Before Donald Trump exited his role as president of the United States, he offered clemency for many marijuana offenders.
The president’s clemency power allows him to grant reprieves, pardons, amnesties, remissions, and commutations for federal crimes. He has no clemency power over state level convictions.
One person to receive clemency was Lynn Barney of Utah, who had already been released from prison after serving 35 months for possessing a firearm, after a prior conviction for distributing marijuana.
Craig Cesal, 61 was also pardoned, who was serving a life sentence and temporarily on home confinement to prevent the contraction of COVID-19. In 2002, Cesal was convicted of conspiring to distribute marijuana.
James Romans of Indiana was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison, without parole, for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. After serving ten years, is sentence was commuted.
Noah Kleinman, 45, had his sentence of almost 20 years commuted after serving 6 years. He had been convicted in California in 2014 of illegally distributing marijuana.
Ferrell Damon Scott received a commutation of a life sentence after serving 9 years for possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Corvain Cooper, 41, served more than 7 years of a life sentence for non-violent participation in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana and also had his sentence commuted.
Way Quoe Long, 58, served nearly half of his 50-year sentence before being commuted. He had been sentenced for non-violent involvement in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana.
