Patricia Spottedcrow (left) with her daughter, Ja'zalynn, 3. The 27-year-old mom was released early Thursday after serving two years of a 12-year sentence for selling a small bag of marijuana to an undercover cop.
An Oklahoma woman who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for selling a small bag of pot to an undercover cop was released early Thursday after serving two years.
Patricia Spottedcrow, a mother of four from Kingfisher, north of Oklahoma City, captured national attention after her harsh punishment became of the subject of a Tulsa World investigative report last year.
The 27-year-old was sentenced in October 2010 after she was busted for selling the officer $31 worth of marijuana.
Her children were in the home at the time, leading to a charge of possession in the presence of a minor.
Her mom, Delita Starr, was also there. She was given a 30-year suspended prison sentence, the World reported.
Advocates for Spottedcrow’s case attacked Oklahoma’s strict prison sentences for first-time drug offenders and argued that the state’s status as the nation’s top jailer of women was destroying families and communities, the World reported.
On Thursday, Spottedcrow said she was just happy to be back with her children, who are now 11, 6, 5 and 3.
“I missed potty training my daughter,” Spottedcrow told the World.
“I missed her talking. I missed school, my other daughter’s first day of school. I missed soccer games. I missed out on a lot. I missed Christmases and birthdays.”
Touching video posted on the newspaper’s website showed the beaming mom hugging and kissing her children as they raced off the bus to see her.
At one point, her 3-year-old daughter Ja'zalynn, asks if she will leave again.
“No. I’m not going to leave you no more,” Spottedcrow says, clutching the little tyke’s hand.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Monday, December 3rd 2012 at 4:51PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
