Records Can Too.

Video Library

Click one of the options below to jump to a specific section:

Why a Pardon?
Overview
Peer to Peer Videos – Reflections and Advice from people who have applied
Self-Help Videos – for Applicants, Pardon Coaches and Pardon Projects
Pardon Coach Trainings
Resources for Pardon Projects
Outreach and Engagement

Why a Pardon?

• People Change (5 mins | August 2018)
• Pardons in PA overview video (12 mins)
• Pardon Me (2:22 trailer) – award-winning documentary short by Shuja Moore (32 mins | September 2023)
• PA Rep. Smith-Wade-El on the importance of record clearing (2 mins | March 2024)
• The Power of a Pardon (29 mins | WNET July 2024)
• 13th documentary film directed by Ava DuVernay

Overview

• Pardons in PA overview video (12 mins)
• How to read a docket (9 mins)
• You CAN vote! Voting rights and your criminal record (4 mins)

Peer-to-Peer Videos: Advice from People Who Have Been Through the Pardon Process

• Why is a pardon important?
• What is the Board of Pardons looking for?
• What is the hardest part of the pardon process?
• How do you prepare for applying?
• What can you do to show community involvement?
• Do you need a lawyer?
• What if I wasn’t guilty?
• Interview with Parole Agent
• The Public Hearing before the Board of Pardons

Self-Help Videos

• Workforce Alliance: 6 How-To Videos about applying for a Pardon
• Do-It-Yourself Pardon Application, for potential applicants and pardon coaches: English (60 min) | Spanish (38 mins)
• New BOP Pardon Application (June 25, 2025)
• Preparing For Your Pardon Hearing: Insights and Tips for Success from Four Who Have Been Through Them (60 mins | July 2022)
• PPSC: Preparing for YOUR Pardon Hearing (Nov 2023)

Pardon Coach Trainings

• Pardon Coach Training (60 mins)
• York County Pardon Coach Training (60 mins | April 2023)
• Pardon Coach Training for Non-Lawyers (56 mins | July 2022)

Resources for Pardon Projects

• Pardon Fellows: How Part-Time Service From People With Lived Experience Help Pardon Projects Succeed (22 mins)
• Outreach Events: Presentations by the Pardon Projects of Lehigh, Westmoreland and Berks Counties (50 mins)
• Unpaid LFOs and What Can Be Done About Them (25 mins | June 2023)
• Fundraising: Making Pardon Projects Sustainable (60 mins)
• Preparing Clients for their Public Hearings – the Philadelphia Model (21 mins)
• Pardon Project of Beaver County: Integrating the Court Clerk and the DA into the Intake Process (67 mins)
• Pardon Project of Berks County (19 mins)
• The Lancaster County Model (15 mins)

For step-by-step guidance on how to create a Pardon Project, visit our Resources Page.

Outreach and Engagement

Elected Officials

• Pardons in PA: What Every Elected Official Needs To Know (May 2025)

Higher Education

• Pardons at the University: How faculty and staff have brought pardons to undergraduate campuses (October 2024)
• Reflections of Student Pardon Coaches (30 mins | February 2022)
• A 3L’s Experience Serving as a Pardon Coach (5 mins | April 2022)

Workforce Development

• Pardons’ Role in Workforce Development (EDSI/CareerLinks | 53 mins)
• Pardons and Workforce Development: A Discussion About Possibilities (June 2025)

Healthcare

• Pardons: A Healthcare Response to Criminal Records in PA (March 2025) 

Recovery Community

• Unity Recovery (July 2023)
• Recovery Community Training (Cambria County | April 2023)
• DBHIDS Training: Pardons, In a Recovery World (October 2023)

Public Housing

• Public Housing and Criminal Records

Courts

• The Court Clerk’s Critical Role in Pardons (60 mins)

Public Defenders

• Pardons for Public Defenders (52 mins | May 2024)