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Sharanda Jones spent the last 17 years behind bars, serving a life without parole sentence for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. Sentenced under mandatory minimum laws, she received clemency from President Obama in December and is now out of prison.

Nearly 300,000 people signed her daughter Clenesha’s petition on Change.org asking President Obama to grant Sharanda clemency. And to help her with starting her new life outside of prison, those supporters raised over $25,000 dollars to help her with everyday expenses like buying bus passes to get to and from work and putting a deposit on an apartment.  

Sharanda recently attended an event at the White House called Life After Clemency and she stopped by the Change.org office to record a video to thank everyone who supported her.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share a longer video about Sharanda’s story. Stay tuned!