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1. A minister borrowed a co-worker’s truck to drive home to see his family. It landed him in prison for the rest of his life.
2. Taking a wallet from a hotel room means a 44-year-old with a 6th grade education will be in prison for the rest of his life.
3. A homeless man who acted as a go-between in the sale of $10 of marijuana to an undercover officer will be serving time for the rest of his days.
4. Shoplifting two jerseys from an athletic store means a man will never get to go home.
5. Her abusive boyfriend threatened to take her kids away if she didn’t carry his drugs and money. She did, and she’ll be serving time until she dies.
6. Attempting to cash a stolen check can mean decades and eventual death in lock-up.
7. A trucker siphoned some gasoline from another truck. And taxpayers will be paying to keep him behind bars until he dies.
8. Cops found this man with a tiny amount of heroin so small that it could not be weighed. He’ll grow old and die in lock up.
9. Cops found a man with some stolen wrenches. He’ll be behind bars until he dies.
10. Shoplifting a $159 jacket from a department store landed this man in prison without the hope of ever going home.
11. Stealing a few tools and a welding machine sent a 22-year-old to a cell until he dies.
Want to do something about it? Tell President Obama to use his clemency powers to reevaluate and reduce prisoners' life without parole sentences for nonviolent offenses.
View this video on YouTube
The ACLU believes sentences should be fair and smart, not extreme, cruel and wasteful.
You can read these stories and 99 more in our new report A Living Death: Life without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses and learn more about our criminal justice reform work at www.aclu.org/fairandsmart.
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