Bring Pascal home & keep our family together

We ask that you please grant Pascal Charpentier's pardon application to forever protect him from the threat of deportation by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and help him stay in the U. S. with his family and friends.

Pascal was born on a U. S. Air Force base in Germany. His father became a U. S. Citizen during boot camp where he took a citizenship oath prior to his tour of service during the Vietnam War. He served in the Air Force from 1968 to 1972. Also, Pascal’s maternal grandfather was a U. S. Citizen thereby transferring citizenship to his mother. Some of the documents that would build on the foundation of his parents' sworn testimony in immigration court on August 18th, 2020 are being withheld by Dept. of Homeland Security.

The felony that triggered his arrest by ICE is more than 30 years old. Charpentier had been caught joyriding in a car that belonged to a friend, but had been reported stolen. Also at 18 years old, Pascal’s life took an unfortunate turn. He was convicted and imprisoned for 24-and-a-half-years for his association with a group involved in the 1990 New York City subway robbery and murder of Utah tourist Brian Watkins. Charpentier was unaware that any violence was about to occur and was not present when it occurred. He was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for his non-violent unarmed association. The parole board released him early due to his excellent record while incarcerated. The film 23 Reasons Why 23 Years is Enough details the case.

After Charpentier’s 2015 release, he emerged with two Bachelor of Science degrees and a Master’s from the New York Theological Seminary. Since that time he has been building a production company and forming and running From Bars II Beyond, a non-profit for at-risk youth media training with a focus on preventing their own incarceration.

Pascal said, “I have been in this country for my entire life, short a couple of months due to the fact that my father was serving in the United States Air Force. If it hadn’t been for his service to this country, I probably would have been born in Queens, New York. At the core of this case is a very large family of American citizens who are suffering. I can’t even fathom how my family is able to continue bearing us being torn apart as this case proceeds. This unlawful arrest is why I am in an orange jumpsuit at a N. J. County jail, and not in my office doing intake of a client, or meeting with my volunteer team on our next program cycle for at-risk kids, or picking up my fiancée from a hard day’s work at the hospital."

A wide circle of friends, family and associates have come together to ask you, Gov. Cuomo for this pardon. If you can see your way to helping Pascal he will resume his productive life. His sister is planning his wedding. His fiancée and her two children are waiting at his home to welcome him back with open arms. His business partners are impatient for him to be able to get back to work. His youthful mentees, who he's been working with at From Bars II Beyond, are hoping to be able to again seek his advice.

At this point, Pascal can pick up the life he was living before his arrest on July 6th, 2020. The longer he is detained the harder that will be.

He served his time. He grew into a thoughtful, careful, creative, and useful member of society. We need him here. Thank you for your consideration.