5:29Larry Hoover, incarcerated since 1973, appears before the parole board alongside his spouse, Winndye Jenkins, at the Dixon Correctional Center, Feb. 7, 1995, situated in Dixon, Ill.John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images
For 23 hours each day, Larry Hoover, the originator of the infamous street organization Gangster Disciples, had been confined within a 7-by-12-foot solid cell at the ADX Florence federal supermax installation located in Colorado, where he endured 27 years in near-total seclusion, according to representations made by his legal team.
At the beginning of this year, President Donald Trump shortened his federal life imprisonment, bringing to an end almost three decades of federal detention.
Hoover, age 74, is still confined under a distinct Illinois state adjudication, an extendable sentence up to 200 years resulting from a 1973 homicide conviction.
Subsequent to that relocation to the Colorado State Penitentiary this year, his attorneys claim, Hoover has experienced three cardiac events while engaged in penal labor, the most current occurring in September. They delineate, in a newly submitted legal appeal to the prison oversight committee, his ailment as delicate and his handling as "a sluggish, state-approved death sentence."
Hoover's legal representatives are imploring Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to mirror the action already taken by the federal authority, acknowledge his transformation, and afford Hoover an opportunity to spend his remaining time in liberty.
President Donald Trump responds to queries from journalists during a Diwali observance in the Oval Office, Oct. 21, 2025.Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Hoover established the Gangster Disciples on Chicago's South Side during the latter part of the 1960s. In 1973, he was judged guilty on state allegations of instructing the assassination of William "Pooky" Young, a 19-year-old narcotics vendor accused of stealing from the gang. Hoover was condemned to 200 years of imprisonment under Illinois' former undetermined sentencing structure.
In 1997, following a 17-year federal probe, Hoover was found guilty on 40 charges including narcotics scheme and extortion for purportedly managing gang undertakings from inside the prison. He was given six life sentences, penalties that President Donald Trump reduced earlier in the year.
On Wednesday, Hoover's counsel, Justin Moore from the Stafford Moore Law Firm, lodged a 39-page appeal for reprieve, acquired exclusively by ABC News. His entreaty now resides with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and Pritzker.
Ron Safer, who acted as the prior primary federal prosecutor in Hoover's 1997 conviction, expressed to ABC News' Chicago affiliate WLS that he was let down that Hoover was bestowed federal forgiveness.
"I hold a belief in absolution. I hold a belief in rehabilitation. I hold a belief in leniency. There exist certain offenses so atrocious, so infamous, that they merit no clemency," Safer remarked. "If Larry Hoover sanctioned a killing, a killing ensued."
The submission from Wednesday contends that Hoover's continued imprisonment, considering his age, well-being, and long-standing rehabilitation, no longer upholds justice or societal well-being.
Central to the appeal are Hoover's utterances, ending his quietness for the very first time in 25 years in a pair of profoundly personal letters to a yet-to-be-named magistrate and to the masses, providing insight into his regret, aging, and introspection.
"Individuals, when documenting me in periodicals, consistently employ visuals portraying my appearance 40 years past, as if I remain a youthful, robust, and unruly gang commander. That version of me is nonexistent anymore," Hoover penned in a typed communique to the judge. The correspondence lacks a date.
"I am no longer the Larry Hoover to whom individuals sometimes allude, or the subject of newspaper articles, or the criminal character characterized by the authorities," he expressed. "That individual has, over the many intervening years, evolved into my present self. It remains factual that some men fail to gain wisdom, or that captivity transforms certain individuals into brutes; I have witnessed this, yet personally, with the passage of time, imprisonment — specifically this prison — transmuted into a realm of rumination."
In a separate and similarly undated communication directed to the public, Hoover authored, "I have begun to comprehend that my prolonged silence has constituted a profound disservice to my own person."
Larry Hoover, confined since 1973, meets with the parole committee together with his spouse, Winndye Jenkins, at the Dixon Correctional Center, Feb. 7, 1995, in Dixon, Ill.John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images
"I have taken part, and indeed, have been the initiator, so I am unable to avoid accountability. Through this sense of obligation, currently enabled to genuinely assess and appreciate the enormity and scope of the detriments my deeds have caused, I am unable to resist experiencing deep regret," Hoover communicated.
Within his communication, Hoover conveyed intense remorse regarding the damage prompted by his previous actions, stating that he had squandered his capabilities on selections that harmed Chicago, his locality, and the larger society. He underscored that he has since terminated all associations with the Gangster Disciples alongside any form of illicit activity, declaring a resolve to abstain from this way of existence "now and always."
Following over half a century spent incarcerated, encompassing upwards of 25 years in isolation, Hoover affirmed that the potential for him to re-offend is nonexistent, pointing out that the majority of individuals his age dedicate their closing years to dissuading others from participating in crime. He voiced his desire to spend his outstanding moments upholding a vow extended to his deceased mother to prevent the futility of his remaining years.
His letters pivot around a petition compiled by his legal representatives and presented in his name that depicts a man molded by decades of confinement, deteriorating physical health, and personal introspection. His lawyers assert that a half-century behind fortified walls has served its purpose regarding atonement, and that his rehabilitation stands as tangible proof of transformation.
Hoover's advocates observe that he has refrained from perpetrating any critical infraction throughout his decades of incarceration and has finalized exceeding 100 educational and rehabilitative initiatives.
"My progenitor has undergone multiple myocardial infarctions stemming from required participation in strenuous labor despite his advanced age and medical state," articulated his offspring, Larry Hoover Jr., in a declaration to ABC News "His sole aspiration now consists of returning home, expending his residual time alongside his kindred, and employing his background to encourage concord within the very societies he once originated from."
