Nixon Commutes Life Sentence for Drug Offender

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has commuted the life sentence for a man who has been in prison for 19 years on marijuana-related drug convictions. 

According to Learfield News, the governor’s action makes Jeff Mizanskey eligible for parole. He was ruled to be a persistent drug offender when he was given the life term in 1996. The Legislature has changed that law in the interim. There have been several efforts to get him set free.

Governor Nixon also granted pardons to five non-violent offenders. One of them has been behind bars for 57 years.