Maurice Clifton Sr. has spent the last several decades on a distinctly American odyssey.
In the 90s, at age 31, Clifton became a victim of the war on drugs after a judge sentenced him 20 years for $2,500 wire fraud, and to 33 years for aiding and abetting the sale of 6.5 grams of crack cocaine.
At the time, someone arrested for a powder cocaine offense would have needed 1.5 pounds of the substance to receive the same sentence.
As with so many other Black men in the 80s and 90s, that racist inequality shaped the trajectory of Clifton’s next 20 years. Bouncing around federal prisons, he endured profound loss, including the death of his wife and son. Despite these difficulties, inside prison Clifton maintained a life of discipline, hardwork and eventually faith. He secured a job at Federal Prisons Industries Inc., the production company owned by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and rose the ranks, quickly mastering the company’s SAP manufacturing system. He enrolled in dozens of classes on a wide range of subjects, including advanced microcomputers, sewing, leadership and aerobics. And all the while he kept an eye on, and stayed engaged in, the politics of U.S. criminal justice reform.
“The First Step” follows CNN political commentator Van Jones on his crusade alongside both post-Obama Democrats and Trump-era Republicans to get the bill passed. Photo courtesy firststepfilm.com
No policy was more important to Clifton than the 2018 First Step Act. The law, signed by President Donald J. Trump, ushered in some of the most substantial changes in decades to the federal prison system. Among them were retroactive modifications to mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. After more than 20 years in federal prisons, it was the First Step Act that set Clifton free—along with thousands of others.
Brothers Lance and Brandon Kramer released a new documentary to tell the story of its passage and the unlikely coalition that made it happen. “The First Step,” which made its national debut on Amazon Prime in April, follows CNN political commentator Van Jones on his crusade alongside both post-Obama Democrats and
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