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.

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Over twenty five years later, I continue to garden here year after year, refining and adding to a vision of color and contrast. In solitude, on this restorative property, I have the opportunity to think deeply while I garden and paint.  I wonder how the Ancients, who knew pardoning as "the highest form of justice",  communicated this truth to the people of their time. 

I began following the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons in 1988, when I taught painting in State Correctional Institutions.  I painted and recorded life-sentenced prisoners directly, witnessing the humanitarian crisis of a politicized and indifferent Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. 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 the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons' activities.  I saw the devastation experienced by unforgiven and long rehabilitated prisoners.  Many of them were incarcerated as children. 

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Pennsylvania is one of a few states where all life-sentences are issued without parole.  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 are instead warehoused for decades.

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Besides being a place where I create and live, the Pardon Garden's close proximity by train makes it an egalitarian site. It is a quiet, nourishing space, immersed in nature. The Pardon Garden is a retreat where one can reflect on  the sacred meaning of pardoning.