Good morning, 12s. Here's a look at what's out there today — Thursday, December 8 — about your Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks Legend Doug Baldwin Joins State Clemency Board
It's been a few years since Seahawks legend Doug Baldwin retired from the league after spending his entire eight-year career with Seattle. Earlier this season Tyler Lockett passed Baldwin for second all-time in franchise receiving touchdowns (51), but the Stanford alum isn't focused on maintaining his records post-retirement, but rather further impacting lives. Baldwin has balanced life after the game with a variety of ventures - now as a member of the Washington State parole board, he holds several lives in his hands.
Baldwin's elevation to the board shouldn't be a surprise to anyone familiar with his continuous efforts to evoke reform in the legal system. In 2017, Baldwin helped NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pen an official letter of support from the league for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 (S. 1917). Baldwin also made multiple trips to Olympia during his playing days and donated money to support a police reform bill that aimed to cut back on the use of deadly force.
On Thursday and Friday, Baldwin will join four other board members to decide the fate of five people convicted of murder, along with another who is 39 years into a sentence for a drive-by shooting and armed robbery. The group will be tasked with reviewing each case, along with hearing both the pleas of the convicts and the sentiments of the victims' families. From there, the group will make a recommendation to Governor Jay Inslee on who should and shouldn't be paroled. With nearly 100 percent of requests taken from the board on hundreds of cases since 2012, Baldwin doesn't take his newfound power lightly.
"I want to get it right," said Baldwin. "I want to do right by not only the folks who are petitioning but also by the families and the community that's been impacted by whatever cases we're seeing. It's a great responsibility, in some cases a great burden, to make the right decision."
The 34-year-old Super Bowl XLVIII Champion is the youngest on the board, elected personally by Inslee in October.
For the next four years, the husband and father of four is laser-focused on getting it right, starting with the six lives that hang in the balance.
"You're making a decision based on is this person willing to acclimate back into society and be a productive member of society," said Baldwin. "I firmly believe in second chances. I firmly believe in third, fourth, fifth chances. We're all human, we all make mistakes, we all do things we're not proud of, but it's how do you recover from those situations."
Baldwin attacks the details of the case as he did the playbook in his rookie year, combing through every case document with precision.
"I'm trying to get as close as I can to who this human being is," Baldwin said. "How do you get to the human part of it, to then determine is this human being on a path to reclamation?"
Social Post Of The Day
NFL Veteran Dan Orlovsky of NFL Live: Trust Your Eyes: Nobody Does It Better Right Now than Geno Smith #Seahawks
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Brent Stecker of Seattle Sports 710AM: Seahawks Game-Changing Plays: Breaking down Geno’s winning drive.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times: Geno Smith closing in on rare season completing 70% of his passes for Seahawks.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times: With Kenneth Walker III battling injury, who will start at running back for Seahawks in Week 14?.
The Associated Press Staff: Seahawks’ backfield depth getting tested entering stretch run.
Zach Dimmitt of Sports Illustrated: Seahawks Defense Continues to Dominate Early Pro Bowl Voting.
Seahawks Legend Thomas Rawls, Seahawks Dancers, and Blitz visited South Shore K-8 on December 6, 2022. In addition, the Character Playbook event facilitated break out sessions and programming about positive affirmations and working on good mental health.
