Dawn Michelle Hunt has spent 12 years behind bars as relatives raise growing concerns about her health and seek a humanitarian release.
WASHINGTON, DC — The family of Chicago native Dawn Michelle Hunt is renewing its appeal for her release from a Chinese prison after 12 years, urging U.S. leaders to press her case directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping as concerns grow about her health.
Hunt’s brother, Tim Hunt, brought the family’s case back to Capitol Hill this week during a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing focused on prisoners and other people detained in China. Hunt told lawmakers that his sister’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated sharply when he visited her in July. His appeal came as President Donald Trump and Xi met in Washington, giving the family another opportunity to press for high-level diplomatic intervention.
Dawn Michelle Hunt, 55, was arrested in China in 2014 and convicted on a drug smuggling charge she has denied. Her family says she was the victim of a scheme in which she was tricked into taking luggage containing concealed drugs. According to her family, Hunt believed she had won a prize trip and was given designer purses and luggage during her travels. Drugs were later discovered hidden inside the items as she prepared to leave China. She is serving a life sentence at Guangdong Women’s Prison.
Tim Hunt told lawmakers that his sister appeared dramatically older and frailer when he saw her this summer. He described changes in her posture, hair and teeth and said the effects of more than a decade in prison were becoming increasingly clear. At a separate news conference, he said her mental condition also appeared to have declined. The family has said for years that Hunt has serious medical problems and needs treatment in the United States. U.S. advocates have also cited her health in seeking a humanitarian release.
The family’s campaign has taken on added urgency after the death of Hunt’s father, Gene Hunt, in January at age 92. Tim Hunt told the congressional commission that his father died without seeing his only daughter return home. He said the loss illustrated the toll the long imprisonment has taken not only on his sister but on relatives who have spent years seeking help from U.S. officials.
Hunt’s case has increasingly been linked with that of Nelson Wells Jr., another American who has been imprisoned in China since 2014 following a drug conviction. Wells’ family also says he unknowingly carried luggage containing drugs. Relatives of both prisoners say their health has deteriorated significantly. The State Department has provided consular assistance and previously made a formal request to Chinese authorities for their humanitarian release, according to Reuters. Chinese authorities have said the two are serving sentences for serious drug-related crimes and that their cases have been handled according to Chinese law.
The two families have sought greater attention from senior U.S. officials because they believe direct diplomacy could provide a path home. Earlier this year, Tim Hunt said his family hoped Trump would personally raise the cases with Xi. During an August exchange with reporters, Trump was asked specifically about Hunt and Wells and said he planned to speak with Xi about many issues. Ahead of Xi’s September visit, U.S. officials also indicated that detained Americans were expected to be discussed.
The cases have also drawn congressional attention. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, has pressed the administration to seek the release of Hunt, Wells and other prisoners. Smith introduced legislation in 2025 named for Hunt and Wells that calls for expanded diplomatic efforts on behalf of Americans the measure describes as unjustly detained in China. At the Sept. 22 hearing, Smith and other participants again called for senior-level engagement on prisoner cases.
The Hunt family argues that Dawn Michelle was deceived by people behind a fraudulent prize scheme rather than knowingly participating in drug trafficking. Her brother has previously testified that she received an email telling her she had won a prize and later traveled to Hong Kong. According to the family’s account, organizers extended her trip into mainland China and gave her purses and luggage before she was scheduled to travel onward. Chinese airport authorities found drugs hidden in the purse linings, leading to her arrest. Chinese courts nevertheless convicted her, and she ultimately received a life sentence.
Her case has been the subject of congressional attention since at least 2024, when Tim Hunt testified at another hearing on Americans detained in China. Since then, the family has continued to seek a humanitarian transfer or release. The push gained renewed attention this year as U.S. lawmakers and advocates cited the release of other prisoners after direct discussions between senior U.S. and Chinese officials as evidence that diplomacy can affect individual cases.
As of Sept. 26, no release of Hunt has been publicly announced. Her family continues to seek a humanitarian resolution that would allow her to return to the United States for medical care, while Chinese authorities have not publicly announced a change to her sentence. After 12 years of imprisonment and the death of their father, Tim Hunt’s message to U.S. officials remains focused on bringing his sister home.
Author note: Last updated September 26, 2026.