I've Served 15 Years of My Life Sentence for a Drug Crime -- Can I Go Home Now?

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/ive-served-15-years-my-life-sentence-drug-crime-can-i-go-home-now

Late last month, US attorney general Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would release new guidelines for clemency petitions, opening up the possibility that thousands of people serving long prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses might be released. The guidelines require that applicants have served at least 10 years on a charge that would be prosecuted differently today – a standard which mostly applies to drug charges – and that they have a good prison record, a limited prior arrest record and no ties to organized crime. The author of this op-ed has served 14 years and nine months of her sentence and hopes that she might qualify for clemency.

When I was asked to write my bio for this story, I wrote, "Sharanda Jones is a loving, caring mother with a open heart and mind."

When I was asked to write the story itself, I wrote, "I am a first time non-violent offender serving a life sentence for one count of conspiracy."

There is no reduction, no good behavior, that will ever reduce my sentence and allow me to return to society. I know that, unless President Obama (or one of his successors) commutes my sentence, I will die in prison. A life sentence in the federal system is just a very slow death.