Organized by Cydnie Cejka

Hi! My name is Kyle, and I'm trying to raise $20,000 to fund my legal defense. I will use the money I raise to pay a lawyer to represent me in my Clemency Petition.

It's very difficult to write this, to find the right words. I need your help, but I don't want to play upon your sympathies, or seem like I haven't taken responsibility for my crime. I want you to help me because you believe me, because you believe *in* me, and because you want to help me. So, before I tell you about my past, my present, and my hopeful future, I want to make the following things clear:

1) I committed a horrible crime and I have been paying for it ever since;

2) I have never shirked my responsibility for it despite any mitigating factors that exist;

3) I am deeply sorry for what I did, for what I allowed to happen to me, and what actions that led me to; and

4) I have worked tremendously hard these past 20+ years to be a person worthy of redemption -- the conscious man I am now is not the naive child I was then.

The full extent of my story is beyond the scope of this platform. Unfortunately, the details of my case have become the fodder for a number of bullshit media "documentaries," almost all of them more flagrantly disrespectful to the memory of Dr. Schwartz than informative. I have included links below for those interested in learning more about it, including contact information. You may ask whatever you wish, as long as you are not representing the media. What I present below are the salient points that have a bearing on my case for clemency.

From the age of three until the present I have been on heavy antipsychotic medication. From the age of seven I have been in and out of psychiatric facilities, group homes, and foster care. At the age of eighteen I was emancipated despite vehement opposition by my biological Father, who understood that turning eighteen does not miraculously cure one from psychosis. He told them that if I was released without any kind of oversight, I'd end up killing someone within 100 days.

I was released on September 4th, 2001. I was given a three month prescription for all my medication and a bus ticket to Woodbridge where I was essentially homeless. I had a tent and several friends on whose couches I could crash on until I wore out my welcome.

By mid-October I'd stopped taking my medication. I killed Dr. Robert Schwartz on December 8th. I was arrested on the 12th.

Ninety-nine days.

The judge ultimately sentenced me to life in prison without the possibility of parole. According to my Presentencing Report, it was recommended that I receive 26-38 years. My attorney asked for the midpoint of 32 years. More often than not, the judge lays down a sentence in line with this recommendation. In this case, the judge did not -- he even stated outright that he was stepping way beyond the guidelines, but that he couldn't think of any punishment that would have a deterring effect on a man who lives in a fantasy world.

Twenty-plus years after committing my crime, I am left with only one option: a Clemency Petition. Having an attorney represent me gives me the greatest chances of success. This is my life I'm fighting for, I want to give myself the best odds. I have am attorney who believes in my case for clemency, and that brings us to the Big Question:

WHY SHOULD YOU HELP A CONVICTED MURDERER?

It's a serious question, and a fair one. I am convicted of a horrible crime, why should anyone help me? What makes me worthy of asking you to help me raise money for an attorney to help me mitigate my sentence?

Honestly, I don't know how to answer that. I don't think I have the right to answer that question for you. All I can do it tell you who I am now, what I face here, and what I hope to accomplish in the future. Then you'll decide for yourself whether I'm worthy of your help or not.

During my incarceration, I have worked hard to become a real person, a conscientious person with something to offer the world. I have participated in every program I have been able to gain access to. I have become a certified Personal Computer Operator through a government funded program called Business Software Applications -- to date I am the only student in my prison to achieve perfect scores on all tests and assignments. I worked for several years as a tutor for the school, helping other inmates obtain their GED.

For myself, I am currently enrolled in a writing course through College Guild to hone my writing skills to further my goals of being a writer. In 2015, some of my poetry was published in an anthology that supported a pet charity called Hope For Paws.

Since 2016 I have been housed in the Positive Behaviour Unit, a pod for inmates that have maintained infraction-free behaviour for an extended period of time -- I have been infraction-free for nearly a decade. Shortly after being housed there, I was voted by my peers to be Pod Representative, an unpaid position in which I serve as liaison between the Administration and the inmate population. Among the best behaved inmates in this facility, I serve as their representative.

In 2021, I worked with other inmates to donate supplies to local schools. They sent us a letter saying that our donations helped many children who would have otherwise have had nothing because of the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since 2016, I have had the honor of being a Lay Minister of the Rowan Tree Church, a Wiccan Church founded by the late Reverend Paul Beyerl. The Tradition of Lothlorien focuses on ethics and personal responsibility, living in Universal Harmony for the betterment of the world. Working with them, being a part of this wonderful Tradition, has helped me grow in ways I never though possible.

As part of my work, I have raised money for food drives, led the religious service here in prison, and worked with Reverend Paul to write a treatise to help other incarcerated people come to terms with the things they've done in their past and heal the traumas they've endured.
This I have done from behind these walls, with restricted access to the world. If I see freedom again, imagine what I could do for the world without these restrictions. Because that is what I want to do. I want to better the world, to live in service to it, and to try to make up for what I took from it.
In 2019 I met the woman who will soon become my Wife. I've never known Love like this -- it inspires me every day to be better than I was the day before. She has taught me more in the last three years about Love and acceptance than I gave learned in my entire life. If I am freed, I have a home to go to, because of her.
In the Virginia Departed of Corrections, their mandate is "Security, Not Therapy." I would happily participate in therapy if it were offered, but the most they have are Telepsych appointments every ninety days to ensure you're med-compliant and that you can answer their liability questions satisfactorily. I have maintained med-compliance during my incarceration, but it only treats the symptoms. Therapy would greatly enhance my state of mental health, but only the Governor can help me with that.
And that leads us to the crux of my situation: what do I hope to accomplish here? What is my goal with this Clemency Petition? The simplest answer is, I just want a chance at life, a real chance. I have never shirked responsibility for what I did, and I am not seeking to now. The Governor has the power to release me, but that's not what I am asking for. The main thrust of my petition is to have me removed from this penal environment and placed in a psychiatric facility where I can receive the therapy I don't receive in the Department of Corrections. While there, I will work with my doctors to establish a release plan that will ensure that I have the tools and resources to ensure that what I did never happens again.
It is entirely possible that even if I am successful in getting transferred to a psychiatric facility rather than living the rest of my life in this prison system, the doctors may decide that I cannot return to the FreeWorld; if that is the case, I can accept it. At least there I will be in a place where I am receiving treatment and therefore not suffering every day the way I am now.
If I am given an opportunity to see freedom and a life beyond these walls, I will be enrolling immediately in outpatient therapy. I know I need it. I have the skills to establish gainful employment; I plan to use my certification to work in Information Technology. I plan to attend college. I have had twenty years to plan for a future beyond these walls; everything I do is geared toward preparing myself for that day. If I get the opportunity to enact those plans, I will not waste it.
There you have it. This is my plea. If you find me worthy, please help. Every little bit counts.
All I want is a chance to live, a chance to build a life worth living and to die a free man. I don't squander the chance. I don't want to die in here.

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LINKS
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1) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/022-dr-robert-schwartz-part-one/id1248179183?i=1000438140572
2) podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/023-kyle-hulbert-interview-part-two/id1248179183?i=1000438140571

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CONTACT
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WireOfHope.com (search for me by name to find my profile; it also contains an expanded version of this profile with more detail)
JPay.com (Add yourself to my Contact List in order to email me directly. ID#1165519)