Legal Defense Fund for Jason Goudlock

A crowd funding campaign has been launched to hire a lawyer, in the interest of attaining the liberation and aiding the legal defense of overincarcerated and wrongfully convicted Ohio prisonerJason Goudlock (FreeJasonGoudlock.org), who is the subject of the recently completed feature-length documentary INVISIBLE CHESS:The Jason Goudlock Story(InvisibleChess.com).

Jason, an African-American, 45-year-old
native of Cleveland, Ohio, has been imprisoned since the age of 18 for aggravated robbery and felonious assault. He was sentenced under Ohio's then-indeterminate sentencing guidelines and was given a sentence of six to 25 years, in addition to a nine-year mandatory sentence for a firearm sentencing enhancement specification. On July 1,1996, however, Ohio converted it's sentencing guidelines from its indeterminate guidelines--e.g.,six to 25 years--to a drastically less punitive set of determinate,"truth-in-sentencing" guidelines,which gave an offender's sentencing judge the sole authority of determining the exact amount of time that an offender would serve,that is,prior to the offender being sent to prison. Here are the specifics of Ohio’s current laws for what Jason was charge with: https://statelaws.findlaw.com/ohio-law/ohio-robbery-laws.html Statutes Ohio Revised Code Title XXIX. Crimes Procedure Section 2911.01 & Section 2911.02 Charges Aggravated Robbery (Section 2911.01): It's a first degree felony to do any of the following while attempting to commit or committing a theft offense, or fleeing immediately after the attempt or offense: • Have a deadly weapon and either show the weapon or use it; • Have a dangerous ordnance; or • Inflict, or attempt to inflict, serious physical harm on another. Robbery (Section 2911.02): • It's a second degree felony to have a deadly weapon or inflict, attempt to inflict, or threaten to inflict physical harm on another while committing or attempting to commit a theft offense, or fleeing after the offense. • It's a third degree felony to use or threaten the immediate use of force against another while committing or attempting to commit a theft offense, or fleeing after the offense. Penalties Conviction under Ohio's robbery laws can result in imprisonment and fines: • First degree felony: prison term of 3 to 11 years and fines not exceeding $20,000. • Second degree felony: prison term of 2 to 8 years and fines not exceeding $15,000. • Third degree felony: prison term of 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, or 36 months and fines not exceeding $10,000 Being, however,that the truth-in-sentencing guidelines were not enacted retroactively, offenders sentenced under the old-law,pre-July 1,1996 guidelines, such as Jason,were now being made to serve disproportionate sentences, at the sole discretion of the Ohio Parole Board, who, have and continues to,give old-law prisoners sentence continuances for no other reason than simply because they can.

If Jason had been sentenced under the July 1,1996 sentencing guidelines, he would have been released OVER A DECADE AGO. Jason has been to the Parole Board SIX times and has received several unwarranted continuances. One particular Parole Board member, when he was a then-warden, as highlighted in the INVISIBLE CHESS documentary, was caught by the Ohio State Highway Patrol attempting to frame Jason for vandalizing a service elevator, which was later discovered to have illegally stored the then-warden's customized motorcycle. This proven-to-be corrupt state employee was, nonetheless, still permitted to participate in Jason's Parole Board release consideration hearings.

In 2014, after a favorable story about Jason's situation of injustice appeared on the Huffington Post website (Is Rehab Possible In Our Prisons),and after he received more media attention for a lighthearted comment that he made about NBA superstar LeBron James, Jason was given a retaliatory and unwarranted 60-month sentence continuation. Jason now needs funds to hire an attorney and to promote his documentary.

In closing, Jason and his supporters ask that you please support this fundraising initiative. Jason hopes, one day, to help inner-city youths to reach their full potential like Derrick Rose and LeBron James did, and avoid the pitfalls that led to him being incarcerated. Your support will surely bring this reality closer to Jason.

Thank you for your time and understanding,and let's bring Jason home!