Gov. Asked to Pardon Ohio Mom Kelly Williams-Bolar (Mom Jailed in School Enrollment Fraud)
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the governor of Ohio has received 165,000 petition signatures asking him to pardon Kelley Williams-Bolar, the woman who spent 10 days in jail for fraudulently enrolling her children in a more desirable school district.
The signaturs which were collected by Change.org, ColorofChange.org and MomsRising.org were delivered to Gov. John Kasich’s office Monday.
Exerpt from the Dispatch:
Kasich has expressed sympathy for Williams-Bolar’s situation and directed legal advisers to look into it.
“We’re still gathering facts on it,” said Rob Nichols, the governor’s spokesman. “People feel passionately about it, and we’re grateful to them for expressing their concerns.”
Before Williams-Bolar can be considered for a pardon, either the governor or she – or her attorney – must ask the Ohio Parole Board to take up the case. As of yesterday, no request had been made.
The Williams-Bolar case drew international attention after she was convicted of tampering with records to enroll her daughters, now 16 and 12, in the Copley-Fairlawn School District for the 2006 school year. The two girls attended the Copley-Fairlawn schools, where their grandfather lives, for two years, and their mother was indicted in November 2009 for falsifying records portraying the girls as residents of the district.
Williams-Bolar, 40, was found guilty on two felony counts and sentenced to five years in prison, but an Akron judge suspended the prison term and ordered her to spend 10 days in the Summit County jail.
A few weeks back a BMWK article on the topic sparked intense debate.
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