'Crime don't pay': Tony Lewis Sr. talks being released from prison after 34 years with help from his son
Tony Lewis Jr. and Sr. discuss prison reform
More than 3 decades ago, Tony Lewis Sr. went to prison for one of the biggest drug conspiracies in D.C. history. He was sentenced to life without parole, and his son, Tony Lewis Jr., has spent his life tirelessly fighting for his father's freedom. They both join Good Day DC to discuss their reunion and their prison reform efforts.
More than 3 decades ago, Tony Lewis Sr. went to prison for one of the biggest drug conspiracies in D.C. history. He was sentenced to life without parole, and his son, Tony Lewis Jr., has spent his life tirelessly fighting for his father's freedom.
The father-son duo joined Good Day DC on Tuesday to discuss their reunion and their prison reform efforts.
Tony Sr. was released from prison last month after his son spent years advocating for his father to be released, saying his dad was the only one out of the 29-person conspiracy still behind bars, facing life without parole.
Tony Sr. served 34 years for his role in one of the largest, most notorious crack-cocaine crime rings in the region. Lewis Jr. previously told FOX 5 that he was around 9 years old when his father was sentenced. He's 42 years old now.
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Tony Lewis Jr. has waited a long time for this day.
"We took a lot of L's," says Tony Jr. "Different criminal justice reforms that we went after that we got denied, motions and appeals, we got denied, denied, denied. But, I kept fighting because I love my dad."
Tony Jr. says his work to free his father isn't just about their personal situation. He hopes through his activism to shine a light on other families who are going through similar situations and provide them with support as well.
"People that go to prison, they still are people," says Tony Jr. "When you hear a term like ‘drug kingpin,' in people's minds, terms like dad and father and friend and mentor get stripped from those people…What society has to understand, people go, they pay their debt. When they come back, we have to open up doors. We have to restore people's rights and opportunities."
Tony Sr. described what it was like for him and his son when he was first released from prison after so many years.
"Just being able to sit beside my son, talk to him, my granddaughters, taking them to school with him, having dinner with them," he recalls. "Just the small things, man, that's what really means the most to me."
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Tony Sr. says he hopes his story can serve as an example to young people who may find themselves involved in crime as he did and offer a simple message: crime doesn't pay.
"That same cell that they let me out of, they're waiting to put the next young person in," he says. "If we're asking our young people to put down the guns…we have to give them something to pick up. So, business owners, the DC government, the mayor, we've got to do more."