Robert Siegel （Host）： Thousands of people sentencedunder the tough drug laws of the 1980s and 90s are still in prison. Theyre serving mandatory minimum sentences that require them to spend decades， if not life， behind bars. Today people convicted of the same crimes serve far less time. NPRs Carrie Johnson has the story of a man named David Padilla whos serving a life sentence in one of those earlier cases. Carrie Johnson （Byline）： David Padilla lives here…

（Soundbite of metal door slamming）

Johnson： …Inside this medium-security prison in Fairmont， New Jersey. Hes lived here for 18 years now， since his arrest in November 1996. A year later a judge found him guilty of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. David and his codefendants moved drugs out of a Philadelphia hotel in a dark-colored suitcase. State police later found two handguns and a trap door in their borrowed van. David had two previous drug charges. The prosecutor in his case asked the court to weigh those priors and the judge sent him to prison for the rest of his life. Sitting on a tan-colored plastic chair in the visitors area and looking back on sentencing day， he sighs.

David Padilla： Theres no doubt in my mind that I feel I should have been punished—no doubt about it. But I dont agree that I should die in prison.

Johnson： Lisette is Davids wife of 27 years.

Lisette Padilla： I guess through the years， you know， hes been away， he has become a better person， a better man.

Johnson： They met as teenagers in Philadelphia， neighbors. Back then， David was a kind of celebrity on the block—high school prom king， a bit of a bragger. And though he was an honor student， David says college never crossed his mind. Eighteen years away， Lisette says， have changed him.

Lisette： David is an amazing man， amazing father. He works so hard， you know， and Im so proud of you know what he has accomplished all these years. I think prison was a good thing for him.

Johnson： In 1997， the judge branded him a career offender who had squandered his potential. Heres a glimpse of what he accomplished since then. Behind bars David found an unlikely passion， dentistry. He works in the prison lab， work that puts a smile on his face and a shine in his eyes.

David： I wouldve never imagined that these hands will make a denture for somebody， these hands will make a prostheses for someone. I never thought I can do that.

Johnson： David also finished an associates degree in college. Ask and hell give the credit for his close-knit family and his own turnaround to his wife.

David： I really owe it all to Lisette because shes been mommy， shes been daddy， shes been a supportive wife. Shes been my everything. She had options. I gave her options.

Lisette： The day of the sentencing， he turned around.

He tells [sic] me，‘go on with your life. And I told him，‘No. I told him， ‘No， Im here for you. You know？ Things get hard， Ive got to be there for you， you know， regardless. Were his voice in the outside world. I believe that when two people get married its forever.

Johnson： All these years， every year， Lisette says she takes her vacation around their wedding anniversary in August so she can visit him multiple times in a week. And though their children were young when he was sentenced， hes remained a big part of their lives， nudging and even nagging them about school and doing the right thing. David said he had two choices when he got sent to prison for life—continue on the road to destruction or be a model for his three kids.

David： I have to show them that I can be good， that I can do what Im telling them to do. So every time I would get grades in the semester， I would send them my grades—this is what Daddy got， these are my grades， show me your grades.

Johnson： Davids oldest daughter， Sasha， now 26.

Sasha Padilla： I remember this project on Italy. It was one of my biggest projects. And he actually went into the library， he got the encyclopedia， printed-out pages for me and while Im looking at the photocopies he has [sic] the book. So were conversing back and forth on whats more important， what should I write？ What should my thesis be？

Johnson： Sasha says shes always felt a deep attachment to her dad. David now age 47， also mentors young offenders. And just as Davids been preparing himself in prison， Lisette says she and the children have been preparing themselves too， for a day they can only hope for. During Davids long incarceration， shes squirreled away anything that could document her husbands transformation. Finally last winter， David heard about a new effort known as Clemency Project 2014， to help people serving long sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. Authorities held out the promise of pardons or early release for inmates who wouldve been sentenced to less time if they committed crimes today. And pro bono lawyers were looking for prisoners who might make model cases. Attorney Jeremy Klatell describes [sic] why he took on this case.

Jeremy Klatell： The consistency over the 18 years of Davids incarceration， with which he has dedicated to rehabilitating himself as a person， cant really be faked. Hes never had a single disciplinary infraction and we are utterly convinced that David is a different person than he was 18 years ago.

