A vigil outside the Queensboro Correctional Facility on April 23, 2020, in New York City. In one of his last acts in office, former president Donald Trump issued a slew of pardons to his well-connected friends — from former campaign manager Steve Bannon to one of his leading fundraisers, Elliott Broidy. Even the rapper Lil Wayne made the list. But in crowded prison cells across the country — where COVID is running rampant — appeals for clemency for thousands of prisoners who have no such clout have gone unanswered or flat-out rejected. One such person is Rodney Chandler, who has dedicated his two decades in prison to helping people. When he isn’t providing hospice care to dying inmates, he’s leading people who are visually impaired through the prison cafeteria or the yard as a certified mobility assistant. And when he isn’t tending to those dying or people with vision loss, he’s befriending members of the Deaf community, having learned sign language behind bars after he noticed “they don’t have anyone they can talk to. They’re alone.”