Hoosier State Today

When Charles Tanner was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine, he was a 24-year-old boxer with no prior convictions.

At 38, having served 14 years behind bars, Tanner was granted clemency by President Trump after being denied by the Obama administration.

“We needed someone to put their eyes on his whole case and when President Trump reviewed it, he granted Charles grace and mercy the same way he did me,” Alice Marie Johnson, CEO of Taking Action for Good Foundation, said. “The president didn't have to do that but he did.”

While in prison, Tanner earned numerous certificates, such as the 18-month faith-based Life Connection Program (LCP), a Bureau of Prisons certification in which participation requires staff referrals and the warden's approval.

“Charles was a poor kid and, as a result, under the conspiracy statute he got the lion’s share of the punishment,” Johnson told Hoosier State Today. “He ended up getting more time than the kingpin who brought him in and got caught. When you read these cases, you realize that many times the facts are not always correct.”

President Ronald Reagan’s Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and its mandatory minimum sentences for drugs put the nails in Tanner's prison coffin even though he was a non-violent youth. Still, Johnson said, Tanner remained steadfast. 

“Charles never gave up hope and he continued to fight for his freedom,” Johnson said in an interview. “We’re just very thankful that President Trump heard the plea and released Charles Duke Tanner. The president has righted a very serious wrong and Charles is grateful that he has given him his life back.”

Tanner found an advocate in Richard Hatcher, former mayor of Gary, Indiana, who supported clemency for Tanner. 

“Through my many years of direct involvement with the justice system, as well as serving for 20 years as the first African American mayor of a major city in America, I have seen many similar stories evolve," Mayor Emeritus Hatcher said in a statement online. "Some outcomes have not been the best. However, I have also known many people who have shown remorse for their crimes, used their incarceration to better themselves and have been rehabilitated.” 

Now that he is free, Johnson said Tanner plans to be a responsible father to his teenage son.

“Charles was by no stretch a drug kingpin and absolutely no aspect of his conduct was violent,” Johnson said. “Even though Charles was never found to be in possession of any drugs [other than fake cocaine], the judge held Charles responsible for the amount of drugs attributable to the entire conspiracy based primarily on co-defendant testimony. These co-defendants received lesser sentences in exchange for their cooperation.”