In 1998, my husband, Architect David Madeira, and I bought a one acre neglected corner lot with a dilapidated bungalow. ​Until the 1700s, the site was  inhabited by Lenape Indians. In the early 1920’s, it was a recreational retreat for African-American communities. When we arrived, there were a few plants but the dominant energy emanated  from three massive oak trees.

 

This land  possesses a unique wisdom and a restorative spirit. 

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Over twenty five years later, I garden here year after year, refining and adding to a vision of color and contrast. My understanding of the original meaning of pardoning, as the highest form of justice,  has been clarified by living on this property.  ​

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My history with the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons began in 1988 when I taught painting in State Correctional Institutions.  I had access to a hidden culture.  I painted and recorded life-sentenced prisoners directly, witnessing one of our most unaccounted for crises in this state.

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Pennsylvania is one of a few states where all life-sentences are issued without parole. In all but a handful of states, a life-sentence is accompanied by a minimum sentence. Instead of typically serving the minimum sentence as a means of release, freedom depends upon the mercy of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and ultimately the Governor. Legions of rehabilitated prisoners who otherwise would have served their minimum sentences are instead warehoused for decades, kneecapping not only them, but their families, communities, and, therefore, all of us.

In the early 1990’s I worked with the only person employed by the state correctional system to represent prisoners seeking pardon, primarily for life-sentences.  As the Director of the Arts and Humanities Program at the Pennsylvania Prison Society,  I initiated programs designed to bring visibility to lifers.  I visited Harrisburg over the period of one year, monthly, to observe their activity.  I witnessed the devastation experienced by unforgiven and long rehabilitated prisoners.  Many of them were incarcerated as children, inhumanely trapped for decades. 

We are challenged to develop unity consciousness- to address climate change and to provide equal opportunities for all people.  Individual sovereignty and our institutions' abilities to realize their most noble potentials depend on understanding pardoning as the highest justice.

 

The Pardon Garden's close proximity by train makes it inviting to those motivated to develop this crucial awareness.

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