Johnson： Davids petition is now under review and though hes excited， prison has taught them to temper his emotions. He says hes in no rush. Hes been waiting for 18 years and he doesnt want to set expectations too high.

David： My hopes to be with my family once again， to reestablish my household， to be the so-called captain of the ship one more time. Thats my hope. Lisette： Hopefully we rebuild， a new beginning—be able to hold hands or take a walk in the park， walk down the beach， you know， things that we miss.

Johnson： Lisette will show him the colors she painted the living room， the hardwood floors she sanded. She wants a new kitchen， but she says shes saving that job for him.

羅伯特·西格爾（主持人）：20世紀(jì)八九十年代，受到毒品法嚴(yán)格制裁的數(shù)千人至今未能獲釋。他們強(qiáng)制服刑的最低期限，如果不是終身的話，也要長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)十年。如今，犯同一罪行的人的服刑時(shí)間大大地減少了。NPR的嘉莉·約翰遜了解到大衛(wèi)·帕迪拉的故事，他是在那些早期案例中被判處終身監(jiān)禁的人。

嘉莉·約翰遜（撰稿人）：大衛(wèi)·帕迪拉住在這里……

（金屬門關(guān)閉的聲音）

約翰遜：自1996年11月被逮捕起，至今他在新澤西費(fèi)爾蒙一所中等戒備的監(jiān)獄里生活了18年。被捕后的第二年，法官發(fā)現(xiàn)他與他人共謀藏匿并意圖販賣可卡因。大衛(wèi)和他的共犯用一個(gè)深色的手提箱把毒品從費(fèi)城的一家酒店中運(yùn)送出去。之后警察在他們借來的貨車中發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩把手槍和一個(gè)暗入門。大衛(wèi)之前已經(jīng)有兩起有關(guān)毒品的控告。負(fù)責(zé)他這個(gè)案件的檢察官要求法院權(quán)衡他之前所犯的罪行（作出判決），法官最后判處他終身監(jiān)禁。在來訪室，坐在棕褐色的塑料椅子上，回首著監(jiān)獄里的日子，他嘆氣了。

大衛(wèi)·帕迪拉：我打心眼里認(rèn)為自己應(yīng)該受到懲罰——毫無疑問。但是我不認(rèn)為自己終生都要在監(jiān)獄中度過。

約翰遜：莉澤特是大衛(wèi)27年的妻子。

莉澤特·帕迪拉：我想這些年來，你懂的，他不在我們身邊，變成了一個(gè)更好的人，一個(gè)更好的男人。

約翰遜：他們年少時(shí)就在費(fèi)城認(rèn)識(shí)，是鄰居。在那時(shí)，大衛(wèi)在那一帶小有名氣——高中舞會(huì)之王，有點(diǎn)愛吹牛。盡管他是優(yōu)等生，大衛(wèi)說他沒有想過要讀大學(xué)。莉澤特說，這過去的18年卻改變了他。

莉澤特：大衛(wèi)是一個(gè)很棒的人，很棒的父親。他認(rèn)真工作，你知道嗎，我很為他這些年所取得的成績(jī)感到驕傲。我認(rèn)為坐牢對(duì)他來說是件好事。

約翰遜：1997年，法官給他貼上了浪費(fèi)自己潛能的職業(yè)犯的標(biāo)簽。我們來簡(jiǎn)單了解下自此之后他取得的成績(jī)。在獄中大衛(wèi)對(duì)牙科產(chǎn)生了一種意想不到的激情。他在監(jiān)獄的實(shí)驗(yàn)室工作，工作讓他的臉上有了微笑，眼神有了光亮。

