Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Chicago Tribune

    An Illinois man is serving a life sentence for 6 grams of cocaine. He is fighting to be freed

    by Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune Sep 18, 2022 6 minutes
    Menard Correctional Center in Chester in 2013. Michael Lightfoot, who was sentenced to prison in 2005, is one of at least five people in Illinois serving a life sentence for a drug offense, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

    CHICAGO — Michael Lightfoot is 66 years old. He survived prostate cancer. He has grandchildren and great-grandchildren who love him. He has health problems and doesn’t think he has that much time left.

    But without a pardon from the governor, Lightfoot will die in prison because he was caught with 6 grams of crack cocaine in his home.

    Lightfoot received a mandatory life sentence in 2005 on the low-level drug charge under Illinois’ habitual offender law, also called the three strikes law, which allows prosecutors to seek a life sentence when someone is convicted of their third serious felony.

    In Lightfoot’s case, his home where police found a small amount of drugs was located near a park, bumping the charge up to a Class X felony.

    He is one of at least five people in Illinois serving life sentences for a drug offense, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. All are Black or Hispanic.

    “For me to have a small amount of drugs and have as much time as a serial

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Chicago Tribune

    Chicago Tribune3 min read
    Sky Players Voice Confidence In New Team Identity Under Teresa Weatherspoon: ‘She’s Allowing Us To Be Ourselves’
    CHICAGO — There’s just one week until Teresa Weatherspoon makes her mark on the WNBA — for the second time in her Hall of Fame career. The Chicago Sky’s new head coach will make her debut at the helm of a professional team next week with the Sky’s se
    Chicago Tribune6 min read
    Tiny Pieces Of Plastic Pose One Of The Biggest Threats To Chicago River Wildlife And Water Quality
    CHICAGO — Wendella engineer Miguel Chavez climbed down a ladder and over a small dock Wednesday to pull up a trap floating in the Chicago River near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The size of a standard garbage can, the trap is designed to collect trash
    Chicago Tribune4 min read
    New COVID ‘FLiRT’ Variants Are Spreading Nationwide. Chicago Health Experts Urge Up To Date Vaccination
    CHICAGO — A new family of COVID variants nicknamed “FLiRT” is spreading across the country, as vaccination rates in Chicago — as well as nationwide — remain concerningly low for some public health experts. While symptoms and severity seem to be abou

    Related