Governor Jay Nixon has commuted the sentence of a man who had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as a persistent drug offender in 1996.
Jeff Mizanskey was arrested in 1993 in a drug sting involving five pounds of marijuana. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver or distribute, and because he had two previous drug offenses, a law on the books at the time qualified him as a persistent offender, which came with the sentence without parole.
Nixon’s action today changes Mizanskey’s sentence to include the possibility of parole, which will allow Mizanskey to make his case for his release.
Numerous advocates, including some state representatives, had been asking Nixon for clemency for Mizanskey in recent years.
