Obama commutes Hanceville man’s prison sentence on federal drug trafficking charges

Published 11:27 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2017

President Barack Obama commuted more sentences in last act of office.

A Hanceville man convicted on federal drug trafficking charges in 2003 was among the 209 inmates President Barack Obama commuted prison sentences for Tuesday with even more planned Thursday.

The 430-month prison sentence — due to expire in April 2034 — for Duffy Lynn Striker, 41, will now end Jan. 17, 2019, conditional upon his enrollment in residential drug treatment, according to The Washington Post.

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He was among four Alabama residents to received commuted sentences Tuesday including Bobby Eugene Mitchell of Adamsville, Nathaniel Salery of Montgomery and Paul Anthony Cass of Talladega. A fifth Alabamian, Taquilla Monyetta Love of Prattville was given a pardon. 

Striker was convicted of two counts of possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and three counts of a felon in possession of a firearm in November 2003. 

In addition to the prison sentence, Striker was sentenced to four years supervised release and a $1,000 fine, The Post reported.

Under Obama’s clemency order, Striker will still be under supervised release, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons must immediately enroll him in a residential drug abuse program. He’s currently incarcerated at a federal medium security prison facility in Yazoo City, Mississippi, according to BOP records.

On Tuesday, Obama became the president to have granted more commutations —  1,385 individuals in all — than any other. The White House said Obama would grant more commutations Thursday — the day before his presidency ends — though officials said those would focus on drug offenders.

Commutations reduce sentences being served, but don’t erase convictions. The actions are permanent, and cannot be undone by President-elect Donald Trump.

Still, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said the incoming president was “troubled” by Obama’s decision, which he called disappointing.

Striker was indicted on federal charges by a grand jury for the Northern District of Alabama in February 2003, and he was arrested that following April. Court records detailing the investigation where not publicly available.

Striker’s previous address was listed as a residence on County Road 468.

In April 2014, the U.S. Sentencing Commission changed the drug quantity threshold amounts, making many base offense levels two levels lower than before the amendment. In July 2014, the commission agreed to apply the change retroactively, including defendants like Striker.

In September 2014, Striker requested a sentence reduction, submitting copies of twenty certificates he has received while incarcerated. His prison sentence was reduced to 420 months on Feb. 18, 2016.

Since he’s been incarcerated, Striker received three disciplinary incidents — possessing intoxicants, assault without serious injury, and mail abuse, federal court records show.

In a June 2016 letter to U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn requesting a public defender, Striker stated: “I have been gone now for almost 13 years and I am so ready to come back home. I know that since being inside these walls I’ve learn that the things in life that I thought were important then, aren’t the things that I want or need today.”