HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — History was made in Cass County Thursday morning when a judge started the process to release a Missouri prisoner because of the state’s new recreational marijuana amendment, which includes expungement for marijuana possession offenses.
Adam Mace has been in prison for the last 14 years on two different offenses. The first 11 years were for a deadly DUI that Mace was responsible for, but the last three have been only for a marijuana possession charge he got the day before that DUI.
That makes him eligible for release now that the Missouri amendment legalizing recreational marijuana allows people locked up for possession charges to petition for their release, which is exactly what a Cass County judge did Thursday.
“It’s a great victory today for everybody, everybody in the cannabis community,” said Mace, when he called his supporters after the hearing and learned his expungement was granted. “They were awesome for me, for Justin, and everybody standing there behind you.” Mace’s attorney, Justin Ortiz, says the process to start his release can begin Thursday, and he expects him to be out in the next few days.
“The specific [order] that’s being sent to Missouri Department of Corrections is to expunge that case, treat is as if it never happened, and release [Mace] immediately,” said Ortiz.
Since Mace’s case is more complicated than most because of the unrelated DUI, the hope is that since this petition was successful,…