East Oakland street Legend Darryl Lil D Reed was a 19 year old in the mid 1980′s that had the world in his hands. Darryl worked from the bottom up beginning as a street level hustler, and eventually lead one of the biggest “Cocaine Conglomerates” that California has ever seen, LDI (Lil D Incorporated). During this time Darryl amassed a small fortune including Luxury Homes and exotic cars and became major cocaine distributor in The Bay Area. In 1988 it all came to an end! Darryl was indicted on conspiracy charges and possession of Cocaine for sale and given a 35 year Federal Prison Sentence.
During his incarceration he wrote a book entitled “Weight” and has become a living legend and philanthropist in his community. His persona has been imitated in countless movies and his name has been memorialized by rappers like Mistah fab, Yukmouth, E-40 and Too Short. Lil D’s mentor was Felix Mitchell, the original Bay Area druglord. Recently Lil D’s sentence was commuted after a bill signed by the executive in cheif.
President Obama also granted clemency to 111 prisoners this week. Obama shortened prison sentences of over 100 inmates. 35 of those people were serving sentences that would have seen them die in prison, according to NPR. The Justice Department hopes to free more prisoners there for drug cases before he leaves office in 2017. “At our current pace, we are confident that we will be able to review and make a recommendation to the president on every single drug petition we currently have,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. Most of the prisoners released were in jail for non-violent drug offenses that would have received lighter sentences in today’s criminal justice system. The current White House has shortened the sentences of 673 people which is more than the past ten presidents combined.
