Please join the Women in Prison Defense Committee on Tuesday, October 1, from 7-9 pm at the Big Idea Bookstore, to write letters in support of Avis Lee, who has applied for commutation. We will provide letter writing materials and additional information about Avis’s case and other campaigns we are working on. Avis is an excellent candidate for commutation, and she needs public support!
Avis’s story:
When Avis was 18, she was involved in a robbery in which Robert Walker was killed. She and her brother and friend never intended to kill anyone. Avis is remorseful and takes responsibility for her involvement in the crime.
Avis was across the street during the robbery, acting as a lookout. She didn’t pull the trigger. She was sentenced to life without parole under the Felony Murder Rule which makes any participants in a felony criminally liable for deaths that occur during that crime. Avis attempted to help the victim by telling a bus driver there was an injured man in the parking lot.
Avis is 52 years old. She has been in prison for 32 years.
As an aging women, Avis is a low risk for re-offending. It will cost taxpayers about $40,000 a year to continue her incarceration.
Avis has a business degree and career skills.
Avis has a home plan and a life plan.
Avis has community support.
Cambridge Springs prison, where she is housed, supports her release!