Crack + Black = Life
New: The 10 Most Outrageous Crack Cocaine Sentences
No. 1 Robert Shipp — life without parole for selling crack at age 20
Donald B.W. Evans, good kid, U.C. Berkeley student, crack lifer
Crack + Black = Life
Donald Evans, Catholic elementary school graduation
“Intelligent. Concerned. Loving. Family-oriented.”
That’s how Donald’s mom describes her son.
Is she right? The evidence shows she is.
Spend a few moments today meeting a fine man, Donald B.W. Evans, an intelligent 50-year-old with much to offer.
In 1990, the nation’s justice system froze this good man’s life into a racist stereotype: worthless young black male. Today, Donald is serving life without parole because he — and hundreds of others who look like him — sold crack cocaine. read more…
Meth offender Rose Summers named No. 7 on list of women deserving clemency
New No. 7 Rose Summers and her son Victor
Rose Ella Summers, 44, a meth offender from Grand Prairie, Tex., was named today as the No. 7 ranked women on The Clemency Report list of the Top 25 Women Deserving Clemency.
Born to a drug-addicted mother who dealt drugs, Rose Summers has overcome remarkable hardship to become an educated, respected peer counselor at the Carswell federal prison camp near Fort Worth. read more…
Indonesia accelerates program to murder drug offenders
Indonesia will murder Andrew Chan (left) and Myuran Sukumaran soon for smuggling heroin.
Update: Indonesia temporarily delays killing Australians
An Indonesian firing squad will execute Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran as early as today for involvement with heroin smuggling. read more…
RIP: Roderick “Rudd” Walker, 41, LSD lifer and Deadhead
LSD lifer Rudd, dead at 41
Roderick “Rudd” Walker, 41, a gentle Deadhead serving life without parole for LSD, died in federal prison Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.
Jeremy Davis, Rudd’s best friend, broke the sad news in a Facebook post. “I can’t believe I’m writing this, or even able to see with all the tears blurring my sight,” Jeremy began. read more…
The 10 Most Outrageous Marijuana Prison Sentences
Harmless old men: No. 6 Larry Duke (left) and No. 7 Billy Dekle
Unjust marijuana sentences have consumed the last 20 years of my life. read more…
Antonio Bascaró, 80, the nation’s longest serving marijuana prisoner
Antonio (with his daughter Aicha in 2003) has been locked up nearly 35 years for a non-violent, first offense.
Antonio Bascaró was one of the hundreds of colorful characters who enlivened Florida marijuana smuggling scene during the 1970s. He was daring and handsome, a former Cuban naval pilot who participated in Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. read more…
A bank robber explains why meth lifer Ricky Minor deserves clemency
Meth lifer Ricky Minor and his daughter, Heather
Ricky Minor’s case is well documented as an extreme drug war injustice. read more…
Crack Lifer Project: My quest for justice for all my brothers
By Veda Ajamu President and Founder, Crack Lifer Project “Never, never, never give up” — Winston Churchill I will never, never, never give up on fighting for freedom and justice for my brother, Robert Shipp, as he is serving a dreadful inhumane life... read moreWhy mandatory minimums can’t work
Nobody is one thing. Nobody is just a drug dealer, father, hockey player, troubled teen, cheerleader or drunk driver. Mandatory minimum sentences — especially at today’s sadistic lengths — can never make society more just because they rely on a... read moreChildren deserve legal standing when parents are sentenced
Are children entitled to legal standing when parents are sentenced in criminal cases? The current answer is “no.” The answer should be “yes.” Today, the well-being of a defendant’s children is close to irrelevant in criminal... read moreHow to make a change.org petition succeed for a loved one
PLUS: The 12 most signed clemency petitions on change.org. The 5 keys to success. Petitions on change.org are a powerful tool for people seeking clemency. The site currently has 2.2 million signatures supporting about 40 clemency petitions. The Clemency... read moreLet’s send these people home
Josie Ledezma, 56, a “mom’s mom,” ready to be a great grandmother
Josephine (Josie) was a teacher’s aide who married her high school sweetheart and had three children. Josie’s three children, young when she went to prison, are all now grown with families of their own. She has missed out on endless memories that can never be... read more
