My name is Angela Burnham, and this petition is about the upcoming parole hearing for Donald Rolf, a good friend of mine who has been incarcerated in the NYS corrections system since before I was even born, and is currently serving year 33 of a 20 to life sentence.

Before going further into Don, I’d like to tell you about myself so that you can understand that what I say does not come from a place of ignorance or wishful thinking. I am a private investigator for a large company in charge of investigating felony level offenses in NYS. In the course of my 15 year long career, I have helped send many criminals to prison for offenses ranging from armed robbery to assault and grand larceny.

I have encountered people who were willing to do anything to get away, and also write to you as a survivor of armed violence. In the course of performing my duties I have been stabbed, beaten with a club, punched, kicked, bitten, and run over. I have testified before grand juries, written depositions for probation boards, and continue to work closely with the courts and police in Western New York. I believe in accountability, and I believe in fair justice. 

It is with this background in mind that I am writing you today to ask that you help me secure the release of Donald Rolf, and in order to help you understand why, I’m going to tell you about him.

Don was engaged to my mother before she died in 2019, and I have personally known him for the last 4 years. Don and my mother met when they were just kids, they went to high school together in the 1970s, and they were in love. Life pulled them apart for many years until Don decided to reach out back in 2018. My mother wasn’t doing well. She was sick, had lost her job, and was close to losing her house as well. 

Don changed everything for her. He paid off her entire mortgage, her medical bills, everything! She had given up, but Don motivated her to keep going. Because of him she had a reason to get up in the morning again, something not even I had been successful at. He encouraged her to file for benefits, to live healthier, and to love those around her. For the first time since my step-father died in 2008, I saw a real smile on her face, and hope in her eyes.

Unfortunately, my mother passed away in December of 2019, only 2 months after Don had been denied parole. When she heard that Don wouldn’t be getting released, her health declined very quickly, and she passed not long after. I wish he had been released. If he had, my mother might still be alive.

I talk to Don frequently both over the phone and in writing. I have spent enough time talking to him to judge his character, something I’d like to say I’ve become quite good at over the years, and I can tell you that Don is a good man, and a changed man. He is a model prisoner at Cayuga Correctional Facility, acts as a mentor to younger inmates, and has been completely sober since 1990.

I believe he would be a force for good in this world if he were released. He can give the same motivation and inspiration he gave to my mother to others. Don can still do more good in this world than he has harm, if only he were given the chance to do so.

Don is now 64 years old, and has spent most of his life in prison. A year ago he was badly injured, and now has trouble walking, and with the risk of COVID-19 on top of those things I have become very concerned for his health and well-being. At his age, and with the length of time he has already served (34 years on a 20 to life sentence by the time of his next parole board appearance), releasing him is not only the most humane thing to do, it’s the best way to serve the public’s interest given his will to do good.

Don is now an old man, and despite being eligible for parole since 2008, he has spent most of his life incarcerated. He has seen nearly every person he cares about die during that time; his father, his brother, his fiancée, and many friends.

Please don’t sentence him to die in prison as well, give him a chance to prove to the world that he is a changed man, and he will not disappoint you.