President commutes sentence of Commerce man, former prep football standout

As President Barack Obama announced he was cutting short the sentences of some 214 federal inmates Wednesday, a Commerce man, sentenced to life in prison in 2006, appeared on that list. 

 

According to the White House, Ronald Perry Moon's sentence will be commuted to expire on December 1 of this year.

 

Moon, who was 49 years-old when he was sentenced, was a standout running back on the Commerce High School football team in the 1970's.  Known as Runt during his playing days, Moon held the Georgia high school rushing record which was later broken by Herschel Walker.

 

Moon's criminal offenses included possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to the White House.  Moon was convicted four times for violating the state drug laws before attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover DEA agent in Winder in 2005.  He was sentenced to life in prison in February of the next year.

 

The former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, David E. Nahmias, called Moon's case, "especially tragic," following the sentencing.

 

"Mr. Moon was a scholarship athlete who played football at Memphis State University and the University of Louisville, but left college in 1978.  Mr. Moon was convicted four times for violating the drug laws of the State of Georgia. His prior record resulted in a greatly enhanced sentence in this case," Nahmias said in 2006.

 

Nahmias is now a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia.

 

In addition to commuting Moon's sentence, Obama's commutation grant remits an unpaid fine balance of $2,000.

 

Obama also cut short sentences of nine other federal inmates in Georgia.  All of those offenders are serving time for drug-related offenses.

 

All told, Obama has commuted 562 sentences during his presidency - more than the past nine presidents combined, the White House said. Almost 200 of those who have benefited were serving life sentences.

 

"All of the individuals receiving commutation today (Wednesday) - incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws - embody the president's belief that 'America is a nation of second chances,'" White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post.

 

The number of 562 is expected to grow in the final months of the Obama White House.

 

"We are not done yet," Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said. "We expect that many more men and women will be given a second chance through the clemency initiative."

 

Yates is also a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.  She replaced Nahmias when he was appointed to Georgia's high court.

 

 

President Obama commuted the sentences of nine other federal inmates in Georgia Wednesday

 

Sidney J. Ball – Lenox, GA

Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 12.04 kilograms of cocaine; Southern District of Texas

Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 30, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

Lucius Boswell – Madison, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); Middle District of Georgia

Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (September 5, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

Eddie Lee Brown – Brunswick, GA

Offense: Distribution of cocaine hydrochloride (two counts); Southern District of Georgia

Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; six years' supervised release (June 12, 2000)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

James Oliver Fambro – Decatur, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense; Northern District of Florida

Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release, $500 fine (April 5, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

J. B. Farris, Jr. – Atlanta, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine; possession with the intent to distribute cocaine; possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; Northern District of Georgia

Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 26, 1993)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

Christopher Green – Waycross, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine hydrochloride and crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine (two counts); Southern District of Georgia

Sentence: Life imprisonment (December 23, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on August 3, 2017.

 

Milton Kemp – Jewell, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute crack cocaine; distribution of crack cocaine; Southern District of Georgia

Sentence: 280 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 19, 2000)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

James LaRon Knight – Jonesboro, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; Southern District of Alabama

Sentence: 292 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 23, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

Minnie Pearl Thomas – Allentown, GA

Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; distribution of cocaine; Middle District of Georgia

Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (July 20, 2000)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 1, 2016.

 

Source:  whitehouse.gov