LIFER FREED AFTER 20 YEARS

Detroit - Michigan officials unanimously agreed Friday to release a woman
sent to prison for life without parole in a 1978 heroin case, making her
the first person freed under a new law that allows parole for lifers after
20 years.

JeDonna Young, 44, plans to live with her mother, perhaps working at a law
firm to make use of the college degree she earned while in Scott Regional
Correctional Facility, where she works as a paralegal. Parole officials
must approve those plans.

"My client coudn't believe her ears," said her attorney, Stuart Friedman.
"She's had so many false starts over the years."

Ms. Young was driving with her boyfriend James Gulley in 1978 when Detroit
police stopped her car and found nearly 3 pounds of heroin. Gulley said it
was his; Ms. Young said she didn't know it was there. They were both
convicted under a new, unforgiving anti-drug law. Gulley died in prison
last year.