Broncos Demaryius Thomas' Mother Released From Halfway House
DENVER (CBS4)- Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas mother was released from prison on Tuesday but cannot watch her son play football on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs because of her probation.
Neither Thomas' mother or grandmother have seen Thomas play in person. He was 11 years old when police burst through the door of their home in Montrose, Ga., and arrested both in 1999. Police allowed Katina Smith to walk her son and his two younger sisters to the school bus one last time.
Smith was sentenced to 20 years. Her mother, Minnie Pearl Thomas, who had two previous drug convictions, received two life sentences with the possibility for parole after 40 years.
Smith could have gotten a lighter sentence by testifying against her mother, but she refused.
Smith was one of 46 nonviolent drug offenders who had their sentences commuted by President Barack Obama in July.
She was released from the minimum security prison and was sent to live at a halfway house. She was released from the halfway house on Tuesday.
In 2014, Smith and her mother watched Thomas take the field against the Seattle Seahawks for the Super Bowl while wearing No. 88 jerseys they crafted with strips of tape.