HARRISONVILLE, Mo. – History was made in Cass County Thursday morning when a judge started the process to release a Missouri prisoner because of the state’s new recreational marijuana amendment, which includes expungement for marijuana possession offenses.
Adam Mace has been in prison for the last 14 years on two different offenses. The first 11 were for a deadly DUI that Mace was responsible for, but the last three have been only for a marijuana possession charge he got the day before that DUI.
That makes him eligible for release now that the Missouri amendment legalizing recreational marijuana allows people locked up for possession charges to petition for their release, which is exactly what a Cass County judge did Thursday.
Mace’s attorney, Justin Ortiz, says the process to start his release can begin Thursday, and he expects him to be out in the next few days.
Ortiz previously told FOX4 Mace’s possession charge was prosecuted under stricter guidelines because it happened in the mid-2000’s. Since then, laws around cannabis have been relaxed.
FOX4 was in the courtroom when the judge made his decision and will have more on this case and hear from Mace’s supporters during evening newscasts.