Monthly Review author David Gilbert, a valued member of the Monthly Review community, imprisoned in New York State for forty years for having been the unarmed getaway driver in a robbery with tragic consequences, had his sentence commuted, referring him to the New York State Board of Parole “for potential release.” We have just been informed that David will be before the Parole Board on October 19th or 20th.
New York State Police Unions are engaged in a campaign against David. We have a narrow window in which we can let the Parole Board know that our community supports his release.
If, by Saturday, October 9th, you are able to write the Parole Board with copy to David’s legal team, it can materially aid his chance for release.
Your support for David in the requests for clemency sent to the Governor’s office was a major factor in the commutation of his sentence.
A letter expressing support for David’s release on parole from your own knowledge of the importance of redemption and rehabilitation, and of the negative results of vengeance and punishment without end, can make a difference.
Here is what you need to know…The basic facts about David:
David Gilbert is 76 years old and has served 40 years in New York State maximum security prisons. During a 1981 armored-car robbery, a guard for the Brink’s security company and two Nyack, NY, police officers were killed.
David acted as a getaway driver. He did not injure anyone, nor was he armed. Under New York State’s felony murder law, any participant in a robbery bears full legal responsibility for any deaths that ensue. David has expressed profound remorse for the terrible damage caused by his crime, and his conduct over the last 40 years is the living expression of that remorse.
David Gilbert has been a force against violence in every institution where he has been incarcerated. He has mentored countless young men in finding ways other than violence to resolve disputes and to guide their lives. David’s pioneering work on HIV/AIDs education in prison saved many lives and became a national model. David’s freedom is urged by four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, along with many others of all walks of life. (See also: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/david-gilbert-parole-new-york)
Our great appreciation and thanks, for your support for David Gilbert’s freedom!
-The editors of Monthly Review and the Directors of the Monthly Review Foundation
Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground, and Beyond
