Inmate held for $31 marijuana sale bounced around amid confusion on parole status
BY NOLAN CLAY & RANDY ELLIS NewsOK.com
Thursday, August 30, 2012
8/30/12 at 8:26 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY — An inmate in a high-profile case spent much of Tuesday on a prison bus, as officers drove her from Oklahoma City to Taft and then back because of confusion over her parole status.
The inmate, Patricia Spottedcrow,
is a young mother whose 12-
year prison term for a $31 marijuana
deal attracted national attention
and calls for sentencing reforms.
“It was a big mess,” her attorney,
Laura Deskin, said of the confusion.
“She was really scared. She didn’t
know what was going on."
Last year a judge reduced Spottedcrow’s term to eight years, and in
April the Pardon and Parole Board
recommended that she be paroled.
The governor agreed but required
her to spend 120 days in a work-release
program at a community corrections
facility first.
Click here to read the complete article at NewsOK.com.
Also affected
In addition to Patricia Spottedcrow, six other Oklahoma inmates have had their recommended early releases placed on hold by the moratorium, officials say. They are:
• Richard Sipe III, 53, drug offender
• Ronald Skinner, 47, drug offender
• Westley Gabelt, 27, drug offender
• Rocky McKinley, 51, sex offender
• Stephen Chancellor, 30, drug offender
• Easker Brooks III, 32, drug offender
Associated Images:
Patricia Spottedcrow: Her lawyer called the situation a “big mess” and said Spottedcrow was scared and “didn’t know what was going on.”
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