The submission likewise elucidates what Hoover's attorneys portrayed as the stark circumstances of his confinement alongside his failing state of wellness.
The Colorado Department of Corrections indicated in a statement transmitted to ABC News, "On account of privacy stipulations (such as HIPAA) safeguarding an individual's confidential health details, the Colorado Department of Corrections holds no authorization to validate or comment on any inmate's distinct medical position, state of well-being, or prospective conveyance to medical facilities."
The department of corrections continued, "Moreover, as a precaution for institutional security and public safety, we refrain from disclosing particular lodging placements, employment assignments, or confinement parameters associated with any inmate."
JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, delivers remarks from the rostrum amidst demonstrations conducted as an element of the No Kings Rallies, Oct. 18, 2025, in Chicago.Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
Hoover signifies one of just 35 persons still imprisoned under Illinois' pre-1978 undetermined sentencing arrangement, which resulted in convicts possessing unrestricted "C-numbers" absent any release date barring by decision of the review board, according to the filing. His attorneys make note that Hoover's co-defendant within the 1973 instance, Andrew Howard, procured parole exceeding 30 years prior, a disparity cited by his legal team as verification of continuous punishment without purpose. Both were indicted for homicide, and Howard was convicted for enacting the fatal act.
The Illinois Parole Board, through its adjudication to reject Hoover's liberation in 2022, expressed, "The Board holds the opinion that release on parole presently would prove inconsistent with the welfare of the community, as there remains a considerable likelihood that Mr. Hoover would fail to comport with the stipulations for release on parole, and that liberation on parole at the present juncture would depreciate the significance of the offenses and contribute to a dearth of deference for the legislative framework."
The renewed submission for his discharge revisits Hoover's nascent existence across Chicago's South Side, portraying a youth molded by destitution, segregation, and overarching neglect.
"From the perspective of his bedroom casement as a child," the submission specifies, "he witnessed narcotics exchanges, prostitution operations, altercations, stabbings, and gunfire incidents. His mundane actuality embodied the panorama of urban abandonment."
One of his attorneys, Justin Moore, transcribed within the petition, "Hoover did not ignite the conflagration. He was reared within it."
Hoover's chronicle has garnered attention extending beyond Chicago. During 2021, hip-hop performers Kanye West and Drake suspended their long-standing animosity to headline the "Free Larry Hoover" charity spectacle in Los Angeles, bringing scrutiny to criminal justice reformation and advocating kindness for aging inmates such as Hoover. West, a Chicago denizen, had earlier campaigned for Hoover's release during a 2018 convocation alongside Trump in the Oval Office.
That communal backing has perpetuated its growth. Amongst those endorsing Hoover's appeal for pardon are civil liberties figures Jesse Jackson Sr. and Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Chance the Rapper, Judge Greg Mathis, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Yohance Lacour, and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Also extending support is Alice Marie Johnson, Trump's current White House pardon coordinator, who similarly operates as CEO of Taking Action for Good. Johnson conveyed within a letter within the submission to the Illinois review board that Hoover demonstrates remorse and possesses the aptitude and inclination to conduct his ensuing existence as a beneficial entity within his locality. She incorporated that, were he liberated, she would individually lend aid in his reintegration into society.
Alice Marie Johnson, whose sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump, delivers a presentation at the 2019 White House Prison Reform Summit and First Step Act gala. Hosted within the East Room of the White House, April 1, 2019.Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Rep. Jonathan Jackson expounded upon this motif within a statement disseminated by his bureau advocating clemency, querying "whether persistent incarceration serves the interests of the community — or whether compassion now constitutes the fairer response."
Hoover's petition now lies with Pritzker and the Illinois assembly, which reconsiders pardon proceedings and retains the authority to convey guidance to the governor.
Pritzker withheld comment ensuing Trump's commutation directive, however, has convened alongside household and proponents of Hoover.
During a post-budget press symposium in June, Pritzker affirmed, "As is known, we maintain a procedural methodology in Illinois for those seeking a commutation or pardon, necessitating application through the Prisoner Review Board, subsequent to which the Prisoner Review Board renders a recommendation to the governor."
"I have, as all are aware, authorized paroles and commutations, numbering into the hundreds throughout my administration, and uniformly, each occurrence has incorporated that specified timing,” he appended.
The submission surfaces amidst escalating friction between Trump and Pritzker, whose rapport has been burdened by the COVID-19 epidemic, immigration matters, and directives pertaining to public safety across Illinois. Over recent months, the pair has clashed concerning ICE enforcement operations within Chicago, featuring Trump accusing Pritzker of "failing to safeguard" federal officials, whilst Pritzker has categorized Trump's stratagems as "acts of aggression aimed against our populace."
Detractors, integrating several former prosecutors, law enforcement representatives, alongside community anti-violence advocates, postulate that Hoover's dispensation could agitate pre-existing wounds within Chicago vicinities that remain scarred by gang-affiliated savagery.
They sustain that, in spite of his disavowals, Hoover's designation persists as a source of symbolic influence amongst certain Gangster Disciples divisions.
Chicago FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug DePodesta communicated within a declaration imparted to WLS in Chicago in May that "Larry Hoover instigated profound detriment in Chicago. He was also convicted on state charges and is destined to prolong his detention in state prison, the site of his rightful belonging."
His advocates retort that his metamorphosis in tandem with the decades he has already served signify a person devoted to peace, as opposed to dominance.
In his personal pronouncements, Hoover scribed, "I yearn for my patrimony to embody peace. I aspire for my appellation to symbolize growth, not devastation. I seek remembrance not predicated on my past self, but predicated on the self I strived to evolve into."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
