Learn more about this project, and how you can be a partner in this effort.
Volunteer TodayJason Payne
Jason Payne has served 95 months of a 140-month sentence he received for his low-level, non-violent and unarmed role in a drug distribution scheme. His long sentence was driven by the government’s threat to file a notice relating to two prior minor drug convictions that would have subjected him to a mandatory minimum sentence of life. Mr. Payne had no choice but to accept this lengthy sentence and the judge imposed it without any departure, knowing that it saved Mr. Payne from a life sentence. Mr. Payne has a pristine disciplinary record and was released under the CARES Act at the beginning of this year. He works as a semi-truck driver and is devoting all his spare time to reconnecting with his children, family members and friends.
Juan Gabriel Cisneros is a 53-year-old man who has served over 27 years of a life sentence for non-violent marijuana trafficking offenses. Critically, if Mr. Cisneros were sentenced today for the same offenses, he would not face a mandatory life sentence and would already be released. Moreover, Mr. Cisneros demonstrates remarkable rehabilitation, an outstanding work history, and a spotless disciplinary record.
Gladstone Morrison has served eight years of a 15 years and 7 months sentence — his first and only contact with the criminal legal system. He, along with his wife Jacqueline (also in the NACDL Trial Penalty Clemency Project) was convicted on charges of fraud related to the tax preparation business he and his wife owned. Mr. Morrison declined a 3-year plea deal and chose to take his case to trial. As a result of the trial penalty, he ended up with a sentence more than five times as long as the deal offered. This draconian sentence separated him from his wife and two daughters, as well as his granddaughter. An immigrant from Jamaica who attended college on an athletic scholarship, Mr. Morrison’s conduct while incarcerated has been exemplary. He is just shy of two credits before he graduates with a Masters in Bible Theology from Tyndale Theological Seminary. In his current facility, he leads weekly church services and inmate Bible study sessions. He has an excellent release plan with his wife who he hasn’t seen for seven years.
First-time offender and mother of two, Shemika Williams is in her sixth year of a 15-year sentence imposed for her low-level, non-violent role in a methamphetamine distribution scheme. The government levied two charges against Ms. Williams, carrying in the aggregate a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence — a common prosecutorial practice to discourage a defendant from going to trial and to induce cooperation. Ms. Williams pled but given her minor role in the offense had no useful information to offer. The judge had no choice but to sentence her to the mandatory minimum of 15 years. Ms. Williams has thrived in prison. She obtained her GED and has done almost a year of technical apprenticeships. She has had zero infractions. She has an excellent release plan with her aunt and a large network of supportive family and friends, including her two sons.
Jackie Laster has served over six years of her 188-month sentence imposed for low-level, non-violent, unarmed role in a street crack distribution conspiracy. She pled to avoid a much higher penalty after trial, but then at sentencing, the government advocated for a series of enhancements that had never been previewed with Ms. Laster during the plea-bargaining process. In effect, she faced the post-trial sentence without the benefit of a trial. Her prison record has been exemplary. She completed a housekeeping apprenticeship and was selected as a mentor to new inmates at her prison camp. Upon release, Ms. Laster is planning on living with her older sister, who is currently caring for Ms. Laster’s son.
Alejandro Casillas Prieto, 49 years old, is serving a life sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Since his incarceration in 2010, Mr. Prieto has demonstrated remarkable rehabilitation, with zero incidents of discipline and an outstanding work and educational history. Mr. Prieto was offered as little as two years in prison if he pled guilty. However, due in part to a misunderstanding of the sentence he would almost certainly get if convicted, he exercised his constitutional right to have a trial. On July 12, 2012, despite having no prior criminal history, he was sentenced to life in prison..jpg?width=250&height=309)
Brent Maurstad is in his 8th year of a 16.5-year sentence imposed for his low-level, non-violent role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. A star athlete in high school and vice president of his senior class, his life unraveled because of a debilitating addiction to methamphetamine that began in his 20s. His sentence was driven by the government’s decision to threaten him with a mandatory life sentence after trial. The statute the government used was intended by Congress to ensure that the most reprehensible of drug dealers were put behind bars for a long time. Instead, they have been used all too often to incarcerate low-level drug addicts on sentences that far exceed any public safety or punishment imperatives. Mr. Maurstad’s case is one such case. In sentencing him on his guilty plea, the court used the life sentence as a reference. Mr. Maurstad would not face a life sentence today, and his charging, plea-bargaining and sentencing landscapes would be significantly more lenient. Mr. Maurstad has a spotless record in prison, where he competed two 2,000-hour apprenticeships in landscaping, and also obtained an undergraduate university certificate in horticulture. He has a solid release plan in the home he still owns in Grand Forks, blocks from his elderly mobility-challenged mother, and a job in a tree-service business.
Jose DeLaCruz is serving a mandatory Life sentence for a drug offense - a statutory sentence that, if he were sentenced today, would be much lower because of changes in the law. Initially facing a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence, the government decided to file notices to enhance Mr. DeLaCruz’s sentence because of prior convictions (one for simple possession, and the other for delivery of 0.5 grams of cocaine). On the day of trial, the government offered to dismiss the enhancements, which carried the mandatory Life sentence, if Mr. DeLaCruz would relinquish his constitutional right to trial and instead plead guilty. Because Mr. DeLaCruz insisted on proceeding to trial, upon conviction the court had no alternative but to impose a Life sentence. Since he has been in custody, Mr. DeLaCruz has had an exemplary prison record. He serves as a Suicide Watch Inmate Companion, assisting others who are struggling with their mental health. He has an incredible support network made up of friends and family, and has an excellent release plan.
