Support Bori's Fight for Justice and Freedom

Help Us Fight for Justice After 29 Years of Incarceration

Dear friends, family, and kind strangers,

My name is Sabrina, and I’m reaching out to ask for help in a deeply personal and urgent matter. My husband Bori has been incarcerated for the past 29 years for a crime he did not commit. He was only 18 years old—barely an adult—when he was sentenced to 25 years with the possibility of parole. What we didn’t know at the time is that parole in Arizona no longer existed, making this effectively a life sentence.

Before trial, my husband was offered a 10-year plea deal, but his lawyer at the time assured him he would be found not guilty, so he refused the offer, believing in the truth and in the justice system. That decision, based on trust and poor legal guidance, changed the course of his life forever.

He also made the difficult decision not to testify or betray a friend, believing it was the right thing to do. That decision, combined with ineffective counsel, cost him his freedom. We’ve since learned that his sentence was illegally applied, and we now have a chance to take this case back to court and fight for the justice he was never given. But to do that, we need a new lawyer—someone willing and able to fight for his release.

We once had hope with an amazing attorney who truly believed in our case. Tragically, he passed away suddenly from what we were told was brain trauma. After his passing, his wife—also a lawyer at the firm—closed the firm (Todd Nolan Law Firm), filed for bankruptcy, and stopped returning our calls. We were left in the dark and back at square one, forced to rebuild everything from scratch.

Despite everything, my husband has not given up. In his nearly three decades behind bars, he has educated himself and become a role model to others. He was handpicked by Leslie Baxley, a coordinator under the Director of the Department of Corrections, to lead a sobriety program helping his peers turn their lives around.

And most importantly—he is not alone. My husband has a strong, loving support group waiting for him on the outside, ready to help him rebuild his life. We are here, standing by him, and committed to seeing this through until he comes home.

We are now doing all we can to raise funds for a new legal team who can fight for him, expose the injustices of his sentencing, and finally bring him home. Every donation, big or small, will help us take one step closer to that goal.

If you cannot give, please consider sharing our story. Your support means everything to us.

May Jehovah bless you for your kindness.

With gratitude,

The Mercado Family