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Kristen Gwynne<br />

Photo Credit: Farsh/ Shutterstock.com<br />

Right now, five adults await death in prison for non-violent,<br />

marijuana-related crimes. Their names are John Knock, Paul Free,<br />

Larry Duke, William Dekle, and Charles “Fred” Cundiff. They are all<br />

more than 60 years old; <strong>the</strong>y have all spent at least 15 years locked up<br />

for selling pot; and <strong>the</strong>y are all what one might call model prisoners,<br />

serving life without parole. As time wrinkles <strong>the</strong>ir skin and weakens<br />

<strong>the</strong>ir bodies, Michael Kennedy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Trans High Corporation has filed<br />

a legal petition with <strong>the</strong> federal government seeking <strong>the</strong>ir clemency.<br />

O<strong>the</strong>rwise <strong>the</strong>y will die behind bars for selling a drug 40% <strong>of</strong><br />

American adults have admitted to using, 50% <strong>of</strong> Americans want legal,<br />

and two states have already legalized for adult use. Since <strong>the</strong>se men<br />

were convicted <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se crimes many years ago, public opinion and<br />

policy related to marijuana have shifted greatly. Should <strong>the</strong>se five nonviolent<br />

senior-citizen <strong>of</strong>fenders die behind bars for a crime Americans<br />

increasingly believe should not even be a crime?<br />

1. John Knock, 65, has been incarcerated for more than 16 years.The<br />

only evidence against him was <strong>the</strong> testimony <strong>of</strong> informants;<br />

Knock was convicted <strong>of</strong> conspiracy to import and distribute<br />

marijuana. The judge sentenced him to 20 years for money<br />

laundering plus not one, but two terms <strong>of</strong> life-without-parole -- a

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