Dear Proclaim Justice supporters,
It is with a heavy heart and also plenty of pride and optimism that I’m letting you know Proclaim Justice has decided to close shop. We have been doing great work and literally saving lives for 10 years, all thanks to your support. Those lives would not have been saved without you!
Proclaim Justice started as a dream of mine all those years ago. When I shared that dream with Jason, he jumped right in and we started putting a board of directors together. Those early members, including three who remain on the board (Natalie Maines, Margaret Riley, and Thad Huguley) ensured that we got off to a great start. Other members who have served over the years governed and served us with integrity and enthusiasm. I am grateful to all who served.
The simplest explanation for this decision is I have been experiencing extreme burnout for some time. It was greatly affecting both my physical and mental health. I was presented with a different professional opportunity that I could not pass up, so after a lot of tears and advice from the board and others I love and trust, I made the decision to leave. Unfortunately, Proclaim Justice wasn’t positioned in a way for someone else to have a chance at success.
Despite this decision, our work is not done! We are still very much committed to our current clients and will be a part of each of their cases until they walk out of prison. We are fortunate that the relationships we have built with other innocence projects and attorneys have allowed us to bring them into these cases. Between our continued involvement and their expertise, our clients are in good hands.
Your donations will continue to be put to use in freeing them as well. We are making sure we’re doing right by our staff, who have given their hearts and souls to this work, and we have made the decision to donate all remaining funds to the Innocence Project of Texas. It’s not only a legal requirement that we donate to a non-profit with a similar mission, but we know first-hand the great work they do and we trust them completely. Feel really great about that!
This decision comes with a big degree of sadness and was a difficult one to make. But I leave this with an even greater belief in the goodness of people than I started with. This has been such an amazing journey. I am in awe of the network that we built. It’s not just the support from people like Natalie and the Chicks, Lars Ulrich, Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, Gary Clark, Jr., Willie Nelson, Margo Price, Jason Isbell, and Brett Young, but even more important was the support from all of you who aren’t in the public eye. You were the blood that kept us alive!
I will continue with this work for years to come by serving another innocence project, just not in a professional capacity. So you’re not off the hook from me asking for donations to help free innocent people from prison! I’ll be in touch when the time is right.
From the bottom of my heart and with full gratitude from Jason, the PJ Board of Directors, and most importantly, the people whose lives you helped save: THANK YOU! You did good!
Onward,
John Hardin, Director