Shareef Cousin Calls For Clemency in Louisiana
Shareef Cousin hand delivering 2,000 signatures to the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Paroles
On August 14, 2023, death row exoneree and member of Witness to Innocence Shareef Cousin joined with other Louisiana families impacted by the death penalty for a press conference where they delivered 2,000 petition signatures to the Board of Pardons and Parole in support of 56 people on death row in Louisiana seeking clemency.
As he delivered the petition signatures, Shareef shared emotional words about being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death as a teenager, "No one can imagine the difficulty of the trauma that I experienced as a child for something I didn’t do. I will never get over it."
In an article from The Messenger entitled "Former Death Row Inmate Who Was Wrongfully Convicted at 17 Wants Mercy for Others Sentenced to Die- Shareef Cousin speaks in favor of clemency for death row inmates in Louisiana, where he was sentenced to die before being exonerated" Shareef stated, "I'm not the first person to have been freed from Louisiana death row and I'm sure I won't be the last...This is a mission and an opportunity for me to have lived in those difficult circumstances and I have met many of the men who are asking for mercy to save their lives."