Leaving prison after almost twenty years felt like waking up from a nightmare. I was sentenced to life in prison for a first, non-violent drug offense. My two brothers were also incarcerated, and while we were serving our terms, both of our parents died. That loss hurt more than the punishment ever could.
We were not there to support them in their final days. We couldn’t comfort them or each other. We couldn’t say goodbye. And knowing that, when it mattered most, we were locked behind bars… it crushed us.
So when I finally got home—thanks to President Donald Trump’s pardon for what would have been an unimaginably harsh life sentence—all I wanted to do was stand by my brothers’ side, the only family I had left, and scatter our parents’ ashes together. It wasn’t just about honoring them. It was about closing one of the most painful chapters of our lives. It was about being a family again.
But even after our release, we couldn’t grieve together.
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Here’s the problem. We were released under federal supervision. That meant we needed permission to see each other, even though our affairs were nonviolent and we had no other violations. The government denied us the opportunity to mourn our parents the way families should.
From left to right: Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Charles Tanner Jr. (son of Duke), President Donald Trump, Charles “Duke” Tanner and legendary college football coach Lou Holtz. (Courtesy of Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner)
That moment opened my eyes to how broken supervised release is. It wasn’t meant to be like this. The system should help people rebuild their lives, find work, reconnect with family, reenter society safely with support, and stay crime-free (as my brothers and I did). Instead, in many cases it becomes a new criminal penalty. It hinders rather than supports rehabilitation.
But there is hope. Members of Congress introduced the Safer Supervision Act, a bill aimed at fixing what’s broken. Because a system that does not allow me and my brothers to mourn our parents together is not a system that promotes safety or rehabilitation.
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Supervised release often feels like a trap. The rules are so strict and unforgiving that even people who do the right things are constantly at risk of being pushed off track, despite years of progress. Bans on travel without authorization across state or provincial lines. Required frequent meetings with probation officers, ignoring work or family obligations. A blanket ban on being with anyone else with a criminal record, even your own brothers.
I challenge you to discover how all of this keeps society safer or helps someone rebuild. It prolongs punishment, undermines redemption, and blocks true second chances. Meanwhile, it distracts law enforcement from focusing on people who are truly dangerous. That makes no sense.
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It doesn’t have to be this way. If the Safer Supervision Act becomes law, fairness and balance will be restored. It will allow people who meet strict security criteria to escape surveillance, allowing authorities to focus on real threats, as they should.
Former boxer Charles “Duke” Tanner and his son Charles Tanner Jr. (Courtesy of Charles ‘Duke’ Tanner)
While Trump was known for his tough-on-crime approach, he also understood this: that people who have paid off their debts deserve a chance to rebuild. That is why I am extremely grateful to him. His decision not only gave me back my freedom; it gave me my hope back.
He brought me home to my son, my family, my brothers and my community. He saw the humanity in someone who had too often been ignored by the system. I stand with the President in supporting others like me, and our families will remember his act of compassion for decades to come.
If we build on his example and pass the Safer Supervision Act, we can ensure that our federal supervisory system truly supports second chances.
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I share my story not out of bitterness, but out of gratitude for a president who believes in redemption, and for the opportunity to speak as a free man.
My family still carries the weight of the years we lost. But we also carry hope – I hope that America can learn from stories like mine and ensure that no other family will endure what mine did.