First-time offender Kanya Tirado was sentenced to a mandatory minimum of ten years for her role as courier in a cocaine distribution scheme. Her conduct was unarmed and entirely nonviolent. Rejecting offers that would have had her serve little to no prison time if she cooperated against others, Ms. Tirado exercised her right to trial. She was convicted and the court had no choice but to impose the mandatory minimum sentence. Ms. Tirado, who was orphaned in her teens when both her parents died of AIDS, had five children ranging in age from 8 to 19 when she was incarcerated. She was released on home confinement under the CARES Act in 2021, works full-time and spends every spare minute with her children.
Kelvin Johnson has served over eleven years of what was originally a life sentence imposed after a guilty plea for his non-violent role in a drug conspiracy. The sentence was driven by the government’s “piling on” of guideline enhancements to ensure Mr. Johnson’s guilty plea and cooperation. Nonetheless, at sentencing he was initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While his sentence has since been reduced to 288 months as a result of guideline changes, he deserves to be released to his loving family primarily due to several debilitating medical conditions. Born with severe scoliosis, he has endured painful surgeries and years of cruel childhood teasing. Prior to his arrest, he was the primary caregiver to his cancer-stricken father in his final years. Mr. Johnson’s prison record has been exemplary, completing over 50 education courses, regularly attending bible study, and befriending and mentoring new inmates. He has a solid release plan that would return him to his small, tight-knit Georgia community where his family and friends love and miss him dearly and are ready to undertake his care.
Jacqueline Morrison has served almost seven years of a 15 years and 7 months sentence. Ms. Morrison is a first-time, non-violent offender convicted on charges of fraud related to the tax preparation business she owned. Ms. Morrison declined a 5-year plea deal and chose to take her case to trial, and as a result of the trial penalty, ended up with a sentence more than three times as long as the deal offered. This draconian sentence separated her from her husband, her two daughters, and her granddaughter. Ms. Morrison’s conduct while incarcerated has been exemplary. She is currently released on home confinement because as a Type 2 diabetic, she is at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and she fears being forced to return to prison which would quite literally endanger her life.
John K. Caylor is a 54-year-old man who has served over 20 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense. Rejecting an offer of 15 years, he went to trial and was sentenced to life in prison. This was later reduced to 30 years. Mr. Caylor has demonstrated remarkable rehabilitation, with excellent personal conduct in prison and a history of employment through UNICOR. Despite the fact that he was not a leader of the drug conspiracy, Mr. Caylor will soon be the only remaining codefendant in prison. Mr. Caylor’s only son suffers from end stage renal failure and is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Mr. Caylor seeks to be released so that he may try to become a kidney donor and to provide much-needed emotional support and care to his son. Based on his length of sentence served and his demonstrated rehabilitation, Mr. Caylor is deserving of clemency.
Betty Lee Jenkins,62 years old, has served most of her 10.5-year sentence for distribution of medical marijuana in the State of Michigan. She was offered a plea offer with a cap of five years prior to her federal trial on conduct that was legal at the state level but remained criminalized at the federal level. Today, under more enlightened federal prosecution practices, Ms. Jenkins, a single mother of five, would not even be charged. She has had a spotless disciplinary record in prison and run several programs for her fellow prisoners, including as a wellness tutor and fitness trainer. She has an excellent release plan with her sister in Canada and plans to work as a dog trainer and dog groomer. She loves animals.
Mohamed Taher, 42, has served almost nine years of a 25-year sentence he received in 2014 for his unarmed, non-violent role in a marijuana importation and distribution conspiracy in the Western District of New York. When he rejected a plea offer to ten years, the government filed a superseding indictment carrying a mandatory minimum penalty of 22 years. Today, as a result of society’s changing views on the propriety of criminalizing marijuana, as well as enlightened federal charging policies, Mr. Taher’s likely prison sentence in this case would be less than half the time he has already served. Mr. Taher has an excellent release plan, with a large network of supportive family and friends and a solid job offer. He yearns to be reunited with his three children.
Kelli Caron is in her seventh year of a 14-year sentence she received for her non-violent, low-level role in a meth distribution conspiracy. Her participation was driven by her own meth addiction. After the prosecutor threatened her with a mandatory life sentence through the filing of a recidivist enhancement notice, Ms. Caron accepted a plea deal that would keep her incarcerated until the age of 43, robbing her of her child-bearing years. If sentenced today, Ms. Caron would receive a sentence that would be one quarter of her current one. Ms. Caron has been an exemplary prisoner. Sentenced to serve a concurrent sentence in state prison for a probation violation (related to her federal case), she enrolled in college, learned trades and took care of sick prisoners. Her extraordinary record earned her the first Minnesota state-level commutation to an incarcerated person in 28 years, granted by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in 2020.
At the age of 18, Darius Reaux, along with three other young men, committed a series of armed robberies. However, if sentenced today for the same offenses, he would not be sentenced to his current lengthy term of imprisonment. Today, Mr. Reaux is far from the troubled teenager he was at the time of his offenses. Mr. Reaux has taken full advantage of every opportunity provided to him in prison, and quickly obtained his GED and completed an intensive drug treatment program. After ten years of imprisonment, today Mr. Reaux is a mature, thoughtful young man who is a leader and mentor in the prison, has a spotless record of discipline, and is an exceptional employee in UNICOR.
