Greetings of peace, love and solidarity. This is Uhuru Rowe speaking to you on this 22nd day of January of 2022, from the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia. The purpose of this recording is to share light on some of our elders who have been in prison for 30 and 40 years, and who faced a very real possibility of death behind these prison walls under the right wing fascist state government, whose first priority on day one was to fire the entire Virginia parole board that was giving incarcerated peoples second chances, and then constructed an entirely new parole board made up of former law enforcement individuals, who opposed parole to second chances. The following is an interview with one of those incarcerated elders by the name of Pernell Jefferson, whom I met several years ago during my first stint at Buckingham. He represents numerous elders in the Virginia prison system who are parole eligible under the so called “Old Law,” who have served three or four decades in prison, have severe health self complications, have completed all programming, are deemed low risk for recidivism, and yet have been repeatedly denied parole for arbitrary and capricious reasons.
Uhuru Rowe: Brother Pernell, please state your name and prison number for the listeners.
Pernell Jefferson: Pernell Jefferson, 1016207.
Uhuru Rowe: How old are you and how long have you been in prison?
Pernell Jefferson: I’m currently 15 [sic] years old, and I’ve been in prison for 32 years now.
Uhuru Rowe: Talk briefly about your life prior to prison. Do you have a wife or any children?
Pernell Jefferson: I was single before I was incarcerated, but I have a son who’s in [unclear] law enforcement, who is married, and I have two great granddaughters.
Uhuru Rowe: Before prison, were you, do you consider yourself a family man? Were you a family man?
Pernell Jefferson: Yes, I was a family man. I grew up around six sets of aunts and about 20 or 30 different cousins, and I was always involved with them.
Uhuru Rowe: And you also told me that you were a college graduate. What college did you attend and what degree did you earn?
Pernell Jefferson: I graduated from Guilford College in 1986. I went to Guilford from ’81 to ’86 in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a BS degree in Sports Management.
Uhuru Rowe: And what blew my mind is when you told me that you played in the NFL before you came to prison. What year did you play in the NFL, and what team did you play for?
Pernell Jefferson: I was signed up as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns of the AFC in 1985. I was on the two year contract. The contract didn’t end until ’86 and I was placed on reserve [unclear] squad.
Uhuru Rowe: So, this is a difficult part, which is has always been difficult for me, but talk briefly about the crime, the circumstances of the crime, that led to your incarceration 32 years ago.
Pernell Jefferson: I’ve taken full responsibility for my crime and I’m remorseful for it. It was myself, along with three other accomplices, broke and entered one of my ex-girlfriend’s home and abducted her, and on the way to – back to Richmond, Virginia – her and I got into argument, and struggled over the firearm, and I regained the firearm from her and I shot her. I’ve taken full responsibility. I’ve held myself accountable for my actions over these years.
Uhuru Rowe: What were you charged with? And, how much time did you receive?
Pernell Jefferson: I was charged with murder in the commission of robbery, and breaking and entering. I received two consecutive life sentences.
Uhuru Rowe: And you told me earlier that you and three other people were involved in the incident, another Black person and two white people, but that the two white defendants never came to prison. Why is that? And do you think race ultimately played a role in that decision?
Pernell Jefferson: The two white defendants got leniency, and the other Black defendant, he was only sentenced to 10 years, and he made parole in the early 90s. One can only feel that race, it was race-based, because there was a Black defendant, against – had a white victim, and two white men testified against me.
Uhuru Rowe: Because you have two consecutive second life sentences, you had to serve 25 years before you became eligible for parole. What year did you first become eligible for parole? And what was the result of that?
Pernell Jefferson: I first became eligible for parole in 2015, and three months later I was given a three year deferral, which I can only come back up for parole in 2018. At that point in time I was represented by Washington and Lee Parole Clinic in Lexington, Virginia, and given another three year deferral. I came up for parole again in 2001, and was represented by the Criminal Justice Clinic from Washington and Lee – 2021 excuse me – and represented by the Criminal Justice Clinic at Washington and Lee, and I was just given a turn down, January 14, 2021.
