BLH Client Gus Bethea Granted Clemency After 18 Years In Prison

Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP is thrilled to announce that BLH client Mr. Gus Bethea has been granted Clemency by Governor Cuomo today, December 24, 2020. Mr. Bethea and his wife Kyonte worked with BLH partner Luna Droubi, paralegal Abigail Robinson, and former paralegal Grace Manning on his application requesting that Governor Cuomo commute the remaining time on his 25 year prison sentence for two street robberies. Ms. Robinson, in particular, worked tirelessly on Mr. Bethea's application for over three years to make his release a reality. Mr. Bethea will be returning home to his wife and family on February 1, 2021 after over 18 years in prison.

Throughout the duration of his incarceration, Mr. Bethea demonstrated exceptional strides in his personal development and improvement. Instead of falling into a path of self-destruction, he chose to immerse himself in educational and service-oriented opportunities, with the goal of giving back to his community. Mr. Bethea is the epitome of a person who has been rehabilitated and well deserving of early release.

The granting of Mr. Bethea’s Clemency application is a concrete example of criminal justice reform in action. We at BLH are honored for the opportunity to work with the Betheas and deeply grateful to Governor Cuomo and the Governor’s Executive Clemency Bureau for commuting Mr. Bethea’s sentence.

See the announcement here.