STATE DRUG SENTENCE COMMUTED

In one of his final acts in office, President Clinton commuted the sentence
of Jodie E. Israel, who was sentenced in 1994 to 11 years in prison for her
role in a decade-long marijuana conspiracy case.

It means she will be released from federal prison on condition she undergo
regular drug testing.

"Obviously we weren't consulted," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Seykora
of Billings, who prosecuted the case.

He learned of the commutation from a Justice Department Web site after
being contacted by a reporter.

Israel, now 38 and a mother of four, was characterized by supporters as a
casualty of America's war on drugs.

Her husband Calvin Treiber, a Rastafarian, was accused of being one of the
leaders of a conspiracy to bring large amounts of marijuana to the Billings
area. He was convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison.

Supporters of Israel have argued that she played only a very minor role in
the case and that the prison sentence was too harsh. The reason for the
commutation was not immediately clear.

The conspiracy involved the distribution and sale of hundreds of pounds of
marijuana and tens of thousands of dollars over 10 years. The charges
against Israel included conspiracy to manufacture and conducting financial
transactions with proceeds from sale of controlled substances.

The original 55-count indictment named 26 defendants. Five defendants,
including Israel and Treiber, were tried together and received sentences
ranging from seven to 35 years.

Treiber and other Rastafarians who were charged argued that their use of
marijuana was as a religious sacrament.

During an interview for PBS' "Frontline" in the winter of 1997-98, Israel
said that she did not smoke marijuana and that investigators "made it into
something way bigger than it was."

"I never imagined that the jury would find me guilty," she said.

"I thought there would be justice, and I really believed in our system
until I went through this. I still have hope that justice will be served."

Israel could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Seykora did not know at which federal institution Israel was serving her
sentence. But he defended the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge
Jack Shanstrom.

At sentencing, Shanstrom told Israel, "The evidence showed that, as Cal
Treiber's wife, you were full-fledged partners."

Randall Lester, Israel's attorney had argued that she was a minor
participant with no criminal history. Lester did not immediately return a
telephone message on Monday.

Israel said she blamed herself for "the choice that I made and the man that
I was with; I can't be responsible for another adult's actions."