Virginia governor, Ralph Northam, has granted a conditional pardon to a 22-year-old autistic man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for striking and severely injuring a New York couple in car accident.
According to NBC News, Matthew Rushin – in August 2019 – pleaded guilty for his involvement in the January 2019 incident that has left one of the victims, George Cusick, disabled.
After the young man’s conviction, his mother Lavern Rushin, launched a social media campaign calling for his release on the grounds that her son was innocent. She also launched an online petition appealing for his release as well as a GoFundMe to help raise funds for his legal fees. The petition garnered over 200,000 signatories, while the crowdfunding raised over $100,000.
