SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — At the public defender’s office in Suffolk, Sam Harris was hired 40 days ago to help clients in trouble with the law, and recently, spent his first day in court in which he wasn’t the defendant.
“Sam, he shadows me to court and he shadows me to the jail,” said Patrick Carroll, a mitigation specialist with Virginia Defenders and Harris’ immediate supervisor. “And Sam’s learning all the different substance abuse programs, how they work, how do you get applications and how to move forward and help others.”
Carroll was with Harris on that first day of not being a defendant. It was a much different feeling.
“Back in April when I was interviewing for this job, … I had a chance to shadow Patrick in the courtroom, and to go back through the front of the court was a feeling of elation,” Harris said. “And I was a little scared. I was a little nervous. But also … that morning, Patrick had set [it] up so I could meet the judge in the back, and then go back there to go through the judge’s door, not [the] inside door. It just meant a lot to me.”
It was certainly much different than what he experienced before, having spent 24 years, seven months and two days in prison.
10 On Your Side was there in 1999 after Harris led police on a chase that ended in Norfolk. His drug-induced crime spree landed him in prison with a 220 year sentence, with 60 years to serve.
Years later, after dozens of letters to governors, 10 On Your Side met with Harris’ sister, who explained how he worked to help other veterans behind bars. Last year, he created a recovery group to help inmates with anger management to help manage their addictions.
In August 2023, Youngkin issued a pardon to the man who has promised to help others.
“I thank God for Patrick and the office, the work they’re doing, because I said a high percentage of people who do commit crimes, they do have a substance use disorder problem or a mental health problem,” Harris said, “and having to get that information to the attorney and to the court could happily save them and get them the help they need, which is public safety.”
