Devin McCourty received’t be suiting up for the Patriots anymore, however the highlight continues to be shining on the previous group captain’s contributions to the New England neighborhood.
McCourty, who introduced his retirement from the NFL in March, can be acknowledged in November for his service off the sector when he receives the Embracing the Legacy Award from RFK Community Alliance.
The Lancaster-based nonprofit that gives every kind of household assist providers is particularly putting its concentrate on what it says is one in all McCourty’s “most pivotal moments in his career”: serving to free a person serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.
McCourty, teammates and different members of the Patriots group throughout the 2021 season partnered with social justice advocates to free Brockton resident William Allen, who was convicted of first-degree homicide and sentenced to life in jail in 1997 after committing an armed theft that killed 42-year-old Purvis Bester in 1994.
The advocacy work led to former Gov. Charlie Baker commuting Allen’s first-degree homicide conviction, making him instantly eligible for parole, in January 2022. Allen was 48 on the time he was freed.
“People, especially children, shouldn’t be defined by the worst thing that they have done,” McCourty mentioned in a launch. “It is vital to showcase new pathways to break the systemic cycles that prevent people from reaching their full potential.”
The commutation marked the primary to occur in 25 years in Massachusetts.
McCourty helped lead the Patriots to 3 Super Bowl championships throughout his 13-year profession and is arguably destined to finish up as a Hall of Famer, in Foxboro and in Canton. He earned two Pro Bowl nods and held one of many longest consecutive begins streaks in franchise historical past, making 115 straight begins and taking part in greater than 12,000 snaps.
But RFK Community Alliance says his off-the-field influence is equally as noteworthy by way of his advocacy for social justice reform, specializing in the school-to-prison pipeline and juvenile justice reform. He is a part of a bunch of assorted neighborhood initiatives throughout Boston and New England.
“When members of the community use their platform to champion equity and fairness, it has a profound impact and inspires lasting change,” the Alliance’s president and CEO Michael Ames mentioned in an announcement. “Devin is a model for us all, and his actions truly reflect the social values and hopes of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”