05/17/2026
For those sentenced to die in a Pennsylvania prison, there is only one path to a possible second chance that doesn’t require an imminently terminal illness. It is long, narrow, & torturous: commutation.
Two ALC clients are on that path—hoping the state will commute their sentence, as Victoria Law reported this week for The Appeal.
What’s clear is that neither Sheena King nor Ralph Malakki Bolden are remotely the same people who both committed murder decades ago. Sheena, 18 at the time, had endured years of physical & sexual abuse and violence, and acted out of a direct threat against her family. Malakki was in his 20s, suffering from misdiagnosed mental illness, likely influenced by underlying multiple sclerosis, which he would be diagnosed with later.
Now, Sheena is a minister who earned college & graduate degrees behind bars. Malakki co-founded a think tank and developed restorative justice programs.
What’s less clear is whether PA’s carceral system will be able to recognize the hard work they’ve both put into healing from the trauma of their environments, and transforming themselves into solid citizens & mentors to other incarcerated people over their decades of incarceration.
Fortunately, Malakki has the support of Dept. of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Laurel Harry. Sheena has the support of SCI Muncy & is seeking the support of the DOC Secretary.
But as Malakki points out, lifers could get their commutation approved by the DOC, from staff & the superintendent all the way up to the DOC Secretary – the department that has housed, supervised, and known the person for so many years – only to have a political appointee on the Board of Pardons or the governor deny it.
Read the article on Sheena & Malakki’s redemption in a system that makes it all too rare for those who never had a first chance to get a second one.
