Arnold Ray Jones, who is 50 years old, has six years left in his drug trafficking sentence, but he could have gotten out of jail two years ago.
The convicted drug dealer is the only inmate so far to reject clemency granted to him by President Barack Obama, who recently granted sweeping clemency to several drug-related offenders. The president has commuted the sentences of 775 people, but Jones is the only one to come back with the notation: “condition declined, commutation not effectuated.”
Obama commuts more sentences of inmates than past 11 presidents combined
Jones has not released a reason for refusing the clemency, and the White House has not released an explanation either.
However, it is known that Jones was a heavy crack cocaine user prior to his arrest, using the drug on a weekly basis. He has stated that he has never found help from drug treatment programs, and the clemency from the president does come with strings attached: he would be required to complete a nine-month residential drug treatment program.
The fact that Jones would be required to complete such a program is not unique in the sweeping pardons granted by the president, as the president has attached stipulations and waiting periods to his commutations, with nearly 100 requiring drug treatment programs.