According to a report by ESPN, President Barack Obama commuted 46 prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. The group included a woman named Katina Smith, who is the mother of Denver Broncos wide receiver, Demaryius Thomas.
Obama’s action remarkably impacted 14 people who had been sentenced to life in prison. Obama stated the reason for the commuting was that “their punishments didn’t fit the crime.” The 46 prison sentences are the most that have been commuted by a United States President since the 1960’s.
Thomas’ mother Katina and his grandmother Minnie Thomas were arrested for drug trafficking in 1999. Both women have been in prison since Thomas was 11. Smith was originally sentenced to be released in 2017. As for Thomas’ grandmother, Minnie, she received a life sentence and still remains in prison.
For those who want to read more about Thomas’ childhood story, here is a small excerpt:
“He awoke to the blast of the front door flying off its hinges, and Demaryius Thomas peeked out his bedroom window and saw six unmarked cars and a dozen police officers with their guns drawn. A pack of drug dogs roamed the front yard. The spotlight from a police cruiser cut through the predawn darkness of rural Montrose, Georgia, and shined into his single-story house. “Don’t move!” Thomas remembers hearing one of the officers yell, so he ducked back into bed and hid under the sheets.”
Photo Credit: USA Today