Parker Coleman is serving a 60-year federal sentence for a non-violent marijuana conviction prosecuted in the Western District of North Carolina.
At just 22 years old, Parker was drawn into a federal case that would alter the course of his life.
He is now incarcerated hundreds of miles from his home and family, serving what amounts to a life sentence for conduct that is legal in much of the country today.“This is a modern-day lynching,” Parker has said — describing what it feels like to be buried alive by a system that still punishes people for cannabis while others profit freely from it.
When Parker was 22, he was on probation for a misdemeanor marijuana charge. During that time, he entered a relationship with his probation officer, Stephanie Peppers, who was twelve years older and white.
According to court filings, Peppers was later indicted as Defendant #2 in the same case. Prosecutors alleged that she provided money that was used to fund the marijuana operation.Parker was 24 when he was arrested, accused of leading a marijuana conspiracy — a charge that carries extreme penalties under federal law.
Despite her position of authority, Peppers received 54 months, later reduced to 43 months, while Parker — who went to trial — received 60 years.The disparity between their sentences reflects how race, power, and federal charging decisions continue to shape outcomes in America’s justice system.
Court filings show that the prosecutor’s neighbor served on the jury, raising serious concerns about impartiality.
Even with these irregularities, Parker’s post-trial appeals were denied.His case illustrates the trial penalty — the extreme punishment defendants face for exercising their constitutional right to a trial rather than accepting a plea bargain. Parker’s decision to defend himself cost him decades of his life.
Like many federal drug defendants, Parker’s indictment also included firearm-related counts used as sentencing enhancements.
No gun was ever used, brandished, or tied to violence.
These counts stemmed from possession, not any act of harm — a technical addition routinely applied in federal drug prosecutions to inflate sentences.
Although his case involved only marijuana and no violence, the enhancement helped stretch his punishment to 60 years, effectively a life term.
Since his conviction, Parker has been transferred among several U.S. Penitentiaries (USPs) — high-security federal prisons housing some of the country’s most dangerous inmates.
He is currently incarcerated at USP Canaan, a high-security federal penitentiary in Waymart, Pennsylvania, more than 500 miles from his family in the Carolinas.The distance makes visits rare and emotionally difficult.
Despite this, Parker has dedicated himself to rehabilitation.
He mentors younger men, participates in education and vocational training, and continues to advocate for fairness and reform.
Friends and family describe him as calm, intelligent, and deeply changed.
Parker and his advocates are now preparing a Compassionate Release motion, citing his rehabilitation, the vast sentencing disparities in his case, and the changing legal landscape around cannabis.
The same plant that cost him his freedom now fuels a multibillion-dollar legal industry.
It’s time to close this chapter of the drug war and bring Parker home.
Parker’s case exposes the lasting injustices of the War on Drugs:
- A young Black man, 24 at arrest, given a 60-year sentence for marijuana.
- A white probation officer, twelve years older, who served under four years.
- A jury tainted by personal connection to the prosecution.
- A system that punished him for going to trial, not for violence.
“This is a modern-day lynching,” Parker says — his words capture the truth of a justice system that still disproportionately destroys Black lives for crimes that no longer exist.
Help bring Parker home.