Refugee with murder conviction among 6 granted clemency by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer pardons Albanian refugee facing deportation for murder conviction

An Albanian refugee convicted of murder in Michigan will likely avoid deportation following a recent pardon by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer granted Deda Malota Margilaj, 74, a full pardon on July 2, 50 years after he was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting and killing a man at a Detroit gas station in 1975. President Joe Biden’s administration placed Margilaj in removal proceedings based on the 1978 conviction, but Whitmer’s pardon …

Refugee with murder conviction among 6 granted clemency by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

LANSING, Mich. — A 74-year-old New York resident who was in danger of being deported based on a 50-year-old second-degree murder conviction was among six individuals who were granted clemency by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer just before the Fourth of July…

Whitmer Wipes Detroit Gas-Station Killing From Record, Eases Deportation Threat for Albanian Refugee

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last Thursday signed off on pardons and commutations for six people, including an Albanian refugee whose decades-old Detroit murder conviction had put his future in the United States on the line. The move clears the record of Deda Malota Margilaj, who has lived in the country since 1970 and was convicted in the late 1970s of second-degree murder in a Detroit gas-station shooting. Advocates say the governor’s decision remove…