Stories from the field: New Mississippi law offers hope for prisoners locked up for decades for nonviolent offenses

I recently met with two men at the Jefferson County Regional Correctional Facility in Fayette, Mississippi, who have been locked up for more than a decade for nonviolent drug offenses.

They both were sentenced as habitual offenders, given no chance of parole.

One has served 11 years of a 32-year sentence for a single count of cocaine possession. The other has spent more than 21 years in prison for drug offenses and has almost a decade left. 

While some may characterize them as criminals, I saw men who simply didn’t  belong in prison and who cried at the possibility of going home.

Now, because of reform legislation enacted this year, they have hope.

With the passage of House Bill 585, nonviolent habitual offenders are eligible to petition the court for permission to seek parole after serving 25 percent of their sentence. Previously, neither man had hope of receiving parole, credit for good behavior or any access to an early release. They believed they would be in their late-60s and early 70s before ever setting foot in their homes again.

I met each one separately and read them their petitions. The filing includes excerpts of letters written on their behalf from prison officials, family members and friends. The letters, certificates, and a simple conversation showed that these men are truly rehabilitated and ready to return to their communities.

They participated in drug-treatment programs, self-help courses, Bible study and work programs. As a staff attorney for the SPLC, I have the opportunity to convey their efforts in a petition that will, hopefully, lead to their release. I read the terms of their sentences and the overwhelming support for their release, feeling my own frustration at the system for such a miscarriage of justice.

As I finished reading, I looked up to see that each man had tears in his eyes.  

One asked for a few minutes, apologizing for being so emotional and struggling to compose himself. He said he should be worrying about a young woman who was in an accident down the street instead of thinking about himself. 

He explained that it was overwhelming to hear such positive things said about him and to have someone willing to help him. At the end, I asked if there was anything I could do for him. His response, “If you could just call my wife and tell her I love her. I know she has a hard time during the holidays.”

The other asked if I liked seafood, because he wanted to treat me to dinner when he was out of prison. He acknowledged that he had made mistakes in his life, but that he did not know who he truly was then. Now, he has found himself and has been able to stay out of trouble in prison. He wishes young men knew that they have support to lead productive lives.

The new Mississippi law is a real breakthrough for a state that imprisons its residents at a per-capita rate second only to Louisiana – in a country that has the highest incarceration rate, by far, in the world and the world’s largest prison population. It’s heartening that states like Mississippi are beginning to recognize the injustice of their harsh sentencing laws and are taking action.

The SPLC spent months and countless hours working with experts and partner organizations to help pass this legislation.

Now, many families have a glimmer of hope that their loved one may return home for the holidays after years of a missing place at the table.

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Brooke McCarthy is a law fellow in the SPLC’s Jackson, Mississippi, office.