Tina Stanley went to the meeting to share a story of redemption. By the time she left, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles had made her tale a bit sweeter.
The five-member board surprised the Dalton woman Monday afternoon by granting her a pardon from her past convictions of drug charges. Stanley had just shown the board a video detailing her history of drug and alcohol abuse and, ultimately, recovery when Chairman Terry Barnard presented her with the pardon. The pardon means, in the eyes of the state of Georgia, she has been "officially forgiven" of her past convictions.
“The Lord told me this was going to happen and today was the day,” Stanley said. “I think it is wonderful and amazing and I’m very grateful.”
Stanley has been in recovery for 14 years. Her last sentence — from a 2007 methamphetamine with intent to distribute case — has been behind her since a judge commuted it in 2014. Under Georgia law, the parole board can grant a pardon once a person has gone five years from the end of a sentence without committing other crimes.
The board rarely grants pardons like the one granted to Stanley. Since getting sober, she has been a volunteer at Innervention, a Dalton rehabilitation program. Barnard said the board was moved by her story.
“We know that more than 70 percent of those who are paroled in Georgia are successful, a percentage well above the national average, but it’s not often we get to hear firsthand the details of these positive outcomes, and then today, we see those who have been paroled and they’re successful,” said Barnard. “Tina Stanley is certainly deserving of this pardon.”
READ: With guns drawn, FBI agents raid wrong house in Atlanta, lawsuit say
READ: Georgia cops: Man convicted of woman’s death should get out of prison
About the Author
