North Texas man overcomes adversity to become community pillar but struggles to obtain pardon for second chance
A North Texas man has overcome pain, loss, jail and drug addiction to become a business owner and a decorated first responder in his community.
But there's one thing he desperately wants and has struggled to achieve despite help from two dozen state lawmakers.
"I was 19, I was a widower facing eviction, living on the streets and I really didn't have a good place to turn," said David Hart.
Hart turned to drugs when his wife and his father both died within months of each other in 2003.
"I questioned my existence of why I was spared and I am here, what's the point," Hart said.
Now 22 years later, the 41-year-old, long recovered from his brief addiction, has become a pillar of the Parker County community he grew up in.
Hart now owns a successful heating and air conditioning business with more than 40 employees. He also just bought a malt shop in town and previously served as a firefighter.
With a family that includes 6 children, Hart's dark past seems like a distant memory. But it only seems that way.
"Not everyone deserves to carry that weight forever," he said.
Hart spoke last week to state lawmakers in Austin in support of a bill that would make it easier for people with drug offenses to get their records expunged.
In his case, he's seeking a pardon from Gov. Greg Abbott, who he met with last year, so he can hopefully become a reserve police officer.
"One of the things that I've tried so hard to do is to serve in kind of a different capacity because I believe, given that position, maybe I have a chance to save somebody else's life," Hart said.
Hart has signed letters from 25 current and former legislators backing his request, including former Parker County State Senator Drew Springer.
"I met him because of his fantastic work on behalf of the citizens of Parker County," said Springer. "And he deserves a second chance. I think that's the Christian way of life and I think David's story as much anybody empowers that."
Despite all of his support, Hart has been unable to get the pardon he believes people like him deserve.
"It's not going quite the way I thought it would," Hart said.
Hart believes if Texas made it easier for those with drug offenses to wipe away their past, it would encourage more people to do what he's done with his life.
"It seems to be a one-and-done type deal in Texas for some reason," said Hart. "It's a scarlet letter you can't get rid of. No, you can't get rid of it."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Southern Baptist public policy arm survives challenge to its conservative credentials
DALLAS (AP) — Southern Baptist representatives on Wednesday fended off two efforts to move the staunchly conservative body even more sharply to the right, giving a vote of confidence to its public-policy agency and defeating a proposed constitutional ban on churches with women pastors. The votes came just before the adjournment of the two-day annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination. Church 'messengers' voted 3,744-2,819 to retain their public policy agency, rejecting calls for its abolition from those who allege the entity is tainted by liberal affiliations on immigration issues and who want it to be even more conservative than it already is. The bid to enshrine a ban on churches with women pastors in the SBC constitution received a 3,421-2,191 vote, but that 61% majority fell short of the two-thirds support needed to initiate a constitutional ban. The measures reflect debate only on the degree of conservatism in the SBC. It comes just a day after messengers overwhelmingly endorsed a call to overturn the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriage, and any other court and legislative actions with similar results. And it comes in a denomination that officially opposes women pastors, and where the debate is over whether that applies to women in subordinate pastoral roles. The action affirming the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission amounted to a vote of confidence in the public advocacy voice of the nation's largest evangelical body, coming at a time when Christian conservatives have unprecedented influence in Washington. Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Florida, said he filed the motion to abolish the ERLC with the aim of making it heed member criticisms. Had the measure passed, he argued, it would have given the agency time to enact changes by next year's annual meeting, when its fate would have come up for a final vote. 'But make no mistake, this motion is a wake-up call,' he said. But Richard Land, a former longtime president of the commission, said it would be 'tragic' to silence Baptists' voice in Washington. 'We have more opportunity right now to influence public policy in our nation's capital than we have had in my lifetime,' Land said. 'We have a president who is more sympathetic. … We have more congressmen and senators who are sympathetic to what we as Southern Baptists are trying to do, and to turn back the barbarians at the gate in our culture.' President Donald Trump has created at least three religion-focused entities with a strong evangelical Christian influence, reflecting the overwhelming support he's received from that demographic. Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, presented a slideshow in defense of the organization. It included a photo of him with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a fellow Southern Baptist. A day before the vote, an ERLC event championed a Tennessee ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors that faces a Supreme Court challenge. Abolishing the organization 'means the public square would be abandoned by the SBC, losing a powerful voice for the truth of the Gospel and in effect, rewarding secular efforts to push religion out,' Leatherwood said. What does the ERLC do? While not a lobbying organization, the ERLC has advocated against abortion and transgender rights. It has promoted a strongly pro-Israel stance, a longtime evangelical priority. The commission has also provided ultrasound machines for organizations that seek to dissuade women from having abortions. Leatherwood credited the ERLC with advocating for the repeal of Roe v. Wade, which was realized in a 2022 Supreme Court decision ending the nationwide right to an abortion. That was followed by abortion bans in several states. Leatherwood also touted ERLC advocacy for a pending congressional move to defund Planned Parenthood. But some criticism focused on the ERLC's opposition to criminal penalties for women who seek abortions. 