A man from Saint David, Maine who is currently serving life in prison due to a cannabis-related conviction has asked to be released from prison due to testing positive for COVID-19.
At 64 years of age, Michael Pelletier, is elderly, disabled and serving a life sentence for smuggling cannabis. His conviction included running illegal cannabis across the Canadian border between January 1, 2003 and March 31, 2006. He was also convicted of money laundering, Social Security fraud and other crimes in July 2007.
Now residing at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, Pelletier was one of approximately 90 inmates who contracted COVID-19 in September 2020. Following his recovery, Pelletier is planning to request that he be released from his sentence to live out his days in Florida with a family member who can take care of him.
The US attorney’s office in Maine is against Pelletier’s release, but stated that he does meet the requirements for compassionate release. In order to qualify, prisoners must be age 65 or older, have served at least 10 years (or 75 percent) of their prison term and are in a state of deterioration and failing health. According to the Bangor Daily News, Pelletier is prediabetic, “nearly obese” and unable to push himself in his wheelchair, which he has been confined to since he was 11 years old.
Pelletier’s defense states that he qualifies for compassionate release from prison so that he can be safe from future COVID-19 outbreaks outside prison walls. The defense also brings up the fact that cannabis is no longer illegal in many parts of the US and Canada.
Pelletier has received an official date set for his request to be released. Outside the prison walls, his family is rooting for him. His sister launched an online petition asking President Donald Trump to pardon Pelletier. The petition currently has 114,780 signatures out of a required 150,000, as of Tuesday, December 1.
