Sharanda Jones spent 17 years in prison for a first-time nonviolent drug offense. In December, she was granted clemency by President Obama after over 279,000 people signed her daughter’s petition. Today she is free and about to become a grandmother.

When Sharanda’s petition signers heard that she would be released, they raised over $25,000 using crowdfunding, a new feature on Change.org, to help her start her new life.

In March, Sharanda went to the White House for an event called Life After Clemency and stopped by the Change.org office.

She was kind enough to share her story and the role that you had in helping her achieve freedom.

If clemency and criminal justice reform are issues you support or just want learn more about, make sure you visit the clemency movement page hosted by Can-Do Clemency, an organization helping nonviolent drug offenders be released from prison. Can-Do’s movement page shows just how important this issue is to people all over the country, with over 1.2 million signatures across 49 petitions.

Click the follow button on the movement page and you’ll get updates about new petitions to sign, stories from families impacted by mandatory minimum sentencing, and important news about criminal justice reform.  

Click here to join the movement for clemency and criminal justice reform.

Jon Perri is an Associate Campaigns Director at Change.org.