The attorney general of Michigan is asking the governor to commute the sentence of a 69-year-old inmate who was convicted of selling marijuana more than two decades ago and has since contracted the coronavirus in prison.

Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) wrote in a letter on Wednesday that while her office doesn’t have the power to unilaterally grant clemency, it is strongly recommending that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) use her own authority to facilitate the commutation, arguing that Michael Thompson’s sentence for selling three pounds of cannabis to an undercover police officer in 1996 is excessive.

The fact that Michigan legalized marijuana for adult use in 2018 underscores the need for restorative justice, she wrote to the governor.

“A decades-long sentence like that imposed on Mr. Thompson is usually reserved for second-degree murder convictions or for particularly heinous rape cases involving multiple aggravated factors,” Nessel said. “Sentences of this length for selling marijuana are simply unheard of, even when accompanied by firearms offenses.”

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