大衛(wèi)：我從來沒有想過這雙手能給別人做一副假牙。我沒有想過我能做到。

約翰遜：大衛(wèi)還取得了大專的文憑。如果你問他，他會(huì)把家庭的團(tuán)結(jié)以及自身的轉(zhuǎn)變都?xì)w功于他的妻子。

大衛(wèi)：我真的虧欠了莉澤特，因?yàn)樗恢币詠碛之?dāng)媽又當(dāng)爸，她一直都很支持我。她是我的一切。她曾有過選擇，我給過她選擇。莉澤特：宣判那天，他轉(zhuǎn)過頭來。他告訴我：“繼續(xù)你的生活?！蔽腋嬖V他：“不要。”我告訴他：“不要，我要在這里陪你，你懂嗎？現(xiàn)在很艱難，無論如何，我都必須陪著你，你懂嗎？”我們是他在外面世界的聲音。我相信當(dāng)兩個(gè)人結(jié)婚了，就是一輩子。

約翰遜：莉澤特說這些年來，每年八月份她都會(huì)在他們結(jié)婚周年日期間出行，這樣她一周就能見到他好幾次。盡管他被判決時(shí)他們的孩子還小，但是他仍然是他們生活中重要的一部分，他不斷談?wù)撋踔羾Z叨他們?cè)趯W(xué)校的事，告訴他們要做正確的事情。大衛(wèi)說當(dāng)被判終身監(jiān)禁時(shí)，他有兩個(gè)選擇——繼續(xù)走向毀滅或是給他三個(gè)孩子做一個(gè)榜樣。

大衛(wèi)：我必須向他們展現(xiàn)我能行，我能做到讓他們?nèi)プ龅氖?。所以一學(xué)期中我每次拿到分?jǐn)?shù)，都會(huì)寄給他們——這就是爸爸的分?jǐn)?shù)，給我看看你們的分?jǐn)?shù)。

約翰遜：大衛(wèi)最大的女兒莎莎，今年26歲了。

莎莎·帕迪拉：我記得有一次我要寫一篇關(guān)于意大利的論文。這是我最重要的論文之一。而他真的去了圖書館，找到了百科全書，把它復(fù)印了給我。當(dāng)我看著那些影印本的時(shí)候，他拿著書。所以我們反復(fù)地討論什么更重要，我應(yīng)該寫什么？我的論點(diǎn)應(yīng)該是什么？

約翰遜：莎莎說她總是對(duì)爸爸有一種深深的依戀。大衛(wèi)如今47歲了，他還在教導(dǎo)著年輕的罪犯。正如大衛(wèi)在監(jiān)獄中做著準(zhǔn)備一樣，莉澤特說她和孩子們也在為他們唯一能期盼的那天做準(zhǔn)備。在大衛(wèi)長(zhǎng)年的監(jiān)禁中，她保存著任何能夠證明丈夫轉(zhuǎn)變的文件。終于在上一年的冬天，大衛(wèi)聽說了一個(gè)叫“2014仁慈項(xiàng)目”的新舉措，旨在幫助那些因非暴力毒品犯罪而長(zhǎng)年服刑的人。當(dāng)局承諾會(huì)赦免或者提前釋放那些如果按當(dāng)今法律判決刑期更短的罪犯。免費(fèi)提供（法律援助）的律師們正在尋找那些能成為典型案例的犯人。杰里米·科萊特律師解釋為什么他要接（大衛(wèi)）這個(gè)案子。

杰里米·科萊特：在長(zhǎng)達(dá)18年的監(jiān)禁中，大衛(wèi)一如既往地努力改造自己成為一個(gè)好人，這點(diǎn)毋庸置疑。他從來沒有違反過一次紀(jì)律，我們完全相信，他和18年前已經(jīng)不同了。

約翰遜：大衛(wèi)的請(qǐng)?jiān)笗F(xiàn)在已經(jīng)在審查中，盡管他很興奮，但是監(jiān)獄的生活告訴他要穩(wěn)定自己的情緒。他說他不急。他已經(jīng)等了18年了，不想期望過高。

大衛(wèi)：我的愿望是能再和我的家人在一起，重振我的家庭，再次成為所謂的一家之主。這是我的希望。

莉澤特：希望我們能重新開始——手牽著手在公園散步，在沙灘上漫步，你懂的，那些我們?cè)?jīng)錯(cuò)過的事情。

約翰遜：莉澤特會(huì)給他看她給客廳刷的顏色，她用砂紙磨的硬木地板。她想要一個(gè)新的廚房，但是她說會(huì)把這項(xiàng)工作留給大衛(wèi)。