ROLLING PAPERS THAT SUPPORT THE UNJUSTLY INCARCERATED
•Tens of thousands of individuals are serving time for nonviolent cannabis crimes
• 72% of Americans support their governor pardoning state-level convictions for cannabis possession
• Each purchase makes a difference with a portion of the proceeds going to the Last Prisoner Project
RELEASE PAPERS aims to transform rolling cannabis into an opportunity to educate and engage the public to participate in advocating for prisoners. Each paper includes the name of one of four incarcerated people along with a QR code driving to release-papers.com. There, supporters can sign the Cannabis Clemency Now petition urging the President to release federal cannabis prisoners and participate in the letter-writing program, which sends letters to the featured inmates.
EDWIN RUBIS
Edwin Rubis is currently serving a 40 year sentence for a victimless cannabis offense. Edwin has taken numerous steps to better himself while incarcerated.
He graduated from college with a degree in Religious Education and serves as a mentor to others. He is also working as a G.E.D. and E.S.L. tutor in the education department. With the support of LPP’s scholarship program, Edwin recently received his Master’s degree in counseling and now hopes to pursue a Doctorate.
Edwin is a father of 3. He has been in prison since 1998 (23 years) and was recently featured in this High Times article. He has an individual petition and gofundme campaign.
Sentence: 40 years
Year Sentencing: 1998
Charge: Conspiracy to Distribute
Address
# 79282-079
FCI TALLADEGA
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.M.B 1000
TALLADEGA, AL 35160
How LPP is Helping: Recipient of grant funding for secondary education. Represented by Goodwin as part of LPP’s compassionate release program.
HECTOR MCGURK
Hector Ruben McGurk is a nonviolent marijuana offender who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Ruben will die in federal prison for a nonviolent marijuana offense if he does not receive a commutation.
When Hector was tried for this offense the first jury was not able to find him guilty and the trial ended with a hung jury.
Federal prosecutors tried him a second time and he was convicted of this marijuana offense and was given a life sentence. He is currently 62 years old and has been incarcerated for 15 years.
Sentence: Life
Year Sentencing: 2007
Charge: Conspiracy to Distribute; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
Address
# 25843-180
FCI VICTORVILLE MEDIUM I
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
13777 AIR EXPRESSWAY BLVD
VICTORVILLE, CA 92394
How LPP is Helping: Represented as a part of LPP’s compassionate release program by Zuber Lawler.
MOE TAHER
In 2014 Mohamed Taher was sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling cannabis. As of 2021, he has served over 7 years despite the fact that he was operating in states that have completely legalized or decriminalized cannabis.
He has four young children who haven’t seen their father in two years and he wants to desperately be part of their lives.
“To all the penpals out there, thank you for your support. My name is Moe Taher and I am 42 years old and I was 34 years old when I was sentenced to 25 years for pot. Yeah, I know that’s sad but the bright side is that our nation is starting to see the benefits of pot. Plus with all the heroes from Last Prisoner Project who are trying to get us home it puts more ease on our current situation.”
Sentence: 25 years
Year Sentencing: 2014
Charge: Conspiracy to Distribute
Address
# 11646-055
FCI MCDOWELL
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 1009
WELCH, WV 24801
How LPP is Helping: Represented as a part of LPP’s compassionate release program.
RICARDO ASHMEADE
Ricardo Ashmeade is currently serving a 22 year sentence for a victimless cannabis offense. He has been in prison since 2006.
Despite a reclassification of a California conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor, the federal courts have refused to resentence him. Ricardo a proud father of 4 children. He is hopeful to be released to his loving family.
Ricardo’s daughter Richeda considers her father to be her best friend. She is an award winning spoken word artist who is currently attending law school in Atlanta. She is currently 27 and her father has been in prison since she was 11 years old.
Richeda Ashmeade’s (Ricardo’s daughter) Spoken word poem performed for Father’s Day 2021. She was also part of “The Pen to Right History” docu-style campaign.
Sentence: 21 years
Year Sentencing: 2009
Charge: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
Address
# 34233-083
FCI MCDOWELL 101 FEDERAL DRIVE
WELCH, WV 24801
How LPP is Helping: Ricardo is a constituent in LPP’s compassionate release program.
SIGN THE PETITION
The Last Prisoner Project is calling on President Biden to continue to act on broad-based criminal justice and drug policy reform by granting clemency to then tens of thousands of individuals currently incarcerated due to — or otherwise unduly burdened by — federal cannabis-related convictions.