My name is Cheryl Joe and my firstborn son Darrell “Dortell” Williams has been incarcerated for over thirty-six years.  Over the years, I have seen an amazing transformation into the man he has become today

I am appealing to Gov. Gavin Newsom to commute his sentence.  Dortell is a changed man who I know would not get out and commit more crimes. He has felt and expressed remorse for his wife’s death and for robbing his daughter of her mother.  Additionally, he’s expressed remorse for selling drugs and thereby hurting his community.  He wrote letters of apology to his wife’s family in 2013, including one to his daughter.

He gained insight through self-help classes that he now teaches to help other inmates. He has developed good coping skills to handle life’s challenges. If his sentence is commuted, he would be welcome to live with me. I could provide transportation, stability, and help him financially.

Dortell is very self-driven and knowledgeable. During the early years of his incarceration, he taught himself Spanish, which enables him to communicate with a large Spanish speaking populaton.  He helps youth, supports the work of many organizations and has really made himself into something special. He is well respected by his peers and is an excellent communicator.

I am so proud of him and know that he will be an asset to our family and community if given a chance to come home. In May 2021, my sister Willy Bea, Dortell’s aunt, passed away. His father is also now deceased. As I am getting on in age, it is my deepest wish that I be reunited with my son before I too am no longer here.

Please sign this petition and visit www.FreeDortellWilliams.com to learn how you can write directly to Gov. Newsom. 

Thank you very much, 

Cheryl Joe

ABOUT DORTELL WILLIAMS :

Dortell Williams has spent the majority of his 36 years in prison educating himself and others. A few years after he was sentenced, in 1995, he earned a paralegal certificate. He went against the prison culture and saved a sergeant from potential harm during a fall.

He has since exercised selflessness and altruism during his time inside. He advocates for others inside and out: youth in prison, the elderly, abused women in society, the homeless, and veterans.

In 2007, at Lancaster State Prison, Dortell spearheaded an academic group called Men for Honor. For the next ten years he developed cognitive behavioral intervention curricula on topics such as domestic violence, victimology, victim sensitivity, victim orientation, victim-offender dialogue, parenting, creative writing and more. At its height MFH had a five-member executive body, 25 regular members, 9 peer instructors, and approximately 150 participants a month.

Dortell has also earned multiple degrees in prison: 4 Associate of Arts degrees, including an AA in social and behavioral science, a Bachelor of Arts in communications, and a doctorate in Ministries. He is currently earning a Master of Arts in Humanities, a program he initiated through Cal State University, Dominguez Hills.

Dortell uses his knowledge to contribute to the lives of others. Since Lancaster, he has been transferred to two other prisons. And with each prison he starts personal development groups. At Chuckawalla State Prison, he developed Iron Sharpens Iron, a personal introspective look into character defects of biblical figures, ethnic studies, citing the history and commonalities of people of color, and a personal development curriculum.

At Mule Creek State Prison he created a civic engagement curriculum, a debate curriculum, and numerous trauma-informed curricula. He also contributes to many outside organizations as a consultant, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, UnCommon Law, Taming Trauma, Families United to End LWOP, Fair Chance Project and Famli.inc .

He has initiated dozens of fundraisers for charities including for the Red Cross, Children’s Hospital, a school, and for immigrants. Dortell has defied the culture of prison violence and has even been credited with lowering prison violence and contraband through his programs. He has helped many of his peers gain their freedom, all of whom are thriving in society.

DURING HIS TERM, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has commuted dozens of sentences of people in circumstances very similar to Dortell’s. Visit www.FreeDortellWilliams.com to learn how you can write directly to Gov. Newsom.