Iowan embraces second chance after prison commutation

DES MOINES - Rubben Jones' life once looked as small as an 8-by-8 foot prison cell.

That all changed in 1986, when Gov. Terry Branstad commuted Jones' mandatory life prison sentence for a murder Jones didn't commit. Since his release from prison, Jones, 64, has lived a rich life that includes children, a career and even an Iowa Lottery jackpot.

“I've really been blessed,” Jones said. “I'm happy that I had a second chance.”

Branstad has commuted the life prison terms of only two inmates during 18 years in office. He has until May 4 to decide whether to grant that freedom to Rasberry Williams, a 66-year-old who has served 38 years in prison after a 1974 shooting outside a Waterloo pool hall.

Commutation is rare in Iowa, with governors reducing the legal penalty for only 39 people - 35 men and four women - in the last 44 years.

Most of the commutations cut mandatory life sentences to fixed-length terms that can be reduced for good behavior. Lifers whose terms have been commuted since 1969 spent a median 22 years in prison and had a median age of 56 when paroled, according to information provided by the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Of the 39 freed by commutation, four went back to prison for new criminal charges. One of those is Jones.

Jones' case

Jones was convicted of first-degree murder in 1976 after the shooting of Jimmy Wayne Wright in Des Moines, the Associated Press reported.

Jones' brother, Johnny White Jr., later said he was the shooter and Jones was an accomplice. White was convicted of second-degree murder and was paroled in 1981. Another accomplice also was freed in 1981 - five years before Branstad commuted Jones' life prison term to 99 years.

Jones was put on work release May 20, 1987, and paroled five months later, when he was 39. He had served more than 10 years in prison.

“There are a lot of people who believed in me,” Jones said.

But Jones fell back into old behaviors, like drinking. One day, he left work early to see if his first wife was spending time with another man. Jones was later charged with violating his parole following three incidents of alleged domestic abuse.

Iowa revoked Jones's parole May 3, 1990, and he went back to prison.

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“I understand Gov. Branstad's decision when I was sent back,” Jones said. “But I think it was more political than anything.”

Jones served another 20 months for violating parole. He was put on work release in August 1991 and released in January 1992.

Since then, Jones says he's never had a negative interaction with police. In fact, he served several years as a security guard for Des Moines' Oakridge Neighborhood. He also managed a team of 48 custodians in another job before working 17 years at the Firestone tire plant in Des Moines.

Jones won a $100,000 Iowa Lottery jackpot in 2009, which allowed him to pay off his white, two-story house. He's been married to his wife, Teresa, for 18 years, has five children, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He spends most days with his 3-year-old granddaughter, Ahmia, who calls him “Papa.”

“My wife asked me the other day if I knew Rasberry Williams and I said ‘Sure. He was one of the guys there with me,'?” Jones said, referring to the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.

“I know from the situation with Mr. Williams, it was not a premeditated shooting,” Jones said.

Williams' case

Williams shot Lester Givhan, 40, on July 20, 1974, after the men argued over a $30 gambling debt outside a Waterloo pool hall, the Des Moines Register reported. Givhan allegedly offered Williams the money, then pulled it back when Williams reached for it. Williams drew a revolver and fatally shot him, authorities said. Williams claimed self-defense, saying Givhan, who had a criminal history, appeared to be going for a gun.

The Iowa Board of Parole has recommended commutation for Williams and prison officials have called him a model inmate.

Even if Branstad grants Williams' release, life on the outside won't be easy.

“Rasberry Williams has been incarcerated for nearly 40 years,” said Jerry Bartruff, deputy director of offender services for the Iowa Department of Corrections. “Our society has changed dramatically.”

The corrections department helps offenders through survival steps like finding a place to live, getting a job, setting up a support network to avoid substance abuse, if necessary, Bartruff said. The department wants offenders to spend six months to a year under supervision, rather than paroling immediately, so the offender has structure, he said.

Jones believes living a good life and helping others can redeem past actions. He thinks Williams deserves the same opportunity.

“Thirty to 40 years of your life, I know it can't replace a life that has been taken, but I think he's suffered enough,” Jones said.