doi:10.7916/ejgy-ex57Oral history interview with Darrell L. Padgett, 2021Padgett, Darrelloral historiesmixed materialPresidents--Correspondence.--United StatesMass incarceration--United StatesMandatory sentences--United StatesEx-convicts--Rehabilitation--United StatesEx-convicts--Services for--United StatesPadgett, DarrellObama, BarackUnited StatesFair Sentencing Act of 2010Darrell Padgett reflects on his experience of incarceration, describes his legal education during the period of his incarceration, and tells the story of securing his early release following the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the disparity in sentence durations between violations involving crack and powder cocaine. Padgett remembers his initial impressions of Barack Obama, shares his memory of inmates' celebration of Obama's election in 2008, and recounts his monitoring of the legislative progression of the Fair Sentencing Act and its implementation. Padgett also describes his transition from prison back into American society, including his shock by the changes that had occurred over the more than twenty years of his incarceration, his completion of bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice administration, and the 2015 letter he wrote to President Obama in which he told the president his story and urged him to confidently use his clemency powers to grant relief to deserving applicants. Also discussed are the conditions in federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, the effects of an African American presidential candidate and president on incarcerated African American men, and the letter and phone call Padgett received from President Obama and the Obama White House