I'm the loved one of Richard Stahursky and I'm posting this for him. My name is Richard Stahursky. In 2015, I was sentenced to 9,999 years a Life Sentence for the murder of Mr. Micah Boland. Mr. Boland was a child sex offender and fellow prisoner. I am 47 years old, and I have been in prison for 24 years.
The Beginning
My journey began in 2002 when I was arrested and sentenced to 28 years for an armed robbery I did NOT commit. My co-defendant, who was actually responsible, cooperated with authorities and received a lenient sentence. Because I was innocent, I was handed a massive sentence just for being there and because I didn't cooperate with authorities.
For my 2015 case, I am asking to be resentenced to 30 years with time served. My court-appointed attorney, Philip Cohen, told me to plead guilty because he didn’t want the extra work of a trial even though I wanted to fight for my life. He told me not to worry, promising he would appeal for a sentence reduction.
A Childhood of Savage Pain
My past is filled with trauma that no child should endure. Growing up in Bridgeport, CT, my mother, my sister Dawn, and I were severely abused daily by my stepfather Frank Clements. He was an addict who kicked me out at 12 years old to survive on the streets. I later found out he had been sexually molesting my sister while he punished me by locking me in a shed. My mother chose her husband over her children.
When my sister died in 2003 at only 25, I spiraled into a world of anger and pain. I took it out on sex offenders because I felt I had failed to protect her. I didn’t mean to kill Mr. Boland; I blacked out. The prison knew my history, yet they ignored my pleas not to be placed with sex offenders. Before this happened, I had spent 12 years in solitary confinement with no mental health help, left in a cell to rot.
A system that forgot me
When I tried to appeal by myself, the court dismissed it as untimely. My lawyer never even told me that in Maine, you only have 21 days to file.
The Man I Am Today
I have two sons I haven’t seen in over a decade, one since 2002. They have been kept from me, and I have a niece I’ve never met. Now, at 47, I am engaged. I want to be a husband, a father again in the future because I never had the chance of being a father before, and an uncle. I want to spend my life speaking in schools and community centers to help teenagers avoid the path I took. I want to help break the school-to-prison pipeline, but I need my freedom to do it.
Me and my fiancée thank everyone who signs this. If you are an attorney, a law student, or a paralegal, we are begging for your help.
Respectfully,
Richard Stahursky
Note: Please do not send donations to this website, as the money does not go to us.
Updates
Richie's bid for freedom!
June 22, 2026
Richie has not appeared in front a judge for a resentencing yet. I made this other petition to express Richie's goal of getting his freedom to become a become a youth mentor. His dream is to speak in schools about his experiences with trauma and neglect as a juvenile with the purpose of helping young adults and teenagers take a different path and not make the same mistakes he did. We need an attorney willing to take his case, if you know any attorney please reach out to me! Thank you all
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I'm the loved one of Richard Stahursky and I'm posting this for him. My name is Richard Stahursky. In 2015, I was sentenced to 9,999 years a Life Sentence for the murder of Mr. Micah Boland. Mr. Boland was a child sex offender and fellow prisoner. I am 47 years old, and I have been in prison for 24 years.
The Beginning
My journey began in 2002 when I was arrested and sentenced to 28 years for an armed robbery I did NOT commit. My co-defendant, who was actually responsible, cooperated with authorities and received a lenient sentence. Because I was innocent, I was handed a massive sentence just for being there and because I didn't cooperate with authorities.
For my 2015 case, I am asking to be resentenced to 30 years with time served. My court-appointed attorney, Philip Cohen, told me to plead guilty because he didn’t want the extra work of a trial even though I wanted to fight for my life. He told me not to worry, promising he would appeal for a sentence reduction.
A Childhood of Savage Pain
My past is filled with trauma that no child should endure. Growing up in Bridgeport, CT, my mother, my sister Dawn, and I were severely abused daily by my stepfather Frank Clements. He was an addict who kicked me out at 12 years old to survive on the streets. I later found out he had been sexually molesting my sister while he punished me by locking me in a shed. My mother chose her husband over her children.
When my sister died in 2003 at only 25, I spiraled into a world of anger and pain. I took it out on sex offenders because I felt I had failed to protect her. I didn’t mean to kill Mr. Boland; I blacked out. The prison knew my history, yet they ignored my pleas not to be placed with sex offenders. Before this happened, I had spent 12 years in solitary confinement with no mental health help, left in a cell to rot.
A system that forgot me
When I tried to appeal by myself, the court dismissed it as untimely. My lawyer never even told me that in Maine, you only have 21 days to file.
The Man I Am Today
I have two sons I haven’t seen in over a decade, one since 2002. They have been kept from me, and I have a niece I’ve never met. Now, at 47, I am engaged. I want to be a husband, a father again in the future because I never had the chance of being a father before, and an uncle. I want to spend my life speaking in schools and community centers to help teenagers avoid the path I took. I want to help break the school-to-prison pipeline, but I need my freedom to do it.
Me and my fiancée thank everyone who signs this. If you are an attorney, a law student, or a paralegal, we are begging for your help.
Respectfully,
Richard Stahursky
Note: Please do not send donations to this website, as the money does not go to us.
Updates
Richie's bid for freedom!
June 22, 2026
Richie has not appeared in front a judge for a resentencing yet. I made this other petition to express Richie's goal of getting his freedom to become a become a youth mentor. His dream is to speak in schools about his experiences with trauma and neglect as a juvenile with the purpose of helping young adults and teenagers take a different path and not make the same mistakes he did. We need an attorney willing to take his case, if you know any attorney please reach out to me! Thank you all
1 Comment
9,999 years is a joke. Our system is completely broken when a guy gets that kind of time while real criminals walk free. Richard deserves a fair shot at a life after all these years.
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9,999 years is a joke. Our system is completely broken when a guy gets that kind of time while real criminals walk free. Richard deserves a fair shot at a life after all these years.