A Prisoner Is Freed and Princetonians Celebrate -- And This Is In Addition to Evan Gershkovich

Princeton, NJ -- Thousands of Princetonians were whooping and high-fiving each other on the morning of Thursday, August 1, when their cell phone news feeds flashed an announcement.  Wall Street Journal reporter and Princeton High School alumnus Evan Gershkovich had been released from a Russian prison after an 18-month incarceration.

Two Princeton residents, Shelly and Charlie Yedlin, were also whooping and high-fiving one another on August 1 in celebration of a very different prisoner release – someone they now consider their good friend who had been incarcerated for 25 years. The longtime Princeton residents and well-known social justice activists were driving to a New York state prison to be present for the freedom walk, when they heard the Evan news. They were happy, of course, and noted that it was an “unbelievable” day for freedom. But their goosebumps and stomach butterflies were due to their anticipation of seeing their friend walk out of the prison into the arms of loved ones.

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Even though Evan’s name is known throughout the world and particularly in Princeton, only a handful of people know the name of the man being greeted by Shelly and Charlie as he walked out of the correctional facility 10 days ago.

“And that is the way we would like it to be,” says Christina Francois, assistant legal director for Centurion Ministries, the organization that orchestrated the release.  Centurion Ministries is the Princeton-based national non-profit (501(c)3 organization dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted.

“We are bound by client confidentiality, because even though we were successful in the parole process, Centurion is still fighting for this individual’s full exoneration,” says Christina.

Christina asked that I refrain from revealing a name, photo, residence, or any identifying details about the individual. I will call him J – standing for ‘Joyful,’ the word most used by Shelly and the Centurion staff to describe him.

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Several weeks ago, the Loose Ends column in TAPinto Princeton was devoted to describing Centurion’s remarkable accomplishments and the unwavering dedication by its employees to the mission, in spite of the intense stresses and frustrations involved in fulfilling that mission.

What compels me to write a postscript to that column is witnessing a prisoner release through the eyes of my friend Shelly, a retired school teacher, supported in her efforts by her husband Charlie, president of the Yedlin Company , a property management and construction management consulting firm. She embarked upon a pen-pal journey with a total stranger who spent 25 years in prison for a murder he never committed.

First a happy correction. I had reported that Centurion since its founding 51 years ago was responsible for 70 prisoner releases of men and women serving life or death sentences for crimes they did not commit.  Thanks to J, that number is 71.

According to Christina, who began her legal career as a public defender in New York City with extensive experience in parole cases, the process of obtaining a prisoner release is complex, long, and expensive. On average, it takes eight years from the time Centurion gets a letter asking for help and walking out of prison.

A team of professionals and volunteers determine the case viability, and once Centurion thinks it has a decent chance of winning a release, then Centurion’s masterful investigators leap into superhero-like action.

“Pamela Feig (Centurion’s post release program coordinator) started the letter writing initiative – predominately between prison exoneree to prisoner. The ground rules were simple - no communication about any of the case specifics. We were to focus on emotional support and encouragement,” says Christina.

Shelly, inspired by her husband’s longtime volunteer work for Centurion, in the fall of 2023 asked if she could participate in the letter-writing -- aka pen-pal -- initiative.

“I approached Pamela Feig about letter writing after hearing at an event from several exonerees about how important it was for them to receive letters from people connected to Centurion during the decades of their wrongful convictions in prison. My intention was to correspond with an inmate with the hope of establishing a one-on-one relationship,” says Shelly.

“J and I wrote about many subjects. Talking about his case was verboten and he wasn't interested in that subject anyway. He always wanted to be positive and talk about future possibilities.

“He wrote a lot about his love for his family members. He has a large family and he is very close to them.

“J, like me, is a news junkie so we talked a lot about politics and other topics like climate change, gun violence. He wrote about his daily routines in prison, which included various jobs he had there (several of them custodial.) His last job was doing intake which involved registering incoming inmates, handing out their clothes, etc.  He spent time every single day in the yard and/or in the gym working out. Exercise and eating properly are very important to him.

