Texas woman freed from life sentence by President Obama is back in prison

Matthew Diebel | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Prisoner freed by Obama back behind bars A year after being granted clemency by President Obama, a Texas woman is back in the system.

A Texas woman who was freed from a life sentence last year after President Obama granted her clemency is behind bars again.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was arrested for theft in Pasadena, a Houston suburb, and violated other conditions imposed when she was released from prison.

"This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Imperato said in a statement released by his office. "She has clearly shown a willful disregard for the law and must face the consequences for her crimes and actions."

Richardson was convicted by a federal jury in June 2006 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and two counts of possession with intent to distribute the drug, the paper reported. With an extensive criminal background, she was sentenced to life in prison.

After her release in July last year, the Chronicle said, Richardson was ordered to remain under supervision for 10 years, but on April 13 was arrested by Pasadena police.



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In addition to the theft charges, Richardson violated five separate terms of her release including failing to report that she had been arrested, that she'd been terminated from a job for not showing up and that she had changed her address.

Appearing before U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison on Thursday, Richardson was told that she had wasted a rare opportunity at freedom. Ellison ordered her back to federal prison for 14 months, with five years of supervised release beyond that.

Mark Anthony Diaz, the attorney assigned to Richardson's case, told the paper that his client cried throughout the hearing. He said the theft involved $60 of laundry detergent that she planned to sell to buy drugs