Weldon Angelos, 35, father, entrepreneur; judge called his 55-year sentence “unjust, cruel”
Nine years ago, Weldon Angelos, a 24-year-old rap music entrepreneur from Salt Lake City, was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison for three small-time marijuana sales. In a letter released today, 113 concerned citizens, including 60 former prosecutors, 17 former... read more
Michael Palmer: “A medical student dreams of her father”
In 1989, Michael Palmer was convicted of running a crack business in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. His daughter, Taylor, was born seven days later. “Like every other fatherless child, I have cried myself to sleep at... read more
Alice Marie Johnson, 59, playwright and mentor
Alice is a talented writer and performer. She is currently writing a Christmas Play entitled, “It’s Time.” Alice is already renowned for her annual Easter play and has scripted and staged her own original sequels to “Sister Act” and “Madea Comes to Carswell,” which... read more
Leopoldo Hernandez-Miranda: The most deserving clemency candidate you’ve never heard of
The best-known cases of drug war injustice belong to prisoners who have articulate advocates outside of prison. Unfortunately, thousands of equally deserving prisoners lack support systems, language skills and other tools to assert their humanity to the free world.... read more
Lisa Lorentz, 44, working class kid, great parents
Lisa grew up in a nice suburb outside of Dallas, Texas, in a loving, working-class home with two older brothers. Her parents have been married 50 years. Despite this upbringing, she had difficulty fitting in during her teenage years. She eventually dropped out... read more“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven.”
Archbishop Desmond TutuMore news from The Clemency Report
What’s a black man’s life worth? A view from federal prison
Terrol Spruell, 44, a crack offender from Virginia Beach, Va., is a smart, articulate observer of society. I first talked to Terrol in 1993 when the one-time Virginia State University senior was featured in a story about racially discriminatory crack cocaine... read moreObama grants clemency to just 8 federal prisoners
6 crack and 2 meth offenders released 2,000+ non-violent drug lifers ignored President Obama continued the sad practice of being stingy with clemency. On Wednesday, the president commuted the sentences of only 8 federal inmates — or 0.000037% of 212,283 federal... read moreAttack against Deadheads was no hallucination
I wrote this story 22 years ago. It seems profoundly relevant, even today. — Dennis Cauchon, editor, The Clemency Report Attack on Deadheads is no hallucination Band’s followers handed stiff LSD sentences By DENNIS CAUCHON USA TODAY October 17, 1992... read moreFeds explain why dying grandfather didn’t get compassionate release
New regulations didn’t help George Daniel George Daniel, 75, a non-violent drug offender, died July 6 in the middle of the 24th year of an unspeakably cruel and senseless federal drug sentence. George was an obvious candidate for compassionate release, a program... read moreReefer sanity: States abandon driver’s license suspensions for drug offenses
But some big states continue the destructive practice More than 200,000 people still lose driving privileges every year for drug offenses unrelated to driving, according to a new analysis by The Clemency Report. Most driver’s license suspensions are for... read moreWhat a man saw in prison today…
Luis Anthony Rivera. Ever heard of him? Of course not. Luis is an invisible human rights abuse victim, among the tens of thousands of people serving immorally long drug sentences that disgrace our nation. Luis, 57, is nearing the 30th anniversary of a life without... read more“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.The Top 25 Women Deserving Clemency
No. 21 Pauline Blake
Please sign the petition today.
The petition now has 3,200+ signatures.
The U.S. should release one million from prison.
Is it really that many -- one million?
The actual number is 1,606,535. Read why.
Why don't I hear about these people?
Prison silences. Imprisoned men and women are barely real to most free people. The Clemency Report aims to change that.
What can I do?
Tell the story of an affected loved one. Sign the petitions at change.org to show support for nonviolent drug offenders in prison.
Bernard Briscoe has served way more than enough time for a NON VIOLENT crime!