill is scheduled for a hearing before the Judiciary Committee in late February 2025 and will likely garner bipartisan support. The bipartisan roundtable discussion included Rep. Walt Blackman (R-7), Sen. Mitzi Epstein (D-LD12), and Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-LD20), to name a few. The Arizona Justice Project, whose mission is “to seek justice for the innocent” and “wrongfully imprisoned,” applauded the bill.

Lindsay Herf, the project’s Executive Director, said in an exclusive statement to the Arizona Globe that the legislation “addresses an ongoing sentencing disparity among individuals sentenced to life with the chance for release by providing a streamlined process for parole consideration.’

“They should be afforded that right to be heard,” Rep. Marshall said during the presentation.

Powell cited the psychological impact of the current law’s confusion, saying, “you don’t want to take people’s hope away, and right now that’s what our justice system has done.”

Despite the impassioned commentary from lawmakers, the impact statement made by an inmate named Shannon, who had received a 25-to-life sentence, commanded the most attention in the room.

Shannon explained how, as a model prisoner, she was excited for the opportunity to face the parole board. However, her eligibility date disappeared due to confusion stemming from Arizona’s “truth in sentencing” laws. Her “sentence expiration date became 99/99/99” in the Department of Corrections system, which effectively meant that Shannon would die in prison without a chance at parole. That was a crushing blow to any hope of freedom for Shannon and her family.

Only through the relentless work of the Arizona Justice Project was Shannon finally certified for a parole hearing, ultimately receiving a grant of clemency from the board. She now lives a stable life outside of confinement, working for the Family Assistance Administration within the Department of Economic Security. She wants this bill to pass so that people in her position can have their hope restored, too.