The Crime Against Atdom Patsalis: A decade into a 292-year sentence, a second chance shines through
Phoenix, Arizona: In 2013 Atdom Patsalis was sentenced to 292 years in prison. His crime? A series of nonviolent burglaries in Bullhead City. Over a three-month period, he stole items worth approximately $5,000 from homes, garages, and vehicles to barter for shelter as he struggled with addiction and homelessness.
Patsalis was convicted on 25 counts, and the judge imposed the maximum sentence, ordering the terms to be served consecutively, which added up to nearly 300 years. During the sentencing in 2015, the judge called the consecutive sentences that added up to the nearly 300-year sentence, "fairly harsh if not incomprehensible". Adding, "I cannot send the message that you can burglarize multiple houses and victimize multiple people on multiple occasions and you'll simply get one sentence for it."
Patsalis rejected plea deals that could have significantly reduced his sentence and later lost several appeals.
His case was picked up by the Arizona Justice Project (AJP) and after years of unsuccessful appeals at the state, federal, and Supreme Court levels, AJP filed for commutation. After a rigorous clemency review, the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency voted to reduce Adam’s sentence to a standard 10-year term. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs granted clemency, leading to his release on parole on Thursday.
"When I lost in the Ninth Circuit, which is where I was supposed to get play at, it kind of killed me, because that was the only, that was the only place I was going get help, and clemency was not a thing before Katie Hobbs," Patsalis told 12 News.
"I plan on using my situation and my story and this second chance as an opportunity to help others and hopefully getting them -- getting someone that was like me, the kid, the 21-year-old kid that was getting sentenced to 292 years - trying to help that kid out and get him out of that situation," Patsalis said.
"When we put people in prison at such a young age for offenses that maybe weren't very serious, and maybe what the individual needed was support and help to just throw people away for the rest of their lives does not do justice," Lindsay Herf, Executive Director at the Arizona Justice Project said.
Now free, Patsalis is focused on rebuilding his life, pursuing creative endeavors like music and writing, and participating in a re-entry program to help him adjust to life outside of prison.