Lancaster was one of the first counties in the state to create its own Pardon Project With the strong support of Lisa Drendl-Miller, the Executive Director of the Lancaster Bar Association, representatives from the Bar Association, the private bar (Mark Walmer, Esq.), Mid-Penn Legal Services (attorney Michael Goldberg) and CareerLinks (Re-Entry Supervisor Christine Harrison Mahrer) met for the first time on February 22, 2021. Others soon joined the group, including attorney Lisa Wolf and attorney John Churchville (then a Professor at Lancaster Bible College and now an Assistant Public Defender). Then, in the fall of 2023, Carrie Kurtz (a Certified Trauma Informed Trainer and Director of Reentry Planning and Coordination for the Lancaster County Reentry Coalition) became aware of the Pardon Project. By October, she had interested the Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities, Elizabethtown University, and State Representative Isaiah Smith-Wade-El. Meanwhile, Mary Hoskins had retired from her government post as Workforce Policy Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Board (where she had been advancing pardons as a policy issue) and returned to Lancaster to be the Executive Director of Zion Community Services of PA, and was raring to go. The group got together on January 10, 2024, and then held its first Pardon Coach Training later that same day at the Chamber of Commerce. The next week, Representative Smith-Wade-El and the Reentry Coalition held a clinic at the Southern Market. Over 100 people attended! And since then, clinics have been held throughout the county. Click here for a story about the January 18 clinic. The PPLC is now jointly coordinated by Mary Hoskins and Lisa Wolf and overseen by a Steering Committee with representation from many sectors of our community.

We are part of a large and growing statewide network of Pardon Projects.

The Pardon Project of Lancaster County has held clinics at over a dozen locations since the first clinic at the Southern Market. If you are interested, contact us using the link below! “Pardon Hubs” are locations where the staff has been trained and can answer many if not all of your questions. Our principal Hub is Zion Community Services of Pennsylvania and our leader is Mary Hoskins, MPA, Zion’s Executive Director. We also continue to have a Hub within CareerLinks of Lancaster County. We are in the process of setting up Pardon Hubs around the County.

We provide help to people who reside in Lancaster County (or were convicted here), but give priority to those who are at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (in 2024, this mean $30,120/year for an individual, $62,400/year for a family of 4) and who have completed their sentences at least five years ago. The only cost that those over that income guideline are responsible for is the fee of getting their records from the courthouse. Eligibility is considered on a case-by-case basis. And EVERYONE can help themselves!

YES! You do NOT need a lawyer to apply for a pardon. Here is what you need to succeed:

• 8-minute film about the PA Pardon Process by Pardon Fellow Zach Keasling
• Application form and instructions (English)
• Application form and instructions (Spanish)
• List of things to get from the courthouse (English)
• List of things to get from the courthouse (Spanish)
• Watch a “Do It Yourself” video (1 hour – English)
• Watch a “Do It Yourself” video (1 hour – Spanish)
• Videos explaining how to fill out the application form
• Videos of people who have gone through the pardon process, sharing what they’ve learned
• Advice on how to prepare for your hearing before the Board of Pardons