My name is Belay Dwight Reddick, and I am seeking clemency from President Donald Trump. I am a 50-year-old father and grandfather serving 20 years for charges related bank fraud. I have been in prison since 2005, and my projective release date is in 2022, unless President Trump grants my application for commutation.

I received an unreasonable sentence considering that my crime was relatively minor and non-violent. The top of my guidelines range was 11 years, 5 months imprisonment. The district court sentenced me to two decades behind bars, an eleven fold increase, in which the government objected. Before being sentenced to 20 years, I was at my lowest point in life. I was homeless. I was desperate for cash and decided to make quick money by participating in an illegal check cashing scheme. It was a foolish choice I made.

I have accepted full responsibility for my actions and have made restitution to the victims (companies) in my case and have used this experience to better my life and the lives of others who have taken the wrong turns in life. I volunteer to teach classes in employability skills and personal finance, earned a custodial maintenance certification, and serve in the highest inmate-occupied position in the prison's furniture factory that produces office furniture for the U.S. military. I have also assisted men in obtaining their GED certificates, facilitated highly successful reentry workshops and seminars featuring some of the America's top educators, entrepreneurs, corporate executives and thought leaders. I have written a mentoring book and was awarded two honorary doctorate degrees. My supporters include Norma Joy Barnes, President/CEO, Community Council of Metropolitan Atlanta; Evangelist Sandi Collins, media personality; John W. Hollins, President, 100 Black Men of America (DeKalb County, GA chapter); Rev. Tony Lowden, former Director, Faith and Justice Initiative (Georgia Governor's Office of Transition, Reentry and Support); Attorney Mawuli Davis, co-founder, Davis Bozeman Law Firm; Nathan Knight, President, SCLC (DeKalb County, GA chapter); Dr Alduan Tartt, clinical psychologist, author, and media personality; A. Bates Butler III, former U.S.Attorney, District of Arizona; Dr Bryant Marks, former Senior Advisor, Obama Administration, and Associate Professor of Psychology, Morehouse College;  Wynona Nixon, former Case Manager, Federal Bureau of Prisons; and the Honorable Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, former Chief Judge, Superior Court (Fulton County, GA).

Currently, I am studying to become a quality professional through the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

My desire upon release is to serve as a positive role model for incarcerated men, at-risk youth and the homeless. I am a father of three children, with one grandchild. I have been rehabilitated. It serves no purpose or benefit society to keep me incarcerated for another 3 years. Many people in the community would welcome my immediate return.

Please sign this petition and ask President Trump to grant clemency to a father, grandfather, brother, uncle and nephew who wants to use his experience to help others and give back to his community.