Richardson was one of 1,715 federal inmates, including 567 others serving life sentences, selected by the Obama administration’s far-reaching clemency program. A major focus of the clemency effort was easing punishments meted out to nonviolent drug offenders serving lengthy sentences. When she was released through the clemency program from a federal prison for women in Aliceville, Alabama on July 28, 2016, Richardson had served almost 10 years of her sentence. The judge also noted that he would make successful completion of a drug rehabilitation program a condition of her release. Richardson's case underscores the need for rehabilitative approaches to incarceration, and raises the question as to whether the simple use of illicit drugs should result in a prison sentence.

Source: Huffington Post July 22, 2017 15:00 UTC