Melissa Advocates for Clemency for Deshaun Durham

UPDATE: On Nov 6, 2024, Gov. Kelly granted clemency to Deshaun!!!
We are overjoyed that he will be reunited with his family soon.

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In advocacy with the nonprofit Last Prisoner Project, Melissa wrote to Kansas Governor Laura Kelly in support of a young man named Deshaun Durham.

Deshaun was arrested at just 20 years old with less than two and half pounds of cannabis, and is serving an almost 8 year sentence (92 months) for possession with intent to distribute .

This was a nonviolent offense, and Deshaun’s first. He had a clean record before the arrest and has stayed out of trouble since being incarcerated.

Typically, Kansas courts sentence people with similar offenses as Deshaun to probation, not nearly 8 years in prison.

Read Melissa’s letter below:

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Kansas Department of Corrections
ATTN: Prisoner Review Board
714 SW Jackson, Suite 300
Topeka, Kansas 66603

September 27, 2024

Dear Governor Kelly,

My name is Melissa Etheridge, and I am writing to you on behalf of Deshaun Durham to urge you to grant his petition for clemency.

My interest in his case is as a Kansan, born and raised, who cares about justice-impacted people in our communities. Although my music career has taken me around the world, my roots remain strong. What happens at home matters a lot to me – particularly around issues of justice and healing.

If I may share with you, I am a breast cancer survivor. My treatment included a lumpectomy, surgical removal of 15 lymph nodes, radiation, and chemotherapy. And, the plant medicine cannabis played a truly important role in supporting my healing and recovery.

It’s hard for me to reconcile my experiences with the fact that in some places, people are still locked up for this plant – especially in my home of Kansas.

However, laws are important to protect the common good – and laws also evolve to reflect advancements in society and our understanding of issues. Cannabis laws have been changing around the U.S. and the world as scientific and medical recognition grows.

But even if Kansas isn’t ready to embrace cannabis, we have always embraced fairness and care for our communities.

Deshaun Durham was convicted in Riley County, Kansas of a nonviolent marijuana offense. After acknowledging the wrongfulness of his crime by pleading guilty, he was sentenced to almost 8 years in prison. He has served 25 months of imprisonment for this offense. His max release date is set for November of 2028.

This offense occurred about four years ago. There is absolutely no record of any further criminal activity by Deshaun since the offense, and he is dedicated to being a law abiding citizen if he were to receive clemency.

If granted clemency, Deshaun has a strong support system in his family and will have a safe, supportive, and encouraging environment to go home to. He intends to immediately engage in gainful employment, pay any restitution and taxes owed to the State, and work to rebuild his life and the lives of his loved ones.

Deshaun’s family members describe him as nothing but loving and supportive, and those who work with Deshaun on a day-to-day basis give him the highest marks and compliments. Deshaun is an honest, hard-working, family man, who deserves another chance at life.

Deshaun has been afforded the opportunity to immediately get back into the workforce upon release. He has already been offered a job at a restaurant in Manhattan, Kansas, by the owner, who has provided his contact information for you.

Deshaun also has financial assistance available upon his release from the organization Last Prisoner Project, to help support him with housing, transportation, and other reentry needs.

I know that Deshaun will be an incredibly professional and productive member of society, as he has demonstrated every effort to move forward and rebuild his life for himself. Executive clemency will enable him to best achieve that goal of fully reestablishing his life.

It is my sincere belief that Deshaun’s post-conviction conduct, character, and reputation, as well as his acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement for the offense, all weigh in favor of granting his petition for clemency.

With widespread support for legalization and the burgeoning of the legal cannabis industry across the United States, it seems that your constituents would agree that no nonviolent cannabis offender should stay behind bars due to an excessive sentence.

It is for these reasons that I support clemency for Deshaun Durham’s offenses under your plenary executive power to grant Deshaun reprieve.

Thank you for your consideration.

With the utmost gratitude and sincerity,

Melissa Etheridge