But now, she has been ordered to return to federal prison after violating the terms of her supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said Thursday. (Washington Post Live) 
 
 Richardson, a 49-year-old resident of Texas City, was originally convicted in 2006 for “conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine as well as two counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base.” At the time, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison sentenced her to life in federal prison, noting that she had an extensive criminal history. During his two terms in office, Obama granted clemency to 1,715 people, including 568 inmates, like Richardson, who faced life sentences. She was released from prison on July 28, 2016 after Obama tapped her for clemency.  Texas woman granted clemency by Obama ordered back to federal prison for multiple violations 
 
 Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was arrested for theft in Pasadena and violated other conditions of her term for release from prison last year. According to Diaz, Richardson had a strong family support system she relied on to stay clean during the first few months she was out, but once she relapsed into drug use, she failed to maintain contact with them. In a hearing Thursday, Ellison — the same judge who had sentenced Richardson to life in federal prison in 2006 — told her he was disappointed that she had wasted “the extremely rare opportunity she was given,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Ellison ordered Richardson to return to federal prison for 14 months; afterward, she will be placed on supervised release for five years. "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 the office. “She has clearly shown a willful disregard for the law and must face the consequences for her crimes and actions.” 
 
 Mark Anthony Diaz, an attorney for Richardson, did not immediately return messages Saturday morning. Diaz told the Houston Chronicle that Richardson’s theft was for $60 worth of laundry detergent that she was going to sell for drug money and that she cried at her hearing. Diaz said Richardson’s addiction to crack cocaine was why she relapsed and fell out of touch with her support system after her release, and he asked to know why she had not received drug treatment in prison, the Chronicle reported. He questioned why Richardson had not been assigned to treatment while in prison, and Ellison said the Bureau of Prisons does not provide treatment to someone with a life sentence.
– A Texas woman serving a life sentence for a relatively minor drug offense and given a second chance by President Obama is headed back to prison. Carol Denise Richardson, 49, was among hundreds of non-violent drug offenders granted clemency by Obama, who was persuaded by arguments from activists that drug laws were unfair, the Washington Post reports. They argued that defendants like Richardson found in possession of solid crack cocaine—in her case 50 grams—suffered unduly harsh sentences compared with those possessing powder cocaine, which weighs less and carries a lighter penalty. Richardson had served 10 years in prison when she was released in July 2016 as part of the largest prisoner release in US history. But she lost her freedom when she was arrested for theft on April 13. Defense lawyer Mark Diaz tells the Houston Chronicle that Richardson couldn't kick her crack habit and had stolen $60 worth of laundry detergent that she planned to sell to buy drugs. The same federal judge who sent Richardson to prison in 2006 rejected her lawyer's plea for rehab last week, ordering Richardson back to the slammer for 14 months, followed by five years of supervised release. "This defendant was literally given a second chance to become a productive member of society and has wasted it," Assistant US Attorney Ted Imperato said, per the Chronicle. A drug offenders advocacy group counters that Richardson was never treated for her drug problem, saying, "the system has failed Carol, yet again." (One inmate turned down Obama's clemency offer.)