JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – For more than two decades, Jeff Mizanskey has been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for non-violent offenses related to the possession and distribution of marijuana.

He was given the life sentence in 1996 under the state’s former “three-strikes” rule. Mizanskey was first charged for selling an ounce of marijuana to an under cover police informant and was subsequently caught with a half pound when police searched his home the next day. He was caught again seven years later with more than an ounce, and a third time two years later while driving a friend to make a purchase from what turned out to be a police sting operation.

“My dad was a good man. He raised me right,” his son, Chris Mizanskey, said at a news conference here. “He did get himself in a bit of trouble and dumped quite a bit of time for it.”

Mizanskey, joined by representatives of Show Me Cannabis and half a dozen legislators, visited the capitol on Tuesday to deliver nearly 400,000 signatures on a petition to Gov. Jay Nixon calling on him to grant clemency to Mizanskey.

“it’s unfair and unjust that Jeff Mizanskey has served over 20 years for using and selling marijuana,” said Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin. “That injustice will be compounded if Jeff dies in pensions.”

Mizanskey, 61, has a health condition that has gone untreated in prison, Mizanskey’s lawyer Don Viets said.

Last week, Viets and others met with Nixon’s lawyer who “assured” them, “the governor was seriously considering granting some clemency.”

Viet said he believed Mizanskey is the only man serving a life sentence in Missouri for a non-violent marijuana offense.