Drug charges are very serious and no teen accused of involvement with a drug crime should take these charges lightly. One woman was arrested for helping her drug-dealing boyfriend in 1989 when she was 19 years old. Unfortunately the woman was charged with drug conspiracy and aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine. A jury found the woman guilty and she was sentenced to over 15 years in prison because of the mandatory minimum guidelines that the judge had to follow.

"If mandatory minimums did not exist, no judge in America, including me, would have ever sentenced (the defendant) to 15 years in prison based on her role in the conspiracy, her age and the fact that she had no prior criminal convictions," the sentencing judge wrote in support of her petition for a presidential commutation.

Against all odds, Bill Clinton granted her a presidential commutation and ordered the woman's release in 2000, making her a free woman at the age of 31.

The woman grabbed her freedom, enrolled in Arizona State University four days later, and went on to graduate from the University of Michigan Law School in 2006.

The woman's extraordinary efforts to turn around her life prove that those accused of drug crimes are not always the irredeemable criminals portrayed in the media. Many youthful offenders are simply guilty with associating with the wrong people and find themselves facing unnecessarily hefty sentences.

Unfortunately the woman's criminal conviction still poses serious career barriers for her. Despite having a law degree from a prestigious school, the woman cannot practice law yet because her conviction bars her admission to the Georgia State Bar. She is now waiting for a presidential pardon so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a public defender.

"The commutation process was about my freedom. And I think the pardon process is about my future," the woman said. "This is the second round for me, but this time it's about redemption. There is no better way to start my professional career as an attorney than to have the president of the United States pardon me."

Source: ProPublica, "Starting Over: When Presidential Forgiveness Changes a Life," Dafna Linzer, Dec. 3, 2011