Nearly two years after being freed by Ohio’s governor, child sex trafficking survivor Alexis “Kee” Martin has been sent back to prison. Martin’s commutation was revoked in February after she violated the conditions of her parole.
Following a five-month transition program, Martin moved in with one of her mentors, started jobs in restaurants and pizza delivery and eventually saved up for her own apartment. She also began to work as an advocate for marginalized youth. She was invited to speak at conferences, received a high-profile anti-trafficking award, and told her story to The Washington Post. The resultingBut while Martin was freed from prison, DeWine did not grant her full clemency.
Among the supporters who testified on Martin’s behalf was Chelsea Golterman, a senior legislative aide for Ohio state Sen. Teresa Fedor . The parole authority had the power to allow Martin to remain under the same parole conditions, to increase the level of supervision she was under or to remand her back to prison to serve any number of years. They chose the harshest level of punishment available: a complete revocation of her commutation and reinstatement of her full sentence.
“I believed that I was living the successful life of a 23-year-old. I had my own car, I had a dog, I had two jobs, I had a boyfriend that supported me,” she said. “I was at peace.”