Episodes
Friday Mar 30, 2018
FF 117 - A Mother Spent a Decade in Prison for an Introduction
Friday Mar 30, 2018
Friday Mar 30, 2018
Today on Felony Friday Gracie Walker joins host John Odermatt to share how she spent more than a decade in prison for the "crime" of introducing two people. In 2007, Gracie was convicted of Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in the Northern District of Texas. She was sentenced to 290 months. Gracie was not charged or convicted of selling drugs, rather she was sentenced to prison for introducing two people.
When she was arrested, Gracie was a working single mother and had not been involved with drugs for over three years. She was not in possession of any contraband and no drugs were found in the house where she was arrested. Prosecutors did offer a plea deal in exchange for information, but since Gracie had not been selling drugs she did not have any information to offer, so she was convicted. Thankfully, after spending ten years in President Obama granted Gracie clemency, shaving at least ten years off her sentence.
Find past editions of Felony Friday at the Felony Friday Archive!
Today's Sponsor: Dan Wise, YouTube's Top Prison Consultant, Sentence Reduction and Federal Prison Consulting services. Stop the stress and get your life back.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Sep 15, 2017
FF 089 - First Time Drug Charge Lands Mother in Prison for Life
Friday Sep 15, 2017
Friday Sep 15, 2017
On today's episode recent clemency recipient Ramona Brant joined the show to share her powerful story. In 1995, Ramona was sentenced to life in prison for a cocaine offense related to her then-boyfriend’s drug dealing. At her sentencing the judge said he was “shocked at the severity of the sentence,” BUT he had no legal discretion to sentence her to less time.
Ramona spent 20 years in prison, before finally receiving a commutation from President Obama in 2015, and was released to a halfway house in February 2016. In March 2016, Ramona met President Obama during a special lunch for commutation recipients, and participated in a White House briefing on clemency, where she shared her story. Ramona is now the PR Director of the CAN-DO Guardian Angel program that has paired over 40 Guardian Angels with approximately 50 clemency applicants.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any qu estions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Sep 08, 2017
Friday Sep 08, 2017
On today's episode of Felony Friday former felon and clemency recipient Jamael Nettles. This is Part 2 of the interview, please go back and listen to Part 1 is you haven't yet.
In part 1 Jamael shared how his environment growing up steered him towards drug dealing. He discussed how he grew up in a drug culture. When he found success and started making money selling drugs, he became respected by his family and friends. Jamael grew addicted to the high of drug dealing.
In today's episode, Part 2 of the interview, Jamael will have you on the edge of your seat. The events that led to Jameal's arrest and conviction are shocking and tragic. He does a tremendous job sharing his heart wrenching story.
After being shot 5 times during a violent break-in at his home, Jamael Nettles of Mobile was sentenced to 365 months imprisonment and four years supervised release in 2006 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and simple possession of marijuana
Jameal served 11 years in prison. He received clemency from President Obama December 19, 2016. And was release to a half-way house in January of this year and was released from the halfway house on Apr 18. This is his story.
Friday Sep 01, 2017
Friday Sep 01, 2017
Here's the full interview with Jamael Nettles. You don't have to wait a week to hear part 2. If you listened to part 1 on the public feed, then you can pick up the start of part 2 at 33:13. There is no break between parts in this file, it's one fluid interview. Enjoy and let me know what you guy think of Jamael's story.
- John
Friday Sep 01, 2017
Friday Sep 01, 2017
On today's episode of Felony Friday former felon and clemency recipient Jamael Nettles shares his unbelievable story. This episode is the first of two parts of Jamael's story. Jamael will have you on the edge of your seat. The events that led to Jameal's arrest and conviction are shocking and tragic. He does a tremendous job sharing the details of his story. He takes the listener on a journey though his life, from the drug culture where he was raised, to becoming a wildly successful teenage drug dealer and finally the break-in at his home that resulted in him being shot 5 times and ultimately sentenced to 30 years in prison for non-violent drug crimes.
