By Amanda Wicks
One Grateful Dead fan will be getting out of jail early thanks to a sentence commutation from President Barack Obama.
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Timothy Tyler sold a police informant LSD in 1994 and was charged with possession with intent to deliver as well as conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute. Because it was his third drug-related charge, Tyler received the mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison at the time.
But Obama included Tyler in his list of 111 prison commutations today (August 31). The commutations will shorten sentences that were “unduly harsh sentences under outdated laws for committing largely nonviolent drug crimes.” Instead of spending the rest of his life in prison, Tyler will now be getting out August 30, 2018.
His family has been petitioning Obama to shorten his sentence. Prison hasn’t dampened Tyler’s fandom. He reportedly continued listening to the band on an mp3 player (via Pitchfork).
You can read the full list of commutations is available here.
