'Better Than The Lottery': Corvain Cooper, LA Man Facing Life In Prison For Nonviolent Marijuana Crimes, Granted Clemency

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Corvain Cooper, a Los Angeles man who was facing life in prison for nonviolent marijuana crimes, returned home Friday after a last-minute commutation.

"I want to give all glory to God," he said. "I can't wait to see my kids, I haven't seen them in years."

Cooper, 41, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole in 2014 for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana — his third strike — and had been serving his sentence at a federal prison in Louisiana.

But his prospects for an early release improved in 2017 when changes in California's law reduced both of his prior drug convictions from felonies to misdemeanors.

"And it's just, thank my attorney for really delivering on his word and never giving up on me and all the people, all the letters, all the things, all the activists groups — there's too many names to list — I love Last Prisoner Project, I love everybody," he said. "It's just too amazing. It's better than the lottery. The lottery can't touch this."

Cooper was one of more than a dozen people whose sentences for crimes related to marijuana were commuted by President Donald Trump during his final days in office.

Marijuana is now commercially legal in 15 states and legal for medical purposes in 34 states.