My mother, Carla J. Simmons, will become eligible for parole this October after serving twenty years in Georgia's Department of Corrections. During this time, she has transformed her life utilizing every resource available to her and satisfying every requirement of her incarceration. She has earned an associates degree in Positive Human Development and Social Change, as well as multiple on-job training certificates and vocational trade skills including: woodworking, business technology, and animal care. She has been a member of the Voices of Hope women's choir since 2011 and she is also a member of Empowerment Avenue and the Justice Arts Coalition. She is now an asset to society and will be able to offer reparations for the mistakes she made so long ago by re-entering society and making significant contributions to her community.

She is also an asset to her family. I have been without my mother since I was three years old and, although we have been able to maintain a close relationship, I need her presence more than ever. I am expecting a child of my own and the eldest member of our family, my great grandmother, is in great need of assistance. My mother is well supported, stable, educated, and prepared to live a successful, productive life. The parole board in Georgia has become very stringent in their decisions regarding release and we hope to exhibit how much support my mother has and that her review this year should be given real consideration.

We are reaching out for support, for citizens to join us in this petition. This is an effort, in the hope that the honorable members of the parole board will make a favorable decision for my mother this October and reunite our family.

If anyone would like to further assist us, they can express their support regarding my mother's parole (Carla J. Simmons #1238655) directly to Georgia's parole board via email or letter:

GaParoleBoard@pap.ga.gov 

2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive SE

Suite 430, Balcony Level, West Tower

Atlanta, Ga. 30334