Former President Barack Obama in 2015 commuted the life sentence of a Texas man who was imprisoned on dug charges. Two years later, he is back in jail for a similar crime.
Robert M. Gill, 68, was sentenced to prison in 1990 for cocaine and heroin distribution until Obama allowed him, and other non-violent federal inmates, to be released. Last Thursday, however, Gill was caught with with more than two pounds of cocaine, the New York Post reported Monday.
Gill met with his probation officer before going to the parking lot of a food market to buy more than 2 pounds of cocaine. Someone gave him a black backpack that he placed in his vehicle, according to the court affidavit. When a sheriff's deputy in an unmarked car tried to stop Gill, he sped off, triggering a a high-speed chase that ended after he collided with another vehicle.
Officers found cocaine in the backpack and arrested Gill, who said "he was going to sell the cocaine to make money and would be paying a female $26,000 for the cocaine," according to federal court papers.
Gill was charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and was held without bail, according to the Post. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison.
"I'm so disappointed to hear that he got arrested again," Ronald Schmidt, a lawyer who helped Gill appeal his life sentence, told the San Antonio Express News.
At the time of Gill's release, his prison warden said, "Robert has reformed and rehabilitated himself and poses no threat to the outside world."
Obama–who commuted 1,715 prison sentences while in the White House, a presidential record–expressed similar sentiments back in 2015 when he ordered Gill's commutation.
"You have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around ... Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity," Obama said.