Keystone Today

A woman found innocent of state charges in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but then convicted in the same case at the federal level is deserving of clemency, advocates say.

Roberta Bell, a mother of three and grandmother of two, is a first-time offender serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for what her supporters say was a peripheral role in a case involving homicide.

“She was originally acquitted and then it was picked up by the feds,” Amy Ralston Povah, founder of the CAN-DO clemency foundation, told Keystone Today.

“In Roberta’s case she says other people changed their stories," Povah said. "People entered into plea agreements, and changed their stories, and that doesn’t surprise me in the least, people embellish.” 

Bell, 48, is on CAN-DO’s list of the top 25 women who deserve clemency. Although the group’s focus is helping people serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses, Bell’s case is an exception, Povah said. Technically the situation involved violence but she was put there by a man who was her abusive mother’s boyfriend, a man who had started raping Bell when she was 14, Pohvah said.

“I make very few exceptions when it comes to taking a case that has violence and after I looked into Roberta’s case, I didn’t hesitate,” Pohvah said. “If she could receive clemency, I think the world would be a better place with Roberta in it.”

After her acquittal by the state, Bell went to work as a secretary for attorney Joanne Kehr, who has written a letter in support of Bell’s clemency petition. She noted that one of the federal offenses carried a mandatory life sentence, hardly appropriate for someone who was facing intimidation and forced into the wrong place at the wrong time.

“This woman should not be in prison. She should be out in the world offering her skills, compassion, kindness, leadership, and moral values to her community and her country,” Kehr’s letter states. “I would hire Roberta in a minute. I will happily give her good references, including personal phone calls, to anyone with whom she seeks employment upon her release. If she is interested in becoming a care provider for my husband, [who has Parkinson’s] Philip and I will welcome her into our home.”

Pohvah says Kehr’s letter is one of the best recommendations she has seen in her 20 years of advocacy.

Bell has been imprisoned for nearly three decades.

“Roberta has suffered far longer than she ever should have for a minor role in something that turned out very bad,” Pohvah said. “She was asked to drive a car with not good people and never knew what would happen or that someone would die. A life sentence is a long time for a first offender, so I would really encourage President Trump to have mercy. I appreciate President Trump ‘s willingness to look at cases from those of us who have worked in the clemency space for a long time. In our view, this is a non-violent case because there was no violence by Roberta Bell.”

Another letter was written by Bell’s youngest child, Jazzmin, who was 3 when her mother was sentenced to life in prison. 

“She deserves to be in her family's life and we want her back home,” Jazzmin wrote. “We cannot have back the time we've missed with her but we can begin to make new memories and special times if she can come home and we can be a family again.”

On the CAN-DO page about her case, Bell lists dozens of the volunteer and leadership roles she has held while incarcerated.

“I pray you will hear me and agree that my life is worth saving and allow me to give restorative justice a try,” Bell said. “All I need is one chance, just one window of opportunity to open and I guarantee my best efforts at making a difference in people’s lives and contributing to society in a positive way.”