Katrina Smith, the mother of Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, was one of 46 people whose sentences were commuted by President Barack Obama on Monday. The 46 sentences are the largest number of sentences commuted by a president since the 1960s.
Smith and Thomas’ grandmother, Minnie Thomas, were arrested in 1999 for narcotics trafficking, and have been in prison since Demaryius Thomas was 11 years old. Smith was scheduled to be released in 2017, while Minnie Thomas received a life sentence.
The White House issued a press release explaining the action, saying that “federal sentencing practices can, in too many instances, lead nonviolent drug offenders to spend decades, if not life, in prison.