Please email letters@j4ke.org if you have any questions about submitting a letter after 1/31/26.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
By submitting support/character letters, each of us can significantly impact the future for Kevin and his family. Before sentencing, we need to collect as many letters of support as possible to push for a non-custodial sentence.
1. CAREFULLY READ and follow the guidance for letters to the court (scroll down or open PDF).
2. WRITE and PREPARE your letter
Type your letter and submit as a PDF or text document.
If you have professional or personal letterhead, please use it for the letter.
3. EMAIL your letters to letters@j4ke.org
You many also upload your file in the upload field below.
Finally, you may type your letter into the designated text box below.
OR MAIL your letter to:
Mark R. Vermeulen
755 Florida Street – Unit 4
San Francisco, CA 94110
Questions? Contact letters@j4ke.org
Kevin’s lawyers have also offered to give feedback on your letters (see below).
_____________________________________________________________
GUIDANCE FOR EFFECTIVE LETTERS TO THE COURT
From Attorneys for Kevin Epps
Mark R. Vermeulen and Darlene Bagley Comstedt
To the friends, family and community of Kevin Epps:
We have likely met many of you as you showed up to support Kevin at his trial – the love and support that Kevin has from his family, friends, and community is truly wonderful and not often seen. As you know, the jury found Kevin not guilty of murder, but guilty of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter as well as two counts of possessing a firearm while having previously been convicted of a felony. While at first glance these verdicts may not seem positive, they actually are, as we now are able to argue for a non-custodial sentence.
The judge who presided over the trial will be sentencing Kevin in the early months of 2026. It is important that we provide the judge with information about Kevin’s background so that the judge can make an informed decision concerning the sentence. We very much need your help. If you will send us a letter about Kevin, we will provide it to the judge as part of our sentencing materials.
Your letter should be addressed “To the Honorable Court.”
It doesn’t need to be more than one page long. What matters most is that the letter is heartfelt and sincere. We need to submit these letters soon, so please provide your letter no later than January 15, 2026.
In your letter, you might address some of the following subjects, or anything else that might occur to you as being important:
- How long you have known Kevin;
- In what capacity you have known him (for example, friend, employer, employee, past or present business associate, relative, community activist, etc.);
- What your impressions are as to his general character and what type of person he is. (You might think of some specific examples of Kevin’s conduct that show good character);
- The contributions he has made to his family and his community;
- If you knew Kevin both before and after these charges were filed in 2019 (following the incident in 2016), what changes, if any, have you noticed in his personality and attitude;
- Whether you feel Kevin is a person who would respond well to probation supervision and why;
- Whether you feel he is and can continue to be a productive and law-abiding citizen and member of the community;
- Please also make any general comments about Kevin that you feel might be informative for the judge.
We make this request to help Kevin fully present his case and himself to the judge. Your letter is very important. Please let us know if you have any questions. We would be happy to review a draft if you think that would be helpful – our email addresses are below. Thank you in advance for your time and for your support of Kevin.
Sincerely,
Attorneys for Kevin Epps
Mark R. Vermeulen
755 Florida Street – Unit 4
San Francisco, CA 94110
markrvermeulen [at] gmail.com
Darlene Bagley Comstedt
2358 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
darlene [at] comstedtlaw.com
PLEASE READ the guidance for letter submissions before submitting your letter. You may email your letter to letters@j4ke.org
USE THIS FORM ONLY if uploading a file for your letter or writing your letter in the designated box below.
Questions? Contact letters@j4ke.org
