ICU nurse, barbershop owner among 17 to win state pardons

The owner of the Clientele Barbershop in north Minneapolis and a Regions Hospital intensive care unit nurse were among the 17 applicants pardoned by the Minnesota Board of Pardons on Monday.

"I'm so happy and excited I got that 'X' off my back," shop owner Rory Purnell Jr. said after the vote. "I can live. I can really live."

Purnell, 44, was convicted in Anoka County in 2001 of second-degree drug sales. He said he initially sold the drugs to pay for school, but as the money rolled in, he kept dealing for a year before he was caught.

His story was similar to many of those who appeared before the panel comprised of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea. The panel must unanimously agree to grant a pardon or the pardon is denied, a requirement that Walz unsuccessfully fought to change.

Their decisions were greeted with tears and expressions of gratitude by those who received pardons and silence and resignation by those who did not.

Many who appeared Monday said they had been drawn to crime out of desperation to pay bills or that they had abused drugs and alcohol and became violent. Their reasons for seeking pardons ranged from wanting to clear their names, pursue more job opportunities or possess firearms so they could hunt.

Purnell said he just wanted to get out from under his mistake. "I'm not a drug dealer," he told the panel. "I was young and dumb."

He said he served his sentence and has been mostly law-abiding since then. He's owned Clientele for 12 years, is married and has seven children. In his 10-minute allotted time slot, Purnell talked about warning kids away from drugs and being a benefit to the North Side, where his shop was the site of a fatal shooting a year ago.

He's become an established business owner and plans to open a barber school to help other youth on the North Side steer clear of violence and drugs. "I'd rather have them clipper happy than trigger happy," Purnell said.

Although Purnell is drug-free, Gildea questioned the number of speeding tickets he has received and elicited a promise that he would slow down. "If you want to be a role model, then you have to be a role model up, down and all around," she said.

Purnell didn't deny that he has had a "heavy foot" while behind the wheel of his prized 1967 Impala Fastback. "It's my toy," he said. "I got caught pushing the limit."

He won over the board, including Walz, who said he wants to see the car.

When Eric Aho stepped up for his 10-minute presentation, he bluntly described his 2010 Ramsey County conviction, saying he was arrested after he passed out behind the wheel of his car in an intersection. He was 26 at the time, and it was his fourth drunken driving convictionin a six-year span.

"Thankfully, I did not hurt anyone or damage any property," Aho said, adding that he has maintained "absolute sobriety" since that night. Aho said the conviction, however, is an impediment to work opportunities and to the hopes for he and his husband to foster children.

He said he wanted to clear his name in part to "simply feel better about myself."

Speaking on his behalf was recently retired Regions nurse manager Pam Peine, who said Aho's dedication shone in his work through the COVID-19 pandemic in the intensive care unit when he stayed with patients whose families couldn't visit.

"He had patients that died with him as families watched on an iPad," she said. "He deserves this pardon."

The board granted the request. Walz thanked Peine and Aho for their service during the pandemic.

The board denied six requests. One woman was a no-show, and the board wanted more information from another applicant before voting.

The board is meeting again Tuesday to consider another slate of applicants. Among those not on the list for consideration is former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter.

Her application was among the many screened out by the board's secretary, deemed "undeserving of further review." One of the three board members could have requested to move up her request, but none did.

Potter was convicted last December of first-degree manslaughter in the accidental shooting of Daunte Wright in 2021. She grabbed her gun when she thought she had her Taser.

During the fall campaign, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen said he wanted to commute Potter's sentence. She is expected to be released from prison in the spring.

Hennepin County District Judge Regina Chu sentenced Potter to two years, requiring she serve the first 16 months in prison. The sentence was well below state guidelines of more than eight years.