Mid-Missouri man spending life in prison without parole for pot offenses

Jeff Mizanskey and Charles Manson have something in common. They are both serving life sentences in maximum security prison. Only Charles Manson, the notorious cult leader who’s responsible for the deaths of more than a half dozen people, has had at least a dozen parole hearings. But, Jeff Mizanskey has had no parole hearings, and will get none for his *non-violent marijuana offenses.

If you’re not familiar with Jeff Mizanskey, he is the Sedalia man with arrests and convictions on possession and sale of marijuana in the 1980s and early 90s. But, in late 1993, Mizanskey was arrested in Pettis County. This time it was his third strike, allowing the state to prosecute him under Missouri’s prior and persistent offender statute. He was convicted and is now the only person in the state serving life in prison without parole for non-violent offenses.

Despite his plea for clemency to Governor Nixon, a change.org petition with nearly 400-thousand signatures, and many other efforts to free Mizanskey, he is in his cell at Jefferson City Correctional Center. I contacted the governor’s office to ask why a man with non-violent marijuana offenses should die in prison. I received a one sentence reply: “(Mizanskey’s) application for clemency is under review by this office.”

I’ve been told there may be a rally at the capitol Tuesday, February 10, with people pushing for clemency for Mizanskey.

But recently, inside the prison, Jeff Mizanskey agree to talk to me about his unique sentence. This is a transcript of some of that conversation.

JP: Jeff, are you angry?

Mizanskey: You know, I was for a long time. But, that anger’s kinda gone…disappointed. I love this country. (but as far as the way the legal system has treated him) It ain’t right. For them to do what they do…it ain’t right.

JP: You said cruel and unusual punishment. Did you ever think this could happen? Mizanskey: Never. I never knew you could get locked up with a life sentence, let alone “life without.” I mean for something that’s not hurting anybody. Something that’s doing good. They’re gonna lock somebody up forever. It don’t make sense. It’s costing taxpayers 57 dollars a day just to keep me in here… a little over 57 dollars a day. Uh, if there’s a thousand of us in here, and I’m sure there is throughout the system. That’s 57,000 dollars a day. Boy, that money could sure be used for schools or roads.

JP: And you’ve seen some pretty hardcore people come… and go.

JM: Oh, yeah. I’ve seen ’em come in here with murder, rapes, child molestation, burglaries… you name it. All the way up and down the gamut. And, I’ve seen a lot of them leave…on parole. I’ve seen a lot of them come back. The same ones that left. And, get out again.

JP: You’re in your 21st year here.

Mizanskey: Yes.

JP: What has it been like here… inside?

Mizanskey: At times it’s been pure agony, to be right honest with you. I mean, uh, family’s growing up, my parents past away, my brothers and sisters are getting older. Heck, I’ve spent a third of my life here in prison now. I’m 61 years old. I’ve been here 21 years. So, uh…

JP: After all this do you still have hope?

Mizanskey: I, I have some hope for myself, but you know, I don’t have that many years left if you think about it. It might be 5 years, might be 10 years, whatever the Lord blesses me with. But, what I’m hoping for is, nobody else has to go through what I go through. Or, what I’ve, what I’ve went through, because nobody deserves to be locked up for marijuana.

JP: Over the last two-plus decades, you have missed a lot. You’ve missed, um, births, celebrations, deaths. I saw an interview where you said you, since you’re been in here saw your mom one time.

Mizanskey: Right.

JP: What was that like?

Mizanskey: It was rough, because, uh, she put in for visits when she found out she had cancer and, uh, it took almost 4 months to get her on a visiting form even though the woman’s never been arrested for anything.

JP: And did you have a good conversation?

Mizanskey: Yeah.

JP: What’d you tell her?

Mizanskey: That I missed her. And I made her a promise that I’d do everything I could to get out of here.

JP: So it’s not only something you want, it’s also a pledge that you’ve made to your family?

Mizanskey: Yes. I made a promise to her that I wouldn’t break any law that I was conscious of ever again. And, um, unfortunately smoking marijuana is one of them laws.

JP: In some states.

Mizanskey: Right, but for me, even if I got out I couldn’t go, say to Colorado and smoke a joint, as much as I would like to, because it is still illegally federal. So, you know, I went through a program here called ITC, and one thing I’ve learned I thing: I don’t have no grey areas. I don’t have no, no second chances, grey area, you say, or whatever you want to call it.

JP: Right. Sure. What is ITC?

Mizanskey: It’s an Intensive Therapeutic Community. Ah, you work on any kind of drug problems, or it really works on your mind, your body, and your spirit. And, uh, drugs are also brought in. You do your NA and AA programs. You go through a lot of other classes. It’s a year-long Intensive Therapeutic Community and then you’ve got another year after that that’s, uh, where you’re an elder and you kind of help all the other guys coming through. And I still practice it today. I try to help the guys out in the yard. I try to teach them something at work so they’ve got some kind of skill when they get out. I , uh, try to talk to them and use myself as the example, you know, “you don’t want this. You want to be out there with your family.” And, uh, it’s worked, I mean I’ve got some of them out there that have not come back. I’ve heard from them, my son’s heard from a few of them, and I don’t see them so evidently I’m getting through to some of them anyhow.

Click here for an extended interview with Jeff Mizanskey.