Minnesota Board of Pardons Commutes Sentence of Child Advocacy Clinic Client 

On June 29, 2023, the Minnesota Board of Pardons voted unanimously to commute the prison sentence of Maureen Onyelobi, a client of the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic. Previously sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for release, Ms. Onyelobi will now be eligible for release in 18 years.  Students Dylan Saul '23 and Dahlia Wilson '24 worked closely with Ms. Onyelobi throughout the year and played instrumental roles preparing for the hearing. In reaching its decision, the Board cited to Ms. Onyelobi's extraordinary record of rehabilitation, including her 2022 admission to Mitchell-Hamline Law School as one of the first two incarcerated law students in the country.  After the hearing, Professor Perry Moriearty thanked the Board for its "work" and "unanimous support" for commutation, but expressed concern that Ms. Onyelobi continues to have "a longer sentence than the person who fired the gun in this case." "We will continue to work toward a proportional and just sentence," she stated.  Professor Moriearty also thanked the victim’s family members for sharing their perspective and noted that, due to legal restrictions, the hearing was the first opportunity that Ms. Onyelobi had to apologize for her crime.