When the justice system fails, the consequences ripple far beyond the courtroom. Families are torn apart, livelihoods are destroyed, and communities lose faith in the very institutions meant to protect them. Few stories illustrate this more starkly than that of Douglas Vance, a husband, father, and grandfather serving over 14 years in federal prison for a nonviolent white-collar conviction, despite evidence of his innocence that was never shown to the jury.
In this exclusive Clutch Justice Q&A, I sat down with Heather Vance, Douglas’s wife, to discuss why she’s fighting so fiercely for his commutation or pardon. Heather opens up about suppressed evidence, sentencing disparities, and the devastating toll his imprisonment has taken on their family. She also offers a broader critique of a federal system that, in her words, is more interested in convictions and quotas than truth and justice.
This is not just Douglas’s story. It’s a reflection of how countless families are impacted when fairness is traded for expediency.
Q: Heather, for those who are just hearing about Douglas’s case for the first time, what is the single most important thing you want them to know about why you’re fighting for his commutation or pardon?
The federal court convicted an innocent man to over 14-years on a non-violent, white-collar charge. There was evidence to prove his innocence that was never allowed to be presented in court.
The prosecutors and FBI agent had already spent so much of the government’s resources going after my husband that they were determined to walk away with a conviction so they suppressed this evidence and acted as if they knew nothing of it. When, in fact, there was a recorded call between my husband and the FBI agent that took place years before there was even a trial date set; it was withheld from the jury also.
They harassed so called witnesses, left out important bank statements. They made up their own version of what happened and the court went along with it. This is why we are fighting so hard for the commutation/pardon of his sentence to clear his name and get him out of this corrupt system.
Q: You’ve mentioned that critical exculpatory evidence was withheld from the jury during Douglas’s trial. Can you explain what that evidence was and why it could have changed the outcome if it had been presented?
The co-defendant wrote a 6-page-letter that she gave to him in 2018 confessing to what she did and what happened from beginning-to-end, and she stated in this letter that Douglas never had anything to do with what happened and was never even aware of what she did. It is our belief that if the jury would have had this information the verdict would have been different and he would have never been convicted.
If there’s a jury trial, then the jury should have ALL the facts, ALL the evidence, not just parts of what happened or the parts that the prosecutors and FBI twist and want them to have.
It’s not a fair justice system. This is a system that the odds are stacked against you the moment you say you’re innocent and decide to fight to defend yourself and this happens to people everyday.
Q: Douglas received a 174-month sentence for a nonviolent white collar crime, while others convicted of larger-scale fraud have served far less time. How do these sentencing disparities affect not just your family, but the fairness of the justice system overall?
A person’s life just thrown to the wayside in federal court like it means nothing (which to them it doesn’t) and for something they didn’t do. For a non-violent, white-collar crime, where evidence was tossed out like it was nothing, because they knew if the jury saw or heard it they wouldn’t get their conviction.
There’s people that have committed horrible crimes, inflicted bodily harm, done the unthinkable to others and have gotten far less time in prison, if any time at all compared to what my husband (who is innocent) received for this non violent charge. In this unjust system, there’s a difference in the people who have money to buy their way out that are actually guilty and the ones that are innocent, who want to defend themselves don’t have money.
Q: What has life been like for your family since Douglas’s conviction and imprisonment, and how has this separation affected you and your loved ones on a daily basis?
A. Life has been hard! Because my husband was ripped away from us from me in a way that’s heart breaking. We have been together almost 20 years and we have NEVER been away from each other longer than a few days at a time while he was working. The heart ache, depression, and anxiety is REAL!
The mourning process is hard and all while trying to pick up the pieces and live a different life than what your used to. Having your comfort, safety and the person who feels like home ripped away from you is hard to process and still try to function in everyday life. And on top of that It’s unfair that he has to live this way and go through the things he does everyday over something he didn’t do.
We have lost so much time together over this – time that we will never get back. Douglas has always been the heart of our family, our guidance, our protector, the provider, our fun loving adventure planning husband, dad to 6, son and popaw to 12 and now we have to live without that and him. Why? Because the federal system is so broken it’s not about TRUTH it’s all about CONVICTIONS and MONEY to them.
