Mary Bailey

Yasquasia Delcarmen is 16 months into an 8-year federal sentence for cannabis, with 3 years of probation to follow. She was 11 months into motherhood when she was taken into custody. In a federal facility she watches people serving less time for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, and she has questions about a system where refusing to cooperate with prosecutors costs more than the conduct itself.

Julian Andrade is serving 75 years in Texas for a nonviolent cannabis charge, plus concurrent terms of 50 and 10. He was 19 when he was sentenced. His son was born while he was incarcerated, and Texas clemency rules require a written recommendation from the same officials who prosecuted him just to be eligible to apply.