Talk about second chances!
“As pleased as I am to have received a presidential pardon, there are many more in the system who are equally deserving of mercy.” — Thad Bereday
Let’s start with what Thad Bereday is doing now: Helping people one at a time, finding his humility, deepening his faith, and trying to inject a little more mercy into the criminal justice system. “We do punishment and accountability really well . . . but we don’t do mercy well.” Now a blogger and podcaster, Thad is a “group leader for the Justice Ministry within the church he belongs to, Hyde Park United Methodist. He helps homeless people and others find housing and work, unabashedly saying he’s now part of a “citadel of social justice warriors.” He’s doing volunteer work for the Criminal Justice Committee of HOPE, the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality, and supports groups like the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). In short, Thad is devoted to making sure other folks get a second chance exactly like the one he got.
Well, maybe not exactly like it . . .
Because that would involve getting raided by flack-jacket wearing FBI agents after helping to build a multibillion dollar company, contracting leukemia, beating it (twice), doing six-months hard time in a federal prison, a year of home confinement, and then receiving a presidential pardon from Donald J. Trump (Thad is not pro-Trump!) on January 20th of this year.
Collegiate calls those who stayed at the school for 12 years “survivors,” but Thad is proof that there are many ways to earn that label! For more on Thad’s story, see this video from Fox News or this profile in Business Observer. Follow Thad on social media (@ThadBereday) or see his website 4redemption.com.
Thad’s Thoughts:
“I am so grateful for the memories of our time together and grateful for the support of the wider Collegiate community. Our school has prepared us for a life of service and teaches the resilience needed to face life’s challenges. My saga may appear more difficult than others, but we all face adversity and seek ways to use it for the best good. Hopefully other people will join in my calling to draw attention to the criminal justice system, aspiring to make our community more fair and merciful.”
Taylor Mali now asks, “Okay! Does anyone ELSE have some interesting news for the class notes? Any other FBI raids? Prison time? Presidential pardons? Anyone?”
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Written by Taylor Mali, class agent. Published on November 12, 2021
