A Conversation With Larry Muzzy, After His Pardon From the Governor

That pardon relied on reporting by WW contributor Rachel Saslow.

UNBURDENED: Larry Muzzy in Charleston, S.C. (Ruta Elvikyte)

By Brianna Wheeler

You did it. You made it through another year. Congratulations. In Portland, that is becoming something to be quite proud of considering the current state of affairs.

A lot of us joined shitty new clubs in 2022: the Someone Stole My Car/Catalytic Converter Club, House/Camp/Car on Fire n My Immediate Neighborhood Club, the Gun Violence at My Kid’s School/Park Club.

Oh yes, there were some real shitty trends to be included in this year, but also a kind of shared understanding of how our city is failing us and how maybe we can be better to each other. When talking to Natalie O’Neill earlier this fall about rampant, hard-to-fight camp fires, we were both stricken by the simple effectiveness of a neighbor, with the means to do so, just supplying a camp in his neighborhood with a small fire extinguisher. That’s the energy I’m trying to bring to 2023. Small pebbles still make big ripples, you feel me?

This week, WW took a well-earned print break, but we wanted to start the year with a story of redemption that will ideally keep you vigilant and kind in the new year. This week, I’m talking to Larry Muzzy, one of the first teenagers convicted under Oregon’s Measure 11, who was recently pardoned, largely due to reporting by Rachel Saslow, whose father was the judge that sentenced Muzzy.

Wild, right? I’ll talk to Larry about what the pardon meant for him.

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