Woman given clemency ordered back to prison
Defense blames her addiction to drugs for release violations
A Texas City woman who was among hundreds of nonviolent drug offenders granted clemency by President Barack Obama was ordered back to federal prison Thursday for violating the terms of her release.
Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was arrested on theft charges in Pasadena and violated other conditions imposed when she was released from prison last year, said acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez in Houston.
“This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Imperato said in a statement released by the office. “She has clearly shown a willful disregard for the law and must face the consequences for her crimes and actions.”
Richardson was convicted by a federal jury in June 2006 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and two counts of possession with intent to distribute the drug.
She has an extensive rap sheet and was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison. She was released from prison July 28, 2016, after Obama tapped her for clemency.
During his two terms in office, Obama granted clemency to 1,715 people, including 568 inmates, like Richardson, who faced life sentences. The bulk of Obama’s effort focused on nonviolent drug offenders who had been locked up under strict sentencing laws.
Richardson was ordered to remain under supervision for 10
years, but was arrested by Pasadena police on April 13.
Imperato told Ellison on Thursday that, in addition to the arrest on theft charges, she violated five separate terms of her release, including failing to report that she had been arrested, that she had been terminated from a job for not showing up and that she had changed her address.
The judge on Thursday told Richardson he was disappointed that she had wasted a rare opportunity at freedom.
He ordered her back to federal prison for 14 months, after which she will serve five years of supervised release.
Attorney Mark Anthony Diaz, who was assigned to Richardson’s case during the series of events that brought her back to court, said she cried throughout the hearing.
He said the theft involved $60 of stolen laundry detergent that she planned to sell to buy drugs. Diaz said the root of her relapse is an ongoing addiction to crack cocaine, which is how she ended up in prison in the first place.
Diaz said he asked the judge to assign her to mandatory drug rehabilitation. He questioned why Richardson had not been assigned to treatment while in prison, and Ellison said the Bureau of Prisons does not provide treatment to someone with a life sentence.
Ellison said he would make rehab part of Richardson’s release plan.
According to Diaz, Richardson had a strong family support system she relied on to stay clean during the first few months she was out, but once she relapsed into drug use, she failed to maintain contact with them.
“This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Imperato