Sentence of nonviolent drug offender commuted by Parson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A nonviolent drug offender who argued that a change in state law should have made him eligible for parole is among nearly 30 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.

Gary Mitchell, of Joplin, was handed a sentence of 15 years in prison without parole in 2013 because he had a prior conviction.

He appealed after state law was changed in 2014 to repeal the guidelines that directed judges to sentence nonviolent drug offenders without a chance of parole.

Two others in a similar situation to Mitchell also had their sentences commuted to house arrest contingent upon approval of a home plan.