Heather Lavelle's Public Redemption Message, and What It Leaves Out

The TEDxMuncyStatePrison talk, December 2014

On December 19, 2014, a talk by Heather Lavelle titled "Working Toward Redemption" was published from the TEDxMuncyStatePrison 2014 event. The published event description (Proximity for Justice, Dec. 19, 2014) says she was a successful professional until alcohol and drug addiction led her to commit a crime that resulted in a life prison sentence, and that she discusses redemption "beginning with the hardest task of all - forgiving herself." The description does not name Christian Rojas.

A post with the same title, "Working Toward Redemption," appears under her byline on the Right to Redemption website, dated August 2, 2019.

"Prison as Exile," Friends Journal, September 2021

In an essay in Friends Journal published September 1, 2021, Lavelle writes from SCI Muncy. She says that in 2005 she was in a mental health crisis, addicted to crack cocaine and in an abusive relationship with a man who was also addicted. She calls her crime "horrific" and refers to "my good friend's murder." She describes recovery, years of counseling, work as a certified peer support specialist and becoming a Mercy Associate.

She writes that she does not believe she will die in prison, and she argues for ending life-without-parole sentences and creating parole options. The essay never names Christian Rojas.

In fairness, an editor of the journal wrote in the comments that Lavelle has submitted a letter to the victim's family through the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate's Inmate Apology Bank, and that she cannot learn whether it was read.

What the court record and coverage say

In June 2006, Lavelle's attorneys argued that she was high on crack cocaine, had a long history of addiction, and had been bullied by James Savage. Savage told the court that Lavelle plotted the killing to get money for drugs. Both accounts were reported by the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer (June 2006 coverage). Lavelle pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life without parole.

Our view

We respect that recovery can be real, and we do not tell anyone how to feel about it. But we believe a public story of redemption that never says Christian's name leaves out the person at the center of it. Christian was 28. He had tried to help her. His family cannot answer her essays or her talk.

That is why we ask readers to start with Christian. Read about who he was, or review the case timeline and sources for yourself.