Anthony Yawn was sentenced to 30 years Florida Department of Corrections for two ounces of cocaine. The drugs were found in a hotel room that was not in Anthony’s name. The drugs were not found on his person. In fact, deputies only found 4.6 grams of cocaine in close proximity to Anthony. However, deputies gathered all of the drugs in the room and pinned them on Anthony.  Florida prosecutors offered Anthony 15 years in the Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea stating all 56 grams found in the hotel room were his. Of course Anthony refused this plea offer and exercised his right to a speedy trial. Unfortunately Anthony was found guilty and because he exercised his right to trial the state chose to give Anthony 30 years in prison instead of the 15 he was originally offered. Anthony is one of thousands of people ensnared by our criminal justice system who has been punished for exercising his right to a trial. The message sent to the constituents of this country is that you have a right to trial in theory, but in practice if you exercise it and lose you will be punished. Not to mention Anthony is now 68 years of age; research has revealed people are less likely to reoffend as they grow older and mature out of crime. Anthony has now served 18 years of his sentence. He has had a clemency request in for 4 years with the State of Florida. Anthony has been married to his beautiful wife Gloria for 38 years. She has faithfully stuck by his side during his 18 years of incarceration. They have 3 daughters and a son. Gloria and Anthony are both survivors of Covid-19. However Gloria has since began to feel the lingering effects of Covid. Please sign the petition to get Anthony Yawn’s clemency request before the Governor DeSantis of Florida. 30 years for 2 ounces of cocaine is entirely too long. Stop wasting tax payer dollars for someone who is clearly not a threat to public safety. Help us bring Anthony home to his wife Gloria.