Amy Ralston Povah is an American prisoner advocate and the founder of the CAN-DO Foundation.[1]
Povah (then Amy Pofahl) served nine years of a 24-year sentence for conspiracy in an MDMA trafficking case. After several media pieces covering her sentence including a Glamour magazine story by David France,[2] her sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton on July 7, 2000.[3][4][5][6]
Her sentence was commuted along with the sentences of Louise House, Shawndra Mills, and Serena Nunn; all of whom "..received much more severe sentences than their husbands and boyfriends" according to Clinton White House Press Secretary, Jake Siewert.[7]
On January 20, 2021, she received a full pardon from Donald Trump.[8]
Following her release from prison, Povah founded the CAN-DO foundation to advocate for the release of prisoners serving sentences for non-violent drug offences.[9][10]
As of August 2020, she has helped more than 100 prisoners receive clemency from the federal government.[11]
She is one of the founders of the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.
The 1998 book Shattered Lives: Portraits from America’s Drug War featured her.
Her story was featured in the 2016 documentary Incarcerating US.[12]
She directed and produced the 2013 documentary film 420: The Documentary.[13]