Man Gets Life Sentence For Weed Overturned

22 years ago, Jeff Mizanskey thought he would never get out of prison. He had never been convicted of hurting anyone. He got caught selling pounds of marijuana. Mizanskey’s been sitting in Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri since 1993 for weed. However, thanks to lenient, understanding state officials, the former tree salesman was freed today, to the delight of Mizanskey, his family and friends.

Mizanskey was charged for conspiring to move six pounds to “a known connection of the Mexican cartel,” according to Weedhorn. In Missouri at the time, the law allowed for repeat drug offenders to be slapped with life sentences. Mizanskey had already collected two marijuana charges prior to the incident mentioned, so he was set away for the long haul.

The Missouri law that got a man thrown in jail for life over marijuana were amended in 2014. This was the break that Mizanskey and his supporters had been waiting for. Friends and family went above and beyond to get him released. In May, Governor Jay Nixon commuted Mizanskey’s sentence because he “did not have a violent record nor did he ever sell drugs to children.” This allowed Mizanskey to plead is case in front of the parole board. He must have impressed, because he was granted his request fro freedom in August.

Jeff has aspirations to pursue a career in IT with his new-found freedom, but he needs help. He is crowdfunding to get back on his feet, here. As for the man himself, he said, “It’s been kind of like a dream. Everybody in there is been asking me and asking me. Even my family asked if I’m nervous. I told them I’ve been trying to keep my feet on the ground.”