Hoosier State Today

The threat of COVID-19 has only made supporters of Michael Pelletier push harder to secure clemency from President Trump so that the paraplegic can be released from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael was at the top of our clemency list because he's a paraplegic who has served 15 years on a life sentence for cannabis,” Amy Povah, founder of the CAN-DO Foundation, told Hoosier State Today. “To add insult to injury, Maine, where he was tried, made recreational cannabis legal in 2016.”  

After serving 14 years in prison, Pelletier’s health has become an more serious problem with the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Pelletier | CAN-DO Foundation

“Our greatest concern is that Michael is medically compromised due to his paralysis and poor health condition. COVID-19 could take his life if we don't act swiftly,” Povah said. “The virus is spreading 3 1/2 times faster behind bars than in our communities because prisoners cannot practice social distancing.”

Pelletier has been a paraplegic since he was 11. At that age he hitched a ride on the back of a tractor that his brother, Gerry, was using to hoe potatoes. Michael fell when Gerry made a sharp turn, but he didn’t realize his brother fell off. Gerry drove over Michael, snapping an inch of his spinal cord. That left him paralyzed from the waist down.

When he tried marijuana, he realized it gave him some relief from his depression and numbed the pain his disability brought. His troubles only grew when he decided to supply his friends with pot to help fund his own purchases.

He was sentenced to life without parole for importing and distributing marijuana.

Since his incarceration, Pelletier has had no physical therapy, but he’s developed four blood clots in his left leg, bladder issues and other disability-related complications. 

More than 110,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to grant Pelletier clemency.

The 64-year-old Madawaska, Maine, native plans to live with his brother in Florida if he’s released. He has no children and eight siblings and an elderly father.

An accomplished artist, he teaches painting to other prisoners.

“My father recently passed away so I will never have that moment to say goodbye or hug him upon my release from prison,” Pelletier told CAN-DO. “I know he was hanging on to see me go free, and for that I horribly regret that I could not lift the sadness that my incarceration laid upon his heart.”

He has not received any incident report throughout his time in prison.

“Having a life sentence is a feeling of dying every day. It’s worse than death that happens one time. It’s a living death,” Pelletier told CAN-DO.