Audrey Swank supported Kevin Herrick's Clemency Petition.

Audrey Swank, who was  Staff Attorney for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, from 2000-2006 Ms. Swank handled all aspects of petitions for writ of habeas corpus for Kevin's Federal Evidentry Hearing in May of 2021 and she believed Kevin to be factually innocent.  Ms. Swank spent months on Kevin’s petition for writ of habeas corpus (Sec. 2254). As she did with every habeas corpus petition, she read every word in the record, trial transcripts, record on appeal, rulings, etc. She knew every detail of the case and was 100% convinced of Kevin’s innocence. 

Swank believed Kevin was entitled to the writ because, among other reasons, he was deprived of a fair trial, evidence was ignored/lost/misinterpreted/untested, and perhaps most significant, his counsel was horrifyingly ineffective.  But since innocence is not a basis for the grant of a writ of habeas corpus, Judge Pizzo denied Kevin a new trial.

Of all the cases Ms. Swank handled over the six years she was a Staff Attorney, only once was she convinced that a petitioner was due the relief he sought; not only that, but the petitioner also demonstrated that he was innocent of the charges for which he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.  

Ms. Swank has never waivered from her opinions which were formed after a review of literally every single page of the record available to the federal court at that time. The evidentiary hearing did not change her opinion of his innocence or that he was deprived of his constitutional rights before, during, and after his trial. 

This case bothered Ms. Swank so much that in 2006 she stepped away from United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, yet remains a practicing attorney, licensed in Florida, New York, Michigan, and the District of Columbia. 

In 2006, Ms. Swank assisted Kevin and his family in engaging The Innocence Project of Florida and a motion for post conviction hearing to allow DNA testing was filed and denied. 

In 2019, Kevin and his family, petitioned Governor Ron DeSantis for Clemency, which was denied. The Petition for Clemency and Ms. Swank's letter of support are available for download below.