'I Was Sentenced To Life In Prison -- And Then I Got A Second Chance'
Huff PostLast week, Stephanie George, a single mother of two, changed out of her prison khakis and into a white blouse and white slacks, then stepped outside the gates of the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Fla. After spending 17 years behind bars for a minor role in a drug-dealing operation, she was headed home to Pensacola. At an emotional gathering at her sister’s house later that day, George’s family sat around a table laden with turkey, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese -- a Thanksgiving dinner three days before Easter. But the federal government’s mandatory sentencing system left no alternative, in part because George had previously been convicted of selling small amounts of crack. “I never stopped fighting for my freedom,” George said on the phone from her sister’s house in Pensacola the day after her release. “Even if they find out who did it to him, I can honestly say that I can’t even think of wishing any prison time on no one,” she said.
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