Miquelle West Calls on Biden to Release 100 Incarcerated Women in 100 Days

LOS ANGELES — The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls is calling on President Joe Biden to grant clemency to 100 women in his first 100 days in office. Sixteen of the 100 women are in prison in California.

At the top of the list is Michelle West. Her daughter, Miquelle West, is now an established fashion stylist in Los Angeles. Michelle raised Miquelle mostly from behind bars.

“I learned very early that life can change really fast,” Miquelle said.

Miquelle was ten years old when her mom was sent to prison on charges of conspiracy to aiding and abetting a drug-related murder. The gunman was granted immunity in exchange for testimony. Michelle West is currently serving two life sentences, plus fifty years, while the killer walks free.

“I felt sad in that I had lost my best friend,” Miquelle said. “There isn’t justice because if the gunman didn’t receive any time, my mom shouldn’t have received as much time.”

One of Miquelle’s highest points was followed by one of her lowest. President Barrack Obama had invited her to the White House in 2016, yet at the start of 2017, her mother’s clemency was denied.

“For me, it was horrific, because I was invited to have a conversation for clemency. It made me feel that there was hope and that my mom was on her way home and nothing changed. I just was somewhat used as a poster child for a clemency conversation,” Miquelle said. “And then when that president left the White House and didn’t release my mom, it put me in a state of depression.” Read more HERE