Has Patty Prewitt been granted clemency?
As of July 2024, Patty Prewitt’s clemency petition remains pending before Missouri Governor Mike Parson. Her clemency petition was originally submitted in 2010. Governor Parson is the third Governor to have the petition under review. Governor Parson has made decisions on thousands of other clemency petitions. His office has reported that less than 100 petitions remain pending as of June 2024; Patty’s petition is one of those awaiting action. We are praying that Governor Parson acts soon to reunite Patty with her family and grant her clemency. Want to help? Visit our take action page to learn how you can make your voice heard.
Media Coverage of Patty Prewitt
Click on the links below to read, listen, and watch some of the extensive media coverage that Patty and her story have received.
2024
Prison Education Project Celebrates First Graduates
2023
The Source: WashU Prison Education Project expands to women’s correctional center by Liam Otten
2022
People Magazine: Mo. Woman Seeks Clemency After 1985 Conviction for Killing Husband — Did Sexism Put Her Behind Bars? by Jeff Trusedell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Did sexual assaults lead to a Missouri woman’s murder conviction? by Aisha Sultan
Wrongful Conviction with Maggie Freleng Podcast
2021
Columbia Missourian: Gov. Parson should show mercy right now for Patty Prewitt by Jane Aiken, Dean, Wake Forest Law School
Kansas City Star: Governor Parson: Grant Clemency to Patty Prewitt by Tena O’Hara
2020
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Gov. Mike Parson’s pending acts of mercy create hope for long-suffering families by Aisha Sultan
KCTV: Governor Parson will consider clemency for select prisoners
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Parson prepared to make announcement on select prisoner clemency cases by Jack Suntrup
Missouri Times: Governor Parson, grant clemency to Patty Prewitt by State Representatives Shamed Dogan and Tracy McCreery
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Patty Prewitt Wrongly Convicted and Deserves Release by Bob Wilcox
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: From Chillicothe to Pacific, COVID-19 spreads like wildfire through Missouri prisons by Tony Messenger
Guernica Magazine: A Woman’s Place: The shaming and incarceration of Patricia Ann Prewitt by Malcolm Garcia
Missouri Times: Lawmakers appeal to Parson for clemency for 70-year-old woman
Kansas City Star: Bring Patty Prewitt Home by Jane Watkins
KCTV5: Missouri lawmakers pressure Parson to free Patty Prewitt
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Pandemic in Prison Means a Potential Death Sentence for All by Judy Henderson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: As coronavirus spreads to America’s jails and prisons, the death penalty awaits by Tony Messenger
KMOX: Documentary about longest-serving female inmate in Missouri urges clemency amid COVID-19 spread
St. Louis Public Radio: ’33 And Counting’ Spotlights Missouri Grandmother’s Fight For Clemency
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Pandemic adds urgency to Missouri grandmother’s pleas for clemency
KCTV5: Clemency Backlog: Patty Prewitt’s Family Says She’s Served Long Enough
2019
St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Clemency Backlog Request Continues Under Parson
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Parson need to address clemency case backlog, by Rev. June Pearse
St. Louis Post Dispatch: If released, Patty Prewitt could help others succeed, by Laura Phillips
St. Louis Post Dispatch: This is the season for Gov. Parson to grant clemency, by Reps. Shamed Dogan and Tracy McCreery.
KCTV5: Court Battle to Test Evidence for DNA in 35 year-old Missouri Murder Case
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial: Patty Prewitt, a 69 year-old grandmother, deserves clemency. Her jailer agrees.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Clemency for Patty Prewitt by former Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections George Lombardi
2018
Kansas City Star: Governor Parson, please bring my mother Patty Prewitt home by Jane Prewitt Watkins
Kansas City Star: Bring Patty Home by Maureen Gorsuch
2017
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Greitens Should Grant Clemency for Patty Prewitt by Rep. Tracy McCreery
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Patty Prewitt Has Shown an Undying Positive Spirit by Lucy Freedman
2016
Riverfront Times: Supporters of Patty Prewitt Beg Governor for Mercy
2015
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Clemency for Patty Prewitt by Sister Maryann McGivern
2014
Kansas City Star: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon Can’t Ignore Clemency Petition on Behalf of 14 Women
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: New Coalition Urges Clemency for 14 Missouri Women in Prison
2013
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Clemency for Patty Prewitt by Robert Beaird
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial: Why hasn’t Gov. Jay Nixon used his power to pardon?
Associated Press: Clemency Sought for Mo. Woman Convicted in Husband’s Murder
2012
St. Louis Beacon: Clemency for Patty Prewitt by former Rep. Bill Deeken
Columbia Daily Tribune: Prisoner Deserving of Mercy
Springfield News-Leader: Governor Should Show Mercy to Prisoner
Columbia Missourian: Prison Performing Arts Feature
2011
KBIA Radio: Talking Politics Program Featuring Patty
The Point News (St. Mary’s College of Maryland): Students, Faculty Work Towards Freeing Patty Prewitt
Jefferson City News Tribune: Woman’s backers make new push for clemency
Res Ipsa Loquitur (Georgetown Law Alumni Magazine):A Clinic Grows at Georgetown.
KDHX Radio’s Collateral Damage: Gender Bias in the Criminal Justice System
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Gov. Nixon should pardon Patty Prewitt.
2010
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:An Appeal for Clemency, by Rep. John Burnett and Rep. Bill Deeken.
Crime Scene KC:New push to free Mo. woman convicted ofkilling husband in his sleep
Columbia Daily Tribune: Nixon pushed to commute life sentence.
American Forum Op-Ed Free Patty Prewitt: An Act of Mercy is anAct of Fiscal Responsibility, by Professor Jane Aiken.
Macon Chronicle Herald: Lawmakers Request Action on Sentence Commutation for Patricia Prewitt
2008
USA Today: Mo. prison program fosters family ties behind bars
Additional Coverage
PEN America Center: Interview with Patricia Prewitt
KBIA: Audio Slideshow