“J told me about how he always kept away from the ‘drama and trouble’ that would sometimes occur in prison. I was able to share with J some details about my life as well, and he began sending best regards to my mother, Charlie, and our sons at the end of every letter,” says Shelly.

The connection became particularly meaningful, when Shelly decided she wanted to meet him.

She called the correctional facility to find out the visiting schedule.  One can visit only on weekends and holidays and only between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The Saturdays and Sundays alternate alphabetically. Three people are allowed to visit at once, plus a small child who sits on a lap. No cellphones, keys, or purses allowed, and one can bring in cash, but it has to be in a clear, plastic bag.

Armed with all the necessary logistical information, Shelly decided to make a visit the same weekend that she and Charlie were attending a wedding at a venue only an hour away from the correctional facility. Her visit – not Charlie’s – was thwarted by her hip, actually the metal in her hip from recent surgery.

“I could not pass the metal detector test. I had forgotten about the hip surgery and initially no one could figure out why I kept setting off the machine. The prison staff suggested that maybe there was metal in my jeans – and even suggested I go to the nearby Dollar Store and buy a pair of sweat pants. But I had clothes in the car from the wedding -and changed my outfit. Nothing worked, when I finally realized the problem was the hip.  But they could not let me in without the special medical card identifying the metal in my hip. I never thought to bring the card with me. I volunteered to show them my scar, but that did not work. So, Charlie was able visit, and I had to stay outside feeling awful and in tears,” says Shelly.

J warmly and enthusiastically greeted Charlie, who apologized for the fact that his pen pal was unable to visit.

“J’s response to Charlie was simply: ‘But YOU are here and that is wonderful.’ That says it all about J, whose joyful and upbeat personality is irrepressible,” says Shelly.

She points out that since the initial encounter between Charlie and J, whenever she and Charlie feel inclined to negative reactions to life’s numerous challenges, “we look to J for inspiration. We look at each other and say ‘What would J say?' ”

Taking her cue from J, Shelly vowed to return as soon as possible. She retrieved her medical identification card, and headed back to the prison for a visit on Mother’s Day weekend.

“Outside the entrance to the prison, we signed our names, the date and the person we were visiting. We walked into the lobby. We handed in our IDs and they took our pictures. Then, as in an airport, we took off our shoes, and placed keys, wallets, belts, etc. in the bin. Then we walked through a metal detector. We put our pocket possessions in a locker. A staff member stamped our hands and then a guard led us through a hallway where he unlocked a door for us to pass. Then we were led outside and walked up a set of stairs where another door had to be unlocked for us to go through.

“We arrived in a very large room of tables and chairs where inmates were visiting with friends and family. Adjacent to that room was a playroom with more tables and chairs for families with young children to visit. We were instructed to sit at a numbered table and told to wait for our inmate to enter. We waited about 10 minutes or so for him to arrive. The visiting room had vending machines filled with crappy food and there were two guards sitting at a big table at the front of the room. There were a few other guards walking around making sure everything was fine, which it was.

“The staff in the lobby, the guard who led us to the visiting room and the guards in the visiting room were very respectful and kind to us and made us feel welcome.

“It was a very uplifting experience all around,” Shelly recounts.

Shelly’s letters to J will continue, and she and Charlie hope to visit him and his family in the near future. Also continuing will be Centurion’s outstanding post-release support that includes help in many arenas, including facilitating the acquisition of health insurance, a job, a driver’s license, as well as the purchase of everyday consumer items such as a cell phone, clothing, and a new bed. And members of the Post Care team will call and visit the former prisoner on a regular basis.

“I want to emphasize that my role in J’s freedom is so minor and trivial compared to what the Centurion staff has done. But what is not minor is what the experience has done for me. J would say we changed his life – in fact, he along with Centurion changed my life – giving me so much hope, rather than despair, for the future,” says Shelly.

Here’s hoping for many more high-five prisoner-release occasions. Actually, here’s hoping for no more innocent people being incarcerated and eliminating the need for high-five prisoner release occasions.

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