AN OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor Gavin Newsom
1303 10th Street, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Romaine Fitzgerald (B-27527)
Dear Governor Newsom:
We are writing in support of Mr. Romaine Fitzgerald’s (B-27527) petition for release. He is now 70 years old and has been incarcerated for over 50 years. He has demonstrated deep remorse for his actions and is no longer the person that he was a half a century ago. In the interest of justice, I entreat you to grant his release.
I am fully aware of the serious nature of Romaine’s offenses, committed in 1969 when he was still an adolescent. As a result of important medical advances, the world knows far more today about the functioning of the adolescent brain than it did fifty years ago. Numerous studies have proven that young people between the ages of ten and twenty-six possess immature brains that make them prone to unreasonable risk-taking. Research also shows that the adolescent brain lacks the ability to engage in substantive forethought. These facts are borne out by the disproportionate number of young people who comprise the bulk of the world’s jail and prison populations.
It is also important to acknowledge the reality of our nation’s history. The 1960s represent one of the most tumultuous eras of our national development. Most observers would agree that the racial progress that resulted from that decade’s upheavals represent welcome additions to our vibrant democracy. It is unfortunate, indeed lamentable, that some young people who sought to contribute to positive social change engaged in activities that we all agree were both unwise and harmful. While Romaine can be counted among these well-meaning but misguided youths, nothing is gained by keeping him locked in a cage as an elderly man.
Scores of other prisoners convicted of the same offense as Romaine during the same period (circa 1969) have since been paroled. There is no logical, justifiable, or legal reason to continue to incarcerate Romaine, an elderly stroke victim who often requires the use of a wheelchair. I implore you to do justice in this case by granting Romaine’s release.
Sincerely,
Michelle Alexander
Danny Glover
Melina Abdullah
Professor, Pan-African Studies
California State University Los Angeles
Makungu Akinyela
Associate Professor of
African American Studies
Georgia State University
Dr. Faten Alawadhi
Consultant, Energy Economics & Policy
Leslie Alexander
Associate Professor of History
University of Oregon
Dr. Roberta Alexander
Former chair of the English Department
San Diego City College
Vicki Alexander, MD, MPH
Board President
Healthy Black Families, Inc.
Curtis Austin
Associate Professor of History
University of Oregon
Dan Berger
Associate Professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies
University of Washington Bothell
Dr. Tenya M. Blackwell
Scot Brown
Professor UCLA
Barbara Calhoun
Compton College Board of Trustees
Clayborne Carson
Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor of History
Sue S. Chan, M.D.
Asian Health Services
Sundiata Cha Jua
Associate Professor of History and
African American Studies
University of Illinois
W. Paul Coates
Publisher, Black Classic Press
Dayna L. Cunningham, Esq.
Dr. Ron Daniels
President-Institute of the
Black World 21st Century
James Early
Institute for Policy Studies Board,
Former Smithsonian Institution Assistant Secretary for Education and Public Service
Soffiyah Elijah Esq.
Johanna Fernandez
Professor, History and Black and
Latino Studies
Baruch College
Dr. John Flateau
Brooklyn, NY
Prof. Roger Green
Former NYC Assemblyman
George Gresham, President
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Marqueece Harris-Dawson
Los Angeles, City Councilmember
Suzanne Hepner, Esq.
Nancy Hing Wong Attorney at law
Gerry Hudson, Secretary Treasurer,
Service Employees International Union
Carmen Huertas-Noble Esq.
Pranav Jani
Associate Professor of English
(Postcolonial & Ethnic Studies)
The Ohio State University
Charles Jones
Professor of Africana Studies
University of Cincinnati
Dr. Alethia Jones
Director-Open Society Fellowship Program
Eric L. Jones Esq.
Robin Kelley
Professor of History
University of California at Los Angeles
Terry A. Kupers M.D., M.P.S. Professor
The Wright Institute
Jenn Laskin Attorney at law
Margaret Littlefield
Attorney at Law
Sheba Lo
Associate Professor of Africana Studies
California State University, Northridge
Ronnie Lott, Founding Director,
The Martin Luther King Jr.
Research and Education Institute
Mel Mason, MSW, LCSW;
Board of Directors-California Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition (REMHDCO)
Rev. Terrence L. Melvin
President-Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Senator Bill Monning
California State Senate, Former Majority Leader
Commissioner Josina Morita
Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District of Greater Chicago
Amrita Chakrabarti Myer
Associate Professor
History and Gender Studies
Indiana University-Bloomington
Sanjay Pinto
Research Fellow, Cornell University & Rutgers University
Vonya Quarles Attorney at Law
Sherie Randolph
Associate Professor of History
Georgia Tech
Gabriela T. Richard, PH.D.
Assistant Professor
Penn State University
Dr. Levi Richard
Citrus College
Russell Rickford
Associate Professor of History
Cornell University
Amilcar Shabazz
Professor of History & Africana Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dan Siegel Attorney at Law
Michael Simanga
Cultural Worker and Lecturer
Morehouse College
David Slutsky Esq
Dr. Tolbert Small, MD
Robyn Spencer
Associate Professor of History
Lehman College, City University of NY
Karin Stanford
Professor of Africana Studies and
Political Science
California State University Northridge
Gretchen Susi PH. D
Quito Swan
Professor of Africana Studies
University of Massachusetts at Boston
Richard Tan Attorney at Law
Melanie Tervalon, MD, MPH
Heather Ann Thompson
University of Michigan
Pulitzer Prize winning author
Professor Walter Turner
Chairperson-Social Service Department, College of Marine
Tim Tyson, Senior Research Scholar Center for Documentary Studies
Duke University
Akinyele Umoja
Professor of African American Studies
Georgia State University
Anne Weills
Attorney at Law
Michael West
Professor of African American Studies
and History
Penn State University
Gwynne A. Wilcox, Esq.
Jakobi Williams
Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor
Indiana University-Bloomington
Komozi Woodard
Professor of History
Sarah Lawrence College
Jason Young
Associate Professor of History
University of Michigan