Jamael Nettles of Mobile was sentenced to 365 months imprisonment and four years supervised release in 2006 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and simple possession of marijuana
Jameal served 11 years in prison. He received clemency from President Obama December 19, 2016. And was release to a half-way house in January of this year and was released from the halfway house on Apr 18. This is his story.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any qu estions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Aug 11, 2017
Felony Friday 084 - Cops Serve Wrong Warrant And Kill Guy Who Answers Door
Friday Aug 11, 2017
Friday Aug 11, 2017
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Jul 14, 2017
Friday Jul 14, 2017
My guest today on Felony Friday is Curtis Drayton. Curtis was sentenced in 1995 to life with five years for four counts of distribution of cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting. His prison sentence was commuted by President Obama in December of last year and he was released from prison in Feb 16 of 2017. Curtis was only convicted and sentenced to life as a result of what can be described as blatant corruption and incompetence at the hands of the federal prosecutors, federal agents, the judge and a probationary officer.
I was introduced to Curtis by a former guest on this show, Malik King. Since our introduction Curtis and I have had several phone and Skype calls reviewing his case. Curtis sent me two large folders of legal documents from his case and patiently pointed out to me each instance where the government got it wrong. This is an incredible case. All the credit goes to Curtis for outlining and researching every aspect of the case against him with the hope of shinning a light on the grave injustice he's suffered. The goal of this podcast is to share his story, so please share this podcast far and wide.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Jul 07, 2017
Friday Jul 07, 2017
Today on Felony Friday is Mark W. Osler joins host John Odermatt. Osler is a legal scholar, law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a staunch critic of narcotics policy and capital punishment. Osler received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990, he worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit, before beginning to work as a law professor at Baylor University in 2000, and then leaving for St. Thomas in 2010. At St. Thomas, he founded the nation's first law school clinic on federal commutations,and he has advocated for an expansive use of the presidential pardon power.
Osler's writing on clemency, sentencing and narcotics policy has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post and in journals at several of the nations most respected Universities. He is the author of the book Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment, which critiques capital punishment in the United States through an examination of the biblical account of Jesus Christ's trial and execution.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!
Friday Mar 31, 2017
Friday Mar 31, 2017
Today the founder of the CAN-DO Foundation, Amy Povah, joins Felony Friday to share her remarkable story. The CAN-DO Foundation is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit foundation that advocates clemency for all non-violent drug offenders. When Amy was 28 years old, she was convicted on a conspiracy charge and received a 24 year sentence. She received such a harsh sentence due to the fact that she refused to cooperate with federal officials who were attempting to infiltrate her then husband's massive ecstasy distribution ring. Amy never stopped fighting for her freedom after imprisonment. She attracted the attention of several media outlets and started a massive letter writing campaign, which led seventeen members of the House and Senate to write letters in support of Amy’s clemency. Justice prevailed when President Clinton granted Amy’s clemency on July 7th, 2000 and she was set free.
After Amy was granted her freedom she immediately started fighting injustice in the criminal justice system. Amy founded the CAN-DO Foundation and advocated for clemency for many of the women that she served time with. The organization has expanded since then and played a significant role in creating the wave of pardons granted by President Barack Obama in the final months of his term. Presidential pardon recipient and Felony Friday guest Israel Torres received assistance and support from the CAN-DO Foundation. In fact, it was the interview with Israel that got the attention of this outstanding organization and is the reason why we have today's incredible episode.
You can find the show notes page >here<
Submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to felonyfriday@lionsofliberty.com. This show is not my soapbox, it is a vehicle to communicate and amplify the injustices rampant in the criminal justice system. We need your help to make it the best it can possibly be! If you like what you hear please share it with a friend and subscribe for free via iTunes (don’t forget to leave us a rating and review ) or the Stitcher Radio App
Join the conversation in our private Facebook Group: The Lions of Liberty Forum!