ABOUT THE CASE

A 68-year-old man named Michael Thompson Was Sentenced to 60 years in prison for selling weed.

That makes it a life sentence.  

He has never committed a violent act. But he was charged with a violent crime just so he could serve the longest sentence possible. Michael was labeled violent because police found guns at his house, even though in Michigan people can legally and openly carry guns. One was an antique and another was his wife’s gun. He didn’t even have a gun on him when he sold weed to the informant, but he was made to serve a 60 year sentence because of trumped up charges.

Michael spent over 25 years in prison and during that time had an excellent record. Do you know how hard that is? That’d be like not getting a parking ticket or speeding ticket for 25 years. Or not being late on a bill for 25 years. His guards have spoken publicly on his behalf. Guards from the morning shift. Guards from the night shift. Staff from violence prevention programs. Staff from the school.

Despite all of this, MICHAEL continued to serve A LONGER SENTENCE THAN ANY NON VIOLENT OFFENDER IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN – FOR WEED.

In 2018, Michigan voters chose to legalize recreational weed. By the end of 2021 recreational weed is projected to be a $1.5 billion industry in Michigan. But Michael had literally spent almost half of his life in prison for selling weed. It cost the state of Michigan over a million dollars to keep him there. And it was one of the single most egregious cases of injustice going on in the entire country. For a man to spend his 40s, 50s, and 60s in prison for selling weed is abusive. It’s wrong. It’s unjust.

Every day that Michael was behind bars was an egregious injustice.

Yet it took multiple petitions of clemency submitted over a period of years for Michael to even have a shot at freedom. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, at high risk due to his age and pre-existing conditions, Michael Thompson was still kept behind bars for something that is now legal across the country.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, sworn into office January 1, 2019, is a Democrat. Whitmer won the gubernatorial seat on a progressive platform. After being sworn in, Governor Whitmer publicly said that “for conduct that would now be legal, no one should bear a lifelong record for that conduct”. It took over two years for her to put her words into action. People like you, Michael’s legal team, Grassroots Law Project and many partner organizations worked hard to let her know that this wasn’t an invisible case. That there was a clear right thing to do.

Now Michael is Finally free.

In the early hours of January 28th, at 4am, Michael Thompson was released from prison in Jackson, Michigan – and reunited with his family and loved ones that he hadn’t seen in over 25 years. All just for selling a little cannabis, which is now legal in the state.

Together, Grassroots Law Project supporters sent 150,000 messages to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s office and made thousands of phone calls asking her to commute his sentence and set Michael free.

Today, we’re feeling a mix of relief, happiness, and sadness for all that he has lost. His mother, his father and his only son died while he was in prison. Though Michael is now free, we must continue working to end the racist war on drugs that stole his entire adult life from him — and make sure this never happens again.

Right now, we need your help getting Michael back on his feet. We’re trying to help him secure long-term housing. Please pitch in anything you can to support Michael Thompson’s reentry into society at the link to Michael’s GoFundMe account below. He is deeply grateful for your help, and so are we.