Uhuru Rowe: And you have been denied parole time and time again, despite having been classified as a low risk for recidivism and having completed many, many programs, and having a lot of support. Talk about some of the programs you got completed in prison and some of the people who support your parole.
Pernell Jefferson: The first program that I participated in was Annual Control Management at [unclear phrase]. After that, I taught that particular program for seven years at Augusta Corrections Center. I also was a co-facilitator and founder of Educational Strength, at Augusta, that helped delinquent juvenile kids. I took [unclear] For A Change), PREPS, which prepares you for parole. I took Substance Abuse. I’ve taken Victim Impact. I’ve taken Aggressive Alternative Skills, Breaking Barriers. I’ve taken Comprehensive Offender Rehabilitation and [unclear] Emotions [uclear], Learning Values and Ethics. Also, while at Augusta, I taught a class at Murrayville University, me and four other guys. We taught the class Prison and Punishment up under Dr. Kerry, at that point in time. His students would come into the facilities, and we taught them at that particular time. Now, along the way, I’ve garnered many support people, including journalist Steve Giegerich out of Manhattan, who’s an investigative journalist, the total community of Benson, North Carolina where I’m from, former Vice Mayor of Appomattox, Mr. J.T. Williams, Minister D.L. [unclear] of North Carolina, Minister Terry Young, former FBI agent, which I cannot name at this particular time, who I grew up with, because I’m not at liberty to speak it, give out his name. I’ve had, even support from the United States law enforcement. I’ve gotten support from the administration that was in Augusta, and also at Buckingham, where I’m currently at; the treatment Program Coordinators, Assistant Warden, officers also.
Uhuru Rowe: Also, the elections that we just had this past November second that resulted in the election of a Republican governor, Republican Lieutenant Governor and a Republican Attorney General, and also Republicans taking control of the Virginia House and delegates. The first agenda for the administration was to fire the prior parole board and replace them with a parole board that’s predominantly former law enforcement individuals. Talk about how difficult it is for individuals like yourself to make parole among this new parole board.
Pernell Jefferson: Well, when I first saw the parole board and saw the election leading up to the parole board, the theme was not, “parole violent offenders.” Well, when I was first sentenced, I was sentenced with the parole eligibility, and I’ve done everything that Department of Corrections has asked me and, of my charge, to reform and rehabilitate myself, in order to garner the privilege of being granted parole. But now, with the new board that are in place, I don’t really see a way out up front of them for the next four years.
Uhuru Rowe: So, really it’s going to take the power of the people to pressure the existing administration to let brothers like yourself go back to your family and community. So, what do you think that the people can do for you when you go up for your next parole hearing, which is scheduled for this upcoming July and August? Basically, what is it that people can do to show that support for you in your parole?
Pernell Jefferson: I would like for you to contact the parole board at 804-674-3081. Call in and support me. I would like to also ask you to call the Governor’s office at 804-786-2211, and send support letters to my Representative, Mr. Tommy Bishop, and his email address is, small caps, tommy@henricolawyer.com.
Uhuru Rowe: Just to reiterate what brother Pernell said, he’s saying that he needs people to call the Virginia Parole Board at 804-674-3081, also call in to the Governor’s office at 804-674-3234 and just express your general support for his upcoming parole hearing and encourage them to release him on parole. He also needs you all to write support letters on his behalf and send copies of those support letters to his attorney at tommy@henricolaw.com [henricolawyer.com], and you can put it in the subject line – ‘Support letter for Pernell.’ This is the end of the interview, I hope that you all will be moved and inspired by his story, to reach out on his behalf and pressure those in power who have the power to set him free, to give him a second chance to go back to this community. Thank you for listening and we thank you in advance for your support.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
