Man who got life for marijuana charge goes free in Missouri

[webfact]

Man who got life for marijuana charge goes free in Missouri
By SUMMER BALLENTINE

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed Tuesday from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for more than two decades — a period in which the nation's attitudes toward pot steadily softened.

Family, friends, supporters and reporters flocked to meet Jeff Mizanskey as he stepped out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center into a sunny morning, wearing a new pair of white tennis shoes and a shirt that read "I'm Jeff & I'm free."

"I spent a third of my life in prison," said Mizanskey, now 62, who was greeted by his infant great-granddaughter. "It's a shame."

After a breakfast of steak and eggs with family, Mizanskey said, he planned to spend his post-prison life seeking a job and advocating for the legalization of marijuana. He criticized sentencing for some drug-related crimes as unfair and described his time behind bars as "hell."

His release followed years of lobbying by relatives, lawmakers and others who argued that the sentence was too stiff and that marijuana should not be forbidden.

Mizanskey was sentenced in 1996 — the same year California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Medical marijuana is now legal in 23 states, and recreational marijuana has been legalized in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and Washington, D.C.

"The reason he's getting out is because the public clearly has changed its opinion about marijuana, and it's just one of many ways in which that has been reflected in recent years," said Mizanskey's attorney, Dan Viets.

Such "extreme" cases could further fuel changing perceptions of nonviolent drug crimes, said Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Austin at Texas.

"These cases really become exhibit A in the need for sentencing reform," said Deitch, an attorney and expert in criminal-justice policy.

Just last year, the heavily Republican Missouri Legislature passed a law to allow certain people with epilepsy to seek treatment with a marijuana extract containing little of the chemical that causes users to feel high and larger amounts of a compound called cannabidiol, or CBD. The patients can include children, Viets said.

"Nobody saw that coming," he said. "That is a pretty radical statement."

Police said Mizanskey conspired to sell 6 pounds of marijuana to a dealer connected with Mexican drug cartels. At the time, the life-with-no-parole sentence was allowed under a Missouri law for repeat drug offenders. Mizanskey already had two drug convictions — one for possession and sale of marijuana in 1984 and another for possession in 1991.

He was the only Missouri inmate serving such a sentence for a nonviolent marijuana-related offense when Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon agreed in May to commute his sentence. The commutation allowed Mizanskey to argue for his freedom before a parole board, which granted the request in August.

Nixon's actions are "a reflection of political confidence in changing norms around marijuana use," said Cecelia Klingele, a criminal justice policy expert at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

The governor cited Mizanskey's nonviolent record, noting that none of his offenses involved selling drugs to children. The law under which he was originally sentenced has been changed.

Other states are re-evaluating punishments for drug possession, motivated in large part by the high cost of imprisoning low-level, nonviolent offenders.

In Connecticut, a new law will make possession of small amounts of hard drugs, including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, a misdemeanor for a first-time offense, rather than an offense carrying up to seven years in prison. Nebraska and Alabama expect to save hundreds of millions of dollars by using new laws to cut down on the number of offenders locked up for possessing small amounts of drugs.

In Missouri, backers of two ballot initiatives to legalize pot have permission from the secretary of state to begin collecting signatures to put the issue before voters in 2016. Another petition proposes reducing sentences for nonviolent drug offenders who are serving time with no opportunity for parole.

Now that he's free, Mizanskey said, he will not smoke marijuana. He's on parole, after all.

But if the drug ever becomes legal on the state and federal levels, he said, "definitely."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-09-02

[Ulysses G.]

I am glad he is free, but there is a good possibility that he is a hardened criminal now.

[Berkshire]

I am glad he is free, but there is a good possibility that he is a hardened criminal now.

Yeah, but the poor guy is 62. At that age, he's not going to be doing much. He should just retire in Pattaya, he's earned it. At least his stories of "hard time" will be true.

[peterjackson]

The world has gone to pot.

[Thaidream]

This is another example of how ridiculous some laws are and interpretation of them are in America.. Locking someone up for life for this charge should be labeled as cruel and inhumane punishment which is against the US Constitution. The problem is without a lot of money, the average person cannot field an adequate defense in the United States. Is there no one who will step forward in America to end this type of nonsense for good?

Edited September 2, 2015 by Thaidream

[toooa]

The drug war is a modern day witch-hunt. Shame on all those who support it. Future generations will view it the same way we view slavery now...

[Ulysses G.]

IMO, that is correct. It is no one else's concern which chemicals I ingest for my own pleasure. The drug war just makes them more expensive so users have to turn to crime to afford them.

[Seastallion]

I am glad he is free, but there is a good possibility that he is a hardened criminal now.

Yeah, that's the sad irony. He's probably seen and been involved in more "real" crime since his incarceration than had he been justly punished in the first place.

I say "justly" with regard to the laws at the time, not that I agree that they were actually just.

