Area Family Eager To Welcome Home Prisoner Freed By President Obama
(CBS) -- Tasha Dukes of Burnham is walking with a little more spring in her step.
"We never expected this. It came as a total surprise," she tells CBS 2's Mike Parker.
Tasha's brother, Romain Dukes, will be freed from his federal prison cell in West Viriginia in November. He's one of 46 non-violent drug offenders whose sentences were commuted this week by President Obama.
In 1997, Dukes had been sentenced to life in prison for taking part in a drug transaction at a Davenport, Iowa hospital.
"To hear that they're never going to say the light of day and never have freedom again is very hard to even process," Tasha Dukes says. "You pretty much go through all the stages of grief."
"He's given me my life back," her brother said in an email passed along to CBS 2. "I'm looking forward to coming home and establishing a relationship with my children and family members."
The family, including cousin Tressie Portis, are making plans for Romain's return. He is looking forward to having his mother's lasagna and strawberry shortcake.
