You may remember in our Winter 2020 issue we featured Laquanda “Faye” Jacobs. In 1992, at the tender age of 16, Faye was arrested and subsequently convicted of murder. At her sentencing, Faye became the first and only female in Arkansas sentenced as a juvenile to life in prison without parole, a sentence that was later found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result, in 2018, Faye was resentenced to time served, released from prison and entered the Journey to New Life program. But four years earlier, she had attracted the attention of the Midwest Innocence Project who examined Faye’s case and felt there was enough evidence and inconsistencies to exonerate her.

Faye faced a difficult decision, either accept her release in 2018, or continue to fight for exoneration. Her parents were aging and not in good health. Plus, Faye craved the independence and freedom she’d never experienced as an adult so she opted to accept the resentencing.

“The Innocence Project had filed my petition for my actual innocence, and so I was basically stuck with a dilemma. My mother was sick,” Faye said. “I want to say that I have no regrets in making the decision that I made to go ahead and walk out those doors to care for my 80-year-old mother. I don’t ever want to take anything for granted. Life is so so short and it’s so precious. I just want to enjoy the life that I have.”

Since Faye was released from prison, she is no longer able to seek exoneration. Her only option is to get a pardon from the Governor of Arkansas, where the crime occurred. She’s continued to work with the Innocence Project toward that goal. Earlier this year, she collected the required number of signatures and submitted a petition to have her case considered for pardon. Unfortunately, it was denied. The explanation was, she said, “He agreed with the parole board that I hadn’t been out in society long enough to determine that I’m innocent. I’m not sure what it would take or what that means.” Since she’s no longer incarcerated, she says she now has to wait eight years before she can petition again.

I was really just anticipating that he would do the right thing. He wouldn’t continue to crucify me, to hold this burden over me.

Not giving up

So what’s Faye going to do? She’s turned her energy toward advocating for a bill to change that. She’s become a fierce advocate for people wrongfully incarcerated. Recently, she spoke at the Innocence Project’s conference in Arizona. “It has ignited a fire in me to just continue to pursue this pardon, to continue to advocate for those who come behind me,” she said. “So that they don’t have to go through what I went through, what I continue to go through because of the hindrance of this conviction.” It remains a barrier to her in achieving the goals she has for everything from housing to employment to applying to adopt the child she wasn’t able to have biologically due to her incarceration.

Living her new Journey

And Faye’s not stopping there. She now sits on the Board of Directors at Journey to New Life. “Being on the board is such an honor,” she said. “I’m able to give my opinion and perspective on a situation. A person who’s never been in this situation wouldn’t know or understand, but me being in that situation before, I know from a personal perspective.”

“It is my desire to just give back and be a servant, to be available to them and the organization.”