Jacob Rouse

Jacob Rouse is a 33 year old husband and father with a pristine institutional record. A participant in a felony murder at the young age of 18, Mr. Rouse profoundly regrets the role he played in the death of Mr. Herschel Scriven, a youth pastor in Rochester, NY. Mr. Rouse mourns this profound loss of life and the harms he caused to the Scriven family and the broader Rochester community. He has dedicated his sentence to service of others and his life to faith, seeking to repair the same world his actions dimmed through his criminal involvement as a young man.

Now having served almost 15 years on a sentence of 22-to-life, Mr. Rouse seeks a grant of clemency in order to come home. He has never once incurred a disciplinary infraction in all his time incarcerated, a challenging feat in New York’s maximum security prisons. He has been a leader among peers, having achieved his A.D. with valedictory honors, served as interim President of the Attica Lifer’s Organization, and mentored at-risk youth through the Community Awareness Program (CAP) and A Look For Alternatives (ALFA). He even has the support of former Elmira Superintendent Raymond J. Coveny, who pledged to do everything in his power to help bring Jacob home.

Mr. Rouse is desperately needed at home. His wife was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. One of his two beloved stepsons has a life-threatening genetic and metabolic condition that has already resulted in two extended hospitalizations this year alone. Mr. Rouse’s beautiful and energetic two year old daughter also needs her father at home, not locked up behind bars and diagnosed with Covid-19 in the recent outbreak at Elmira CF.