KEMBA SMITH GETS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON

Seven years after she was incarcerated for a minor drug offense,
former Hampton University student Kemba Smith walked out of federal
prison in Connecticut on Friday, one of 59 beneficiaries of President
Clinton's end-of-term pardon bonanza.

It was a high-profile seven years, during which Smith became the
symbol for the movement to do away with mandatory sentences for minor
drug offenders. Her case was featured in national forums, including
CBS's 60 Minutes.

According to a spokesman for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, Smith is
looking forward to hugging her son, to whom she gave birth while
behind bars, for the first time outside of prison, and to spending
quiet time with her parents, who live in Richmond and who played a big
part in getting publicity for her case.