This has been uncharted territory for me, its changed everything I’ve ever known and done because now I have to work 2 jobs to make ends meet and I don’t get a lot of time with our kids, grandkids, and family like I used to because Douglas always made sure I had time for that. Because family time has always been important to us.
Now because of this wrongful conviction that has all changed and it has affected all of us mentally, emotionally and physically and it has done the same to my husband. This has taken everything away from him. His name and who he is, all he has built and worked hard his whole life for, his freedom, his job, his life, his family time and watching his grandkids grow and change. When he hurts I hurt. It’s just UNFAIR.
Q: You believe Douglas is being excessively punished for exercising his constitutional right to defend himself in court. Can you explain why you feel this is the case, and what message you think this sends to others in similar situations?
Because he is innocent and believed in the system. He wanted to go to trial and tell the TRUTH. We didn’t understand at the time that the Judge, prosecutors, and your own attorney (court appointed attorney) all basically work together. How can you receive a fair trial like that?
The message is clear they want you to plead guilty take a plea deal so they don’t have to go to trial. They don’t want the TRUTH. If you go to trial they will do what ever it takes to get a conviction.
Q: You’ve cited Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s criticism of the federal sentencing guidelines for white collar crimes. How does her position validate your concerns about Douglas’s case?
A. It proves that theres discrepancies in these type of cases and how they look at money versus culpability, just the unfairness in the system all together. How some are sentenced harshly and some get a slap on the wrist for basically the same charges and the way they use these guidelines need to be changed. They need to look at these cases individually not as a whole because each one is different. And until they do that people will continue to be sentenced unfairly in these non violent white collar cases especially the innocent.
Q: You mentioned that Douglas’s co-defendant made statements that support his innocence. What did those statements say, and why do you believe they were overlooked or ignored?
A. The codefendant explained in detail what happened in her 6 page letter that she changed bank statements (per the request of another individual that just so happened to be one of the prosecutors “key witnesses/victim” in the case) and that she used my husband’s email to send out these changed statements because she had his email information, which made it look like he sent these statement’s in an email.
And she was willing to do the same on the stand, but the judge wouldn’t even allow the letter to be mentioned to the jury and limited the codefendant on what she could say on the stand about who was involved and what happened, so the jury never got to hear the TRUTH. So between this and the prosecutions money, misleading statements, the jury was prevented from making a just decision.
Because they were only given bits and pieces of what happened and the rest was given to them by the prosecutors and FBI in the way they wanted it to look which would make my husband look bad so they could get their conviction.
Q: For people reading this who believe in fairness and second chances, what concrete steps can they take right now to help support Douglas’s fight for justice?
Speak up! Don’t be scared to ruffle some feathers. Speak the TRUTH, and be LOUD about it.
Contact congressman and women. Contact the President, Vice President, pardon czar Alice Johnson, The department of justice, the pardon attorneys office and the attorney General’s office.
His case # is C315066 we are fighting for his name, his freedom, and for change.
Q: What have you learned about the criminal justice system through this experience, and what changes would you like to see so that other families don’t go through what yours is facing?
A. The federal justice system is broken it’s flawed in so many ways. It needs to be completely ripped apart and reworked! And this needs to be done by people who have a heart, compassion for true JUSTICE and the TRUTH and community safety. People who see others as actual people, human beings not just convictions and dollar signs.
They are filling already overly crowded jails and prisons with the INNOCENT and non-violent people. These are people who get treated inhumanly everyday and fed less than a toddler would eat and there’s the poor health care for the sick. The list could go on and on. The system is just BROKEN. They are not here for the TRUTH and real JUSTICE. It’s all in their favor and what works best for them.
Please: if you or a loved one is facing a federal charge do your HOMEWORK do research. Be prepared; don’t just listen to what your attorney is telling you; it’s not always the TRUTH.
Q: If Douglas could hear one message from the public and from supporters right now, what would you want it to be?
A. We believe in YOU! We believe in TRUTH and JUSTICE and we will help fight along side your family for your freedom. We will speak LOUDLY on these wrongs that were done against you. We will help fight for change in this broken system. We will help be your VOICE!
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