President Biden commutes the sentences of 9 marijuana prisoners

Despite candidate Joe Biden promising to decriminalize cannabis and automatically have criminal records overturned, President Joe Biden has been slow to deliver on his promise.

This morning, however, Biden took his first step toward that goal. The President granted clemency to 78 people. Among them are nine men and women charged with marijuana-related offenses.

Biden commuted — in other words, reduced — their sentences. They are all currently serving their sentences at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to their original conviction, they will remain on supervised release after the end of their sentence.

Biden also pardoned Dexter Eugene Jackson, who had been convicted on a cannabis-related charge but had already completed his sentence.

Why these people and not others?

Although these individuals are all nonviolent offenders with less than four years remaining in prison, the White House announcement does not explain why Biden’s team selected these individuals for pardon.

Biden is following in the footsteps of his predecessors in pardoning nonviolent drug offenders: President Trump granted clemency to 12 people with marijuana offenses (and two dozen other nonviolent drug offenders) on his last day in office. President Obama has pardoned more than 1,300 nonviolent drug offenders (it’s unclear how many were specifically marijuana-related) during his presidency.

While Biden’s actions underscore how much work still needs to be done to bring justice to past cannabis offenders, his decision nonetheless marks a big moment for these individuals and their families.

Read on to learn about the nine people granted clemency this morning.

Dexter Eugene Jackson

Dexter Jackson of Athens, Georgia, was convicted in 2002 of allowing marijuana dealers to use his pool hall to “facilitate drug transactions.” He didn’t deal drugs himself. President Biden pardoned Mr Jackson today.

The White House notes that since his release from prison, Mr. Jackson, now 52, ​​has turned his pool hall into a cell phone repair service and regularly hires high school students as employees. He has also “worked on the construction and renovation of homes in a community that lacks quality, affordable housing.”

Ramola Kaye Brown

The Southern District Court of Texas charged Ms. Brown with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute ten pounds or more of cocaine and less than 100 pounds of marijuana in 2016.”

She was sentenced to 12 years in prison and five years in custody.

Her commuted sentence expires on April 26, 2023.

Jose Luis Colunga

The Eastern District Court of Tennessee charged Mr. Colunga, of Juniata, Nebraska, with “conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.” He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

His commuted sentence expires on October 26, 2023.

Stacie Demers

The Northern District Court of New York charged Stacie Demers with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; Assisting in possession with intent to distribute marijuana.”

She was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

Her commuted sentence expires on April 26, 2023.

Christopher Gunter

The South Carolina District Court charged Mr. Gunter with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; Possession with intent to distribute lots of marijuana and lots of MDMA.”

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years in custody.

His commuted sentence expires on August 24 of this year.

Wear Le

The Southern District of Texas charged Carry Le with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants.”

Le was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

Le’s commuted sentence expires on April 26, 2023.

Paul A Lupercio

The Western District Court of Missouri charged Paul A. Lupercio with “conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine.”

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

His commuted sentence expires on August 24 of this year.

Quang Nguyen

The Southern District Court of Texas charged Quang Nguyen with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants.”

Nguyen was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

Nguyen’s commuted sentence expires on April 26, 2023.

Fermin Serna

The Southern District Court of Texas charged Mr. Serna with “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.”

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

Mr. Serna’s commuted sentence expires on August 24 this year.

Max Savage Levenson

Max Savage Levenson probably has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any author on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled people. He is the co-host of the Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.

Check out Max Savage Levenson’s articles

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