Denver Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas is set to close out the year with what will presumably be one of the greatest occurrences in his life.
At 11 years old, Thomas’ mother and grandmother were arrested together on drug charges, according to the Denver Broncos official website. Per CNN, last year President Obama freed Thomas’ mother, Katrina Stuckey Smith from a federal prison where she was doing 20 years. After serving 15 of those 20 years, she walked free last November.
Now, President Obama has done the Thomas family another good deed. On December 1, Minnie Thomas, grandmother of Demaryius Thomas, is set to walk free and be with her daughter and grandson.
CNN reports state President Obama has commuted sentences of 562 individuals during his nearly eight years in office, and most of the prison terms were for nonviolent drug offenses.
Succeeding the announcement of the commutations, President Obama took to Facebook to share one person’s story and personal thank you letter to him, and in reference to the broad picture he said:
“But this is a country that believes in second chances. So we’ve got to make sure that our criminal justice system works for everyone. We’ve got to make sure that it keeps our streets safe while also making sure that an entire class of people like Sherman isn’t relegated to a life on the margins.”
Demaryius Thomas was “surprised” and “excited” about the news, and considers it a blessing.
Wanna Thank the @POTUS for everything he's done for my family, and a lot more families giving them second chances. Couldn't be a better day!
— Demaryius Thomas (@DemaryiusT) August 3, 2016
