At the age of 17, Reynolds Wintersmith was convicted of dealing crack cocaine. Under the strict federal drug laws that were in place in the early 1990s, Wintersmith was sentenced to life in prison. This was his first criminal conviction.
Fortunately, those mandatory drug sentences have been relaxed and the disparate sentencing between cocaine and crack dealing has narrowed. Still, Wintersmith remains in prison after spending more than half of his life behind bars.
This petition asks President Obama to commute Wintersmith's sentence - not pardon his conviction. He has served more than an adequate time for his crimes and has bettered himself while in prison.
Please release Mr. Wintersmith and allow him to go home.