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Leaving prison after almost 20 years was like waking up from a nightmare. I had been sentenced to life in prison for a first-time non-violent drug crime. My two brothers were also locked up and, while we were serving our sentences, our parents died. That loss hurts more than the sentence.
We were not there to support them in their final days. We couldn’t console them or ourselves. We couldn’t say goodbye. And knowing that when it mattered most we were locked behind bars… it crushed us.
So when I finally got home, thanks to the President donald trump grant me clemency from what would have been an unimaginably harsh life sentence; All I wanted was to be with my brothers, the only family I had left, and spread our parents’ ashes together. It wasn’t just about honoring them. It was about closing one of the most painful chapters of our lives. It was about being a family again.
But even after our liberation, we could not cry together.
‘REAL HOUSEWIVES’ STAR JEN SHAH RELEASED EARLY FROM PRISON SENTENCE FOR WIRE FRAUD SCHEME
Here is the problem. We were put on federal supervised release. That meant we needed permission to see each other, even if our cases were not violent and we had no other violations. The government denied us the opportunity to mourn our parents as families should.
(Left to right) Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Charles Tanner Jr. (Duke’s son), President Donald Trump, Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner and legendary college football coach Lou Holtz. (Courtesy of Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner)
That moment opened my eyes to how broken supervised release is. It wasn’t meant to be like this. The system is supposed to help people rebuild their lives, find work, reconnect with their families safely, re-enter society with support, and stay crime-free (like my brothers and I did). Rather, in many cases, it becomes another punitive sentence. It hinders rehabilitation rather than supporting it.
But there is hope. Members of Congress presented the Safer Supervision Acta bill designed to fix what is broken. Because a system that would not allow my siblings and I to grieve our parents together is not a system that promotes safety or rehabilitation.
Supervised release often feels like cheating. The rules are so strict and unforgiving that even people who do the right thing are constantly under threat of going off the rails, despite years of progress. Prohibitions on travel across state or county lines without permission. It required frequent meetings with probation officers, ignoring work or family commitments. A complete ban on being with anyone else who has a criminal record, even your own siblings.
I challenge you to figure out how all of that keeps society safer or helps someone rebuild. It prolongs punishment, undermines redemption, and blocks true second chances. Meanwhile, it distracts authorities from focusing on people who are truly dangerous. That doesn’t make sense.
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It doesn’t have to be like this. If the Safer Supervision Act becomes law, it will restore fairness and balance. It will allow people who meet strict security criteria to be freed from oversight, so authorities can focus on real threats, as they should.
Former boxer Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner and his son Charles Tanner Jr. (Courtesy of Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner)
Trump, though known for being tough on crime, also understood this: that people who have paid off their debt deserve a chance to rebuild. For that I am deeply grateful to him. His decision not only gave me back my freedom; He gave me hope back.
It brought me home to my son, my family, my brothers and my community. He saw the humanity in someone the system had too often ignored. I support the president in supporting others like me, and our families will remember his act of compassion for decades.
If we follow their lead and pass the Safer Supervision Act, we can ensure that our federal oversight system truly supports second chances.
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I share my story not out of bitterness, but out of gratitude for a president who believes in redemption and for the opportunity to speak as a free man.
My family still carries the weight of the years we lost. But we also have hope: hope that America can learn from stories like mine and ensure that no other family suffers what mine did.
