On December 12, 2008, 15-year-old Nick Robinson’s life changed forever. That night, Nick was arrested for a local robbery. He thought because he was just a kid, the court would go easy on him. Instead, Nick was sentenced to 68 years with a mandatory minimum of 33 years to be served in the adult penal system for his involvement.
I used to work as a correctional officer in Nick’s unit and his case stuck with me. Here we had this charismatic and determined 15-year-old kid who had made a huge mistake, but instead of teaching him how to be a productive member of society by treating his criminality with intensive programming and therapy offered to juvenile offenders, he was thrown away into a predatory adult penal system. Nick will be almost 50 years-old when he is finally released. The sentence was overkill and Nick deserves a second chance!
Since his incarceration Nick has transformed his life and has accomplished many great things. In addition to obtaining his GED and working towards a degree in Business Administration, Nick co-founded Universal Community Developers (UCD) and serves as Executive Director. This community-based nonprofit which aims to curb juvenile delinquency by getting kids active in their community.
Please join me in asking Governor Terry McAuliffe to give Coker Nicholas Robinson a second chance and grant him clemency. I feel that society is better served by having him a part of the community. If you feel that this young man deserves a second chance, then please sign our petition.
