Support Donyea Phillips

Donyea Phillips is a peer counselor at SCI Chester. He walks people through the hardest seasons of their lives and reminds them that no matter what the circumstances and conditions we are in suggest, there is reason to live, to fight, to hope. That we are in fact our own reason, that we are not our worst moments. That we, in the end, are worth something. That we have value. 

Donyea is a dog trainer, preparing rescue pets for their eventual homes. He is a member of the SCI Chester Think Tank, a teaching and learning collective that works to educate and engage the public on pressing issues of inequality and injustice. In the 18 years he has been incarcerated, Donyea has completed over 40 programs to better himself and serve his community, including college courses and certifications in the skilled trades and trauma informed care. 

Because of his commitment to build caring communities inside, he has been selected time and again by staff and administrators to be honored, including sharing his story in an installation at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary. Donyea without question has an exemplary record, a record made even more remarkable by the fact that he was wrongfully convicted.

At 16 years old, Donyea was arrested along with a group of adults for a crime he didn’t commit. For 48 hours, he was denied access to food, a parent, legal guardian, or an attorney and physically assaulted. The detective fabricated a story and coerced a confession that served as the only substantive evidence in Donyea’s conviction and subsequent 25-50 year sentence. 

That detective, James Pitts, has since been convicted of perjury and obstruction in a case in which he stood accused of beating a “suspect” to coerce a confession and then lying on the stand to obtain a conviction in that case. This is one among numerous complaints against this former detective. 

Donyea has been fighting to get his wrongful conviction overturned ever since his incarceration.

We need your help. Please give whatever you can to help us reach our goal of release for this young man so long denied justice.