STEP 1
CONTACT THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. DEMAND A COMPLETE PARDON FOR MATTHEW
Call 1-804-786-2211
Press 1 to leave a voice message and demand an absolute pardon for Matthew.
You will not speak to anyone.
(You can call from anywhere in the world, but may incur long-distance charges)
WHAT TO SAY ON THE VOICE MESSAGE:
“We are demanding JUSTICE FOR MATTHEW RUSHIN! We are asking the Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, to review this case and issue an ABSOLUTE PARDON AND IMMEDIATELY RELEASE Matthew Rushin.”
Or
Email Governor Northam:
Ralph.Northam@governor.vir
Email Form: https://solutions.virginia.gov/communityrelations2018/form/email
STEP 2
SIGN & SHARE THE PETITION CREATED BY BLM 757
https://www.change.org/p/ralph-s-northam-matthew-rushin-autistic-college-student-odu?
STEP 3
CALL &/OR EMAIL THE FOLLOWING VIRGINIA POLITICAL LEADERS
Mark R. Herring: Attorney General
EMAIL: service@oag.state.va.us
CALL: 1-804-786-2071
https://herringforag.com/
Kelly Thomasson: Secretary of the Commonwealth
EMAIL: Kelly.thomasson@governor.v
CALL: 1-804-786-2441
FAX: 804-786-7441
Brian Moran: Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Secretary
CALL: 1-804-786-5351
EMAIL: Public.safety@governor.vir
Tonya D. Chapman: Chair of the Virginia Parole Board
EMAIL: tonya.chapman@vpb.virginia
CALL: 804-674-3081
STEP 4
DONATE TO MATTHEW’S LEGAL FEES
Created by his mom in NOV 2019 to raise $100k
https://ca.gofundme.com/f/SAVING-MATTHEW-RUSHIN
STEP 5
LEARN MORE ABOUT MATTHEW & THIS CASE
On Instagram (account created by Matthew’s mom, Lavern)
@justice4matthewrushin
https://www.instagram.com/justice4matthewrushin/
ON FB: FREE MATTHEW RUSHIN
https://m.facebook.com/FreeMatthewRushin/?ref=bookmarks
WATCH BIRTHDAY MESSAGES TO MATTHEW FROM THE “ATYPICAL” CAST
The birthday videos
READ ARTICLES
Washington Post Article from Theresa Vargas
A Young Black Autistic Man Was Sentenced To 50 Years for a Car Crash (June 2020)
Salon Article from Matthew Rozsa
Young, Black, Autistic, and Imprisoned: Matthew Rushin’s Story is Sadly Not Unique (July 2020)
The Mighty Article from Mariah Person
Matthew Rushin’s Case Shows What Happens When Racism and Ableism Collide (July 2020)
The Mighty Article from Beth Tolley
What If You Were Matthew Rushin’s Mother? (July 2020)
Series of investigative articles by NeuroClastic, an autism info magazine by autistic people, to bring awareness to Matthew’s case
Part 1, Details of the accident (2019)
Part 2, Details of Virginia Beach’s Police Dept autism & mental health training (June 2020)
Part 3, Matthew in jail because he’s black & autistic (June 2020)
Part 4, Meet Matthew Rushin (June 2020)
Part 5, An Open Letter to the Commonwealth Attorney (June 2020)
Part 6, Body Cam Footage & Forensic Data (June 2020)
Part 7, Did Virginia Beach PD Suspect Seizure And Hide It? (June 2020)
Part 8, Matthew Rushin: My Bias, And Your Bias (July 2020)
Part 9, First Statement From Matthew On Body Cam: Officers Knew He Lost Consciousness (July 2020)
Part 10, An Open Letter to Governor Northam Re: Matthew Rushin (July 2020)
Blog Posts
Our Dance With Matthew Rushin, by Rebecca Cavender (June 2020)
I Know Why Matthew Said He Wished He Was Dead, by Stephanie Bethany
On Matthew Rushin, Osime Brown, and Systemic Trauma to Black and Indigenous People, by Andrew Wolfheart Sanchez
See For Yourself: The Truth About Matthew Rushin, by C.L. Lynch
What Happens When White People Declare Black Lives Matter, by Terra Vance on Psych Central
Forensic Report
Matthew Rushin’s Forensic Case Study by Forensic Engineer & Traffic Reconstructionist by Collison Science, LLC
YouTube Interview With Matthew’s Parents & Darryl Moore
Video (1hr)
Local Virginia News
Hundreds March in Virginia Beach (June 14, 2020)
Mother works to help imprisoned son
STEP 5
CONTACT ALLIES & ASK FOR THEIR HELP
Ask them to:
- Share the petition asking for a COMPLETE pardon
- Amplify #freematthewrushin
- Help!
ACLU-Virginia
Email: acluva@acluva.org
The Marshall Project
https://www.themarshallproject.org/about
https://www.themarshallproject.org/contact-us
Reform Alliance
NAMI VIRGINIA
Phone: (804) 285-8264 (not a crisis line)
Email Address: info@namivirginia.org
STEP 6
TAG THE FOLLOWING ACTIVISTS IN SM POSTS: ASK IF THEY’VE HEARD ABOUT MATTHEW
Nupol Kiazolu, President of the Youth Coalition for Black Lives Matter of Greater New York
Brea Baker, NY Justice League
Thandiwe Abdullah, BLM Activist
Patrisse Cullors-Brignac, co-founder of BLM
Rachel Cargle
BlackLivesMatter
NAACP
Color of Change
Until Freedom
The Gathering For Justice
Trevor Noah
Ibram X. Kendi
Robin DiAngelo
Ava DuVernay
@ava
SCRIPTS TO COPY/PASTE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
@[handle] Have you heard about Matthew Rushin at @Free Matthew Rushin? We would be so honored if you could elevate and amplify his story.
He is a young, Black autistic man from the US and had been sentenced to 50 years (!!!) in prison (40 of those suspended) for a CAR ACCIDENT in which no one was killed.
He’s truly in prison because he’s Black & autistic.
A small team of us part of an autistic nonprofit, @NeuroClastic, are trying to help him and his mom. So very few people know what’s going on here and it’s been a gross misjustice every step of the way.
Matthew’s autistic meltdown and triggered PTSD were misunderstood as a suicide attempt. He has already served 18 months in jail and is not receiving medical care. Would you be willing to learn more about Matthew and help us?
We need ALL the help we can get.
GO HERE: https://neuroclastic.com/freematthewrushin/
@[handle] Have you heard about Matthew Rushin at @Justice4matthewrushin? We would be so honored if you could elevate and amplify his story.
He is a young, Black autistic man from the US and had been sentenced to 50 years (!!!) in prison (40 of those suspended) for a CAR ACCIDENT in which no one was killed.
He’s truly in prison because he’s Black & autistic.
A small team of us part of an autistic nonprofit, @NeuroClastic, are trying to help him and his mom. So very few people know what’s going on here and it’s been a gross misjustice every step of the way.
Matthew’s autistic meltdown and triggered PTSD were misunderstood as a suicide attempt. He has already served 18+ months in jail and is not receiving medical care. Would you be willing to learn more about Matthew and help us?
We need ALL the help we can get.