[robblok]

IMO, that is correct. It is no one else's concern which chemicals I ingest for my own pleasure. The drug war just makes them more expensive so users have to turn to crime to afford them.

Only added problem is when users of drugs take part in traffic or become violent (like alcohol does). Then its a problem but someone who does drugs and causes no problem is not a criminal (in my opinion) the law sees it different especially here.

[Thaidream]

There is a huge apparatus that has been established for the so called war on drugs- the Drug Enforcement Agency; State and Local Police; prison and prison guards, courts, lawyers etc. as well as the foreign drug cartels which bring the drugs Americans want. Can you imagine the amount of money that could be redirected to actually helping people get off drugs and the poor if they were legal? Half the prisons would be empty; crime stats would drop immediately; the drug cartels would go out of business as well as the government agencies that support the drug war. These are hundreds of billions of dollars that could be redirected towards counselling, treatment and prevention of addiction not to mention providing free healthcare to the American public. It will never happen- until there is an American politician who cares more about the American people than his/her own self interest.

[dragonballs]

you know the real cause why cannabis was made illegal ?

nothing more or less than the paper/wood logging industry, too much competition

[DLang]

Locking someone up for life for this charge should be labeled as cruel and inhumane punishment which is against the US Constitution.

One could argue that locking anyone up for life without parole is cruel and inhumane punishment.

Some people deserve it, some need to be in order to protect society, some don't deserve it.

This guy didn't, but surely he knew about the 3 strikes law.

Perhaps the pot had melted his brain.

[kiniyow]

USA----5% of the World Population---25% of the People worldwide in Prison

[smotherb]

USA----5% of the World Population---25% of the People worldwide in Prison

Some say that is because the police and the court systems are effective; they actually find the criminals and then put people in jail instead of letting them get away or buying themselves out. Others simply laugh at that thought and cite ridiculously punitive laws; especially the laws on drugs--25% of US prisoners are there on drug charges.

[Basil B]

While not a supporter of legalising marijuana...

I certainly feel that the punishment was disproportionate to the crime even if he was growing tons of the stuff and made millions...

[car720]

There is a huge apparatus that has been established for the so called war on drugs- the Drug Enforcement Agency; State and Local Police; prison and prison guards, courts, lawyers etc. as well as the foreign drug cartels which bring the drugs Americans want. Can you imagine the amount of money that could be redirected to actually helping people get off drugs and the poor if they were legal? Half the prisons would be empty; crime stats would drop immediately; the drug cartels would go out of business as well as the government agencies that support the drug war. These are hundreds of billions of dollars that could be redirected towards counselling, treatment and prevention of addiction not to mention providing free healthcare to the American public. It will never happen- until there is an American politician who cares more about the American people than his/her own self interest.

and to add irony to insult it is the American health people who have now come out and said that they have proven that pot kills cancer cells.

[wabothai]

The US owes him a a few million bucks so he can at least enjoy the next 20 years of life.

See some stale laws in Thailand too which need to be revised urgently.

[chuckd]

The US owes him a a few million bucks so he can at least enjoy the next 20 years of life.

See some stale laws in Thailand too which need to be revised urgently.

​The US doesn't owe him anything. He was a convicted three time loser at the time of sentencing.

From the OP:

"Police said Mizanskey conspired to sell 6 pounds of marijuana to a dealer connected with Mexican drug cartels. At the time, the life-with-no-parole sentence was allowed under a Missouri law for repeat drug offenders. Mizanskey already had two drug convictions — one for possession and sale of marijuana in 1984 and another for possession in 1991."

[Skeptic7]

I am glad he is free, but there is a good possibility that he is a hardened criminal now.

Yeah, but the poor guy is 62. At that age, he's not going to be doing much. He should just retire in Pattaya, he's earned it. At least his stories of "hard time" will be true.

Yeah...GREAT idea. Leave a country that has relaxed laws on ganja and move to a country that has strict laws against it. He'll find himself in the monkey house for his remaining years!

[thailandforumaddict]

Luckily after being so retarded for so many years USA is now trying to be civilized.

It's a shame that all these innocents have been jailed but it's always great when monkeys start to groq a brain !

[Nickymaster]

I am glad he is free, but there is a good possibility that he is a hardened criminal now.

Yeah, but the poor guy is 62. At that age, he's not going to be doing much. He should just retire in Pattaya, he's earned it. At least his stories of "hard time" will be true.

And then die of a heart attack...

[spidermike007]

Despite the fact that many of the states have legalized pot and most people who are polled seem to feel it is a waste of time for the feds to continue to pursue pot related convictions, the feds will not give up. Obama has devoted enormous resources to convicting people on pot offenses. It is a travesty, and one of the real shames and transgressions of this administration.

Instances like this one really demonstrate what an incredible waste or effort, time, money and lives this ridiculous crusade against marijuana represents. Such misguided people. Such a waste. Pot hurts nobody except a few real stoners.

A boil on the state of Missouri. The states in the south have gotten the brunt of this misguided witch hunt.