'Time after time, they've opposed righteous pro-life legislation that seeks equal justice for the unborn, arguing that those who choose abortion should face no legal consequences,' Ethan Jago, pastor of Five Bridges Church in Panama City, Florida, said in calling for the vote to abolish the commission. Rice contended that 'outside progressive advocacy organizations have financially supported' the commission. But Leatherwood said more than 98% of commission funding comes from the SBC, with the remaining coming Baptist state conventions and individuals. While the ERLC has been criticized for its advocacy on immigration reform, the commission says it has promoted only stances in keeping with official SBC resolutions calling for both the rule of law and respect for human dignity. Women in pastoral roles debated The proposal on women pastors was a rerun of recent years' meetings. A similar proposal received two-thirds of votes in 2023, but fell just short of the necessary supermajority in 2024. Wednesday's vote sought to restart the process. The denomination's official statement of belief, the Baptist Faith and Message, reserves the role of pastor to men. Southern Baptist churches are self-governing. But the convention can kick them out if deemed not in 'friendly cooperation,' based in part on how closely they adhere to the Baptist Faith and Message on issues such as women pastors. But there remain disagreements over whether the faith statement applies only to women as a senior pastor or similar role, or whether it applies to ministry assistants with the title of pastor. In recent years, the convention began purging churches that either had women as lead pastors or asserted that they could serve that role. That included one of its largest congregations, California's Saddleback Church. But when an SBC committee this year retained a South Carolina megachurch with a woman on its pastoral staff, some argued this proved the need for a constitutional amendment. The church later quit the denomination of its own accord. Other ERLC-related controversies Criticism has long dogged the ERLC. After Leatherwood last year commended former President Joe Biden — who is deeply unpopular among religious conservatives — for withdrawing his reelection bid, the then-chairman of the commission announced his firing. However, the commission retracted that announcement and the chairman resigned when it became clear that its board's executive committee hadn't agreed to that. Instead, the board gave Leatherwood a strong vote of confidence along with a warning against stirring unnecessary controversy. A previous commission president drew fire for his harsh criticisms of pro-Trump pastors in 2016. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
More Americans see increased influence from religion in US: Gallup
More Americans said they see an increased influence from religion in the U.S., according to a new Gallup poll. The Wednesday poll found that 34 percent of respondents said they believe 'religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life,' up 14 points from May 2024. In December, 35 percent said the same about religion, one point higher than the recent Gallup poll. Back in April, President Trump pledged that 'religion is coming back to America' after kicking off his first White House Easter Egg Roll since coming back to office 'We're bringing religion back in America. We're bringing a lot of things back, but religion is coming back to America. That's why you see the kind of numbers that you see, the spirit and the kind of numbers that you see,' the president said in April. In Wednesday's Gallup poll, 59 percent of respondents said they believe religion's influence is dropping, down 2 points from December. Two percent also said religion's influence is the 'same' while 5 percent had 'no opinion.' In February, a Pew Research Center survey found that a decline in the number of Americans who identify as Christian appeared to be slowing down following years of losses. The Gallup poll took place from May 1 to 18, featuring 1,003 people and plus or minus 4 percentage points as a margin of sampling error. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man detained by ICE was already scheduled to leave, advocates say
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids immigration advocates are seeking the release of a man who they say was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement only days before he was scheduled to leave the country. Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapid Response to ICE say Carlos Menjivar is at the Calhoun County Correctional Facility, which is an ICE holding facility. ICE did not immediately confirm that to News 8 Wednesday. The advocacy groups say Menjivar was detained June 4 when he went for what they called a 'routine check-in' at the office for the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program on Michigan Street NE near College Avenue in Grand Rapids. ISAP is an ICE program in which people are under supervision while their immigration cases make their way through the system, which can take years. Through it, contracted case managers can keep ICE agents up to date on cases and whether people are abiding by the conditions of their release, explains. '(Menjivar) was asked to come to this ISAP office with his paperwork, so his passport, and approve of them leaving (the United States). They had agreed, actually verbally agreed, with the ISAP office to departure this Saturday,' Movimiento Cosecha organizer Gema Lowe said at a Wednesday news conference. She said ISAP workers were supposed to check the paperwork and plane tickets for their return to Menjivar's native El Salvador. Instead, she said, he was 'arbitrarily' detained and ICE now has his and his family's passports. 'This family, they have been compliant to everything Immigration has asked them since they came to this country as refugees in 2017,' Lowe said. She argued that asking Menjivar to report to the ISAP office was a 'trap.' At the news conference, one of Menjivar's children held a sign that read, 'Te amamos, Papa,' or 'We love you, Dad,' in Spanish. ICE did not immediately provide answers after Target 8 sought information about Menjivar's status and details about how frequently people are detained at ISAP check-ins. GR Rapid Response to ICE organizer Jeff Smith suggested between eight and 10 people were detained at the ISAP office June 4. It was unclear how he reached that count. ICE has not provided any information. Immigration advocates went to the ISAP office that day and Grand Rapids police were called to ask them to leave. Smith said everyone who went to an ISAP appointment after the advocates arrived was allowed to leave as expected. Smith said the group is now offering to send advocates with people when they have appointments. Smith said advocates are calling for Menjivar to be released in time for the family's scheduled departure Saturday, that the passports be returned to the family for that travel and that ICE documentation note he left voluntarily. They have also asked U.S. senators and representatives to intervene. In the meantime, Menjivar's wife and three children are seeking sanctuary at Fountain Street Church, a nondenominational Christian church in downtown Grand Rapids, the advocates say. 'When the residents of our community are under attack or under threat, our doors are open to provide shelter and sanctuary,' Rev. Nathan Dannison, the pastor at Fountain Street Church, said. 'Our beliefs here at Fountain Street compel us to act.' Smith called on other Grand Rapids faith organizations to offer themselves up as sanctuaries. 'We're asking the public to see what's happening. This is the faces that they are brave enough to show and say, 'We're here,'' Lowe said. 'Even though they did they did everything they were asked to, they've still been separated. It's structural violence.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
