Demand clemency for victims of the drug war ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Friend, President Biden just announced that he is commuting the sentences of 1,500 people who had been released from prison and placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also pardoning 39 people who were convicted of nonviolent offenses, including some with drug charges.

It’s promising to see Biden take this important step forward in response to mounting pressure from advocates like you. But there are still thousands of people behind bars for drugs and we must push Biden to free them: tell him to grant clemency to victims of the drug war before he leaves office.

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I speak from personal experience. I thought my life was over when I was sent to federal prison for a first-time drug charge in 1994. Although I had never used, sold, or handled drugs, I was cornered into pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine just for being associated with an abusive boyfriend who was selling drugs. Despite it being a first-time, nonviolent offense, the circumstances of my case did not matter due to the harsh federal drug laws at that time. I was given a severe mandatory minimum sentence of 24.5 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

I was 23, pregnant, and scared. I was a victim of domestic violence who had become a victim of the drug war. But after serving 6.5 years in prison, I got a second chance when my sentence was commuted by President Clinton in December 2000.

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Now I’m fighting to free others who are behind bars for drugs. Please join me in urging President Biden to use his clemency power to free victims of the drug war before he leaves office: [link removed]
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Michelle West is just one of many who deserve justice. She is serving a life sentence for her first and only offense. Like me, she was guilty of nothing more than being associated with a partner who was involved in drug sales. She had never been arrested. She had no criminal history. She had never committed any violent act. Yet, due to the extreme mandatory minimum sentencing schemes related to the drug laws of the 80s and 90s, she is currently serving two life sentences plus 50 years without the possibility of parole.

Even the judge who sentenced her remarked that his hands were tied. However, according to the 2005 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Booker, if she were convicted of the same crimes and sentenced today, a life sentence would not be mandatory, and a judge would get to decide what is fair. Unfortunately, that change in the law did not apply to old cases. And Michelle is just one among countless other people, including many mothers, who are behind bars today due to these draconian drug laws.

I’m fighting for clemency for Michelle West and thousands of others, including people with federal marijuana offenses and people serving severe mandatory minimum sentences due to the unfair 18:1 crack-powder sentencing disparity. This disparity means that sentences for people convicted for crack cocaine are 18 times harsher than those convicted for powder cocaine even though the only difference between the drugs is baking soda. This profoundly unfair disparity is about racism, not science. Although drug use is similar across racial lines, Black and Brown people make up the majority of those who are convicted of a drug offense carrying a mandatory minimum.

It’s time to right the wrongs of this extreme drug war punishment. And it’s Biden’s last chance to use his clemency power to commute sentences, pardon convictions, and release people incarcerated for federal drug offenses before he leaves office. Help us keep the pressure on by urging him to grant clemency and give victims of the drug war a second chance: [link removed]

With hope,
Kemba Smith Pradia
Board Member
Drug Policy Alliance

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