Dear Ms. Johnson and President Trump,

My name is Charles Scott, and I am humbly writing to request your mercy, compassion, and leadership in reviewing my case for presidential pardon.

I am currently serving the 26th year of a 618-month federal sentence, a sentence imposed under the now widely criticized practice of “gun-stacking” under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). At the time, the law allowed prosecutors to stack mandatory consecutive sentences for firearm possession during a drug offense, even for first-time, non-violent offenders like myself. Since then, Congress has reformed these laws, and multiple federal circuits have ruled these practices as excessive and unconstitutional. However, the Seventh Circuit and the Northern District of Indiana continue to uphold this outdated and unjust sentence, even as others around the country move toward fairness and reform.

Today, under current guidelines, the exact same offense would carry a sentence of no more than 138 months. I am serving over five times that amount, over 51 years.

I am not writing to excuse my past, but to show the depth of my transformation and the strength of my readiness to rejoin society. In these 26 years, I have completed over 20,000 hours of rehabilitative programming, obtained six vocational trades and apprenticeships, mentored incarcerated men for more than a decade, and become a published author and spiritual leader in the Christian community. My work is not just personal, it’s been poured back into the people around me.

Most importantly, I am a father and grandfather, and I carry the pain of missing my daughter’s entire childhood. She was only two years old when I was taken away. I now have grandchildren I have never hugged. But despite that separation, I have a strong and unwavering support system of family, community advocates, churches, and national justice reform organizations , all of whom are ready to walk with me as I reenter society and continue serving as a mentor, father, and leader.

This is not simply a request for freedom, it is a call for mercy and justice. I have done the work. I have become the man I was always meant to be. Now, I am asking for the chance to return home and give the rest of my life to healing what was broken.

Please take a closer look at my case. My family and I believe deeply that with your compassion and action, this story can become one of redemption, not just for me, but for so many others still caught in the shadows of draconian sentencing.

With gratitude and hope,
Charles Scott
Federal Inmate #05917-028
Northern District of Indiana