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America’s longest-serving, non-violent cannabis offender has been released from prison
On Tuesday, Richard DeLisi, America’s longest-serving, non-violent cannabis offender, walked freely into the waiting arms of his family after nearly 32 years behind bars.
In 1989, at the age of 40, DeLisi was charged with trafficking in cannabis, conspiracy to traffic in cannabis and violation of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). He was sentenced to a 90-year term.
His release comes after Last Prisoner Project (LPP) and pro bono attorneys Chiara Juster, Elizabeth Buchanan and Michael Minardi supplemented DeLisi’s previously filed clemency application earlier this year.
“It actually feels like 10 times better than wonderful,” DeLisi, 71, told The Ledger, following his release. “It was so unjust what they did to me. I just hope that I can help other people that are in the same situation.”
“We participated in decarcerating someone who couldn’t deserve it more,” Juster, a former Florida prosecutor and lead attorney on the case, said in November. “The fact that dear Richard is the longest-serving, non-violent cannabis offender currently incarcerated in our country is truly a sick indictment of our nation,” she said.
The Ledger reports that the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) has denied that DeLisi’s reduced sentence was prompted by the work of advocates and outside organizations.
According to an email from FDOC press secretary, a review of DeLisi’s records found that he had 390 days of outstanding release credits, which moved his release date up to May of 2021. Further, the FDOC cited DeLisi’s exemplary disciplinary record — his last disciplinary report was in 2005 — and its own discretionary authority in moving up his release date.
To help DeLisi get back on his feet, LPP has also initiated a funding campaign.
DeLisi and his brother, Ted, were both sentenced to 90-year terms after agreeing to smuggle 1,500 pounds (680 kg) of pot into Florida with their longtime friend, J.J. White. The brothers were unaware that White was acting as a paid government informant.
Ted DeLisi successfully appealed his conspiracy conviction in 2013 and was released. Richard DeLisi’s appeal was rejected. On Tuesday, the brothers embraced each other for the first time outside of prison walls in more than 30 years.
“I am grateful to everyone who has been there and helped me along in these long years,” DeLisi said last month.
“If I could go back to 1988, I would tell my former self to put more value in the time I spend with my family. I have learned that money is something that comes and goes, but family is forever. I will take that lesson home with me and I will make the most of every moment I have left on this earth with my wonderful family,” he said.
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