13 Years For 2 Marijuana Cigarettes
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The Drug Policy Alliance is filing an amicus brief, petitioning the Louisiana Supreme Court to stop this madness.
[The are] urging the Louisiana Supreme Court to review the egregious prison sentence of Bernard Noble, a 48-year old man who was sentenced to 13.3 years of hard labor in prison without the opportunity for parole for possessing the equivalent of two marijuana cigarettes.
Noble’s original sentencing judge considered the 13 and a third-year sentence egregious and imposed a sentence of five years of hard labor. But the Orleans Parish District Attorney wasn’t satisfied with this punishment and appealed the sentence. Ultimately, the district attorney sought and obtained a prison term of close to triple the sentence imposed by the original sentencing.
“Thirteen years in prison for two joints is obscene,” said Daniel Abrahamson, director of the Office of Legal Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance and a lead author of the brief. “The punishment is so far out of proportion to the conduct that we really can’t call it ‘punishment’ – it is more like torture.”
While Noble has two prior low-level nonviolent drug offenses that occurred 8 and 20 years respectively before his arrest in this case, he has never been convicted of anything more serious than possession of drugs for personal use. Because of these prior, albeit dated drug offenses Mr. Noble fell within Louisiana’s Habitual Offender Statute, which brings his sentence for his marijuana possession offense to thirteen and one-third years and deprived him of the opportunity for earlier release on parole…
“Finally, Mr. Noble’s prison sentence for possessing two joints will cost Louisiana taxpayers nearly one-quarter of a million dollars and will add to the majority of nonviolent offenders who currently fill Louisiana’s prisons,” Abrahamson said. “In fact, only 17 percent of the state’s prison inmates have committed violent crimes, whereas fully one quarter of the state’s prison population is there for drug crimes.”
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Warman1138 April 9th, 2015 at 7:11 am
Justice isn’t just blind in Louisiana, it’s absent.
Larry Schmitt April 9th, 2015 at 7:15 am
Even the five years (hard labor!) set by the original judge is too harsh.
Suzanne McFly April 9th, 2015 at 7:24 am
In Connecticut, this man would of gotten a fine. In Louisiana, this man in put in jail and this will cost the state over a quarter of a million dollars. The federal government supports a lot of these states with money made from states with more successful budgeting tactics and more money collected from the populace due to higher wages. Why can’t the more successful states have a say in the way these “poor” states budget their money if we are the ones who bail them out?
Roctuna April 9th, 2015 at 8:04 am
This comes back to their horrible Habitual Offender Statute and mandatory sentencing rules. That said, I doubt if 2 minor drug possession convictions in 20 years would have even come up in court if he was white. This is Louisiana after all. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was pulled over for a “broken tail light”.
Larry Schmitt April 9th, 2015 at 8:38 am
You’re right. Those “three strikes you’re out” laws take the judge’s discretion away. The harsh sentences are guaranteed. That’s why there are millions of non-violent drug offenders, who should have been charged with misdemeanors, serving years of hard time with murderers and rapists.
Larry Schmitt April 9th, 2015 at 8:48 am
In most states, this would be a misdemeanor. All of those “three strikes you’re out” laws should be struck down. It turns judges into nothing more than law clerks. They have no say in sentencing, and the laws don’t solve the problem they were designed to.
craig7120 April 9th, 2015 at 11:47 am
He should be immediately released, record expunged, financially reimbursed for lost wages.
Absolutely ridiculous
This is the real voter suppression. Arrest the poor & minority class, charge them with felonies and how bout that, can’t vote. How can he get a secure good job and be part of a system he was told is fair as long as you work hard with a felony conviction? Nope, as long as his arrest record follows him his chances of being hired by an employer who does background checks is slim to none.
Enough is enough
FatRat April 9th, 2015 at 1:55 pm
It is even more than voter suppression. Move a person from the inner city and out into the boondocks/prison industry and they count as part of the populace. A county can legally artificially inflate their numbers.
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/faq.html
arc99 April 9th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
But if he accidentally kills a kid while cleaning his gun, no problem.
In some ways, America is a very f*cked up place.
viva_democracy April 9th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Utter bullshit. Just another revenue drive for the State and private prisons. Also a way to keep the poor from advancing and keep them from voting. So much wrong with this.
rg9rts April 10th, 2015 at 7:27 am
He got away light…death penalty in NYC for regular cigarettes
rg9rts April 10th, 2015 at 7:30 am
We have a foreign country called Texas where you can get life for some weed
illinoisboy1977 April 10th, 2015 at 12:16 pm
If he had it for personal use, he wasn’t victimizing anyone. Such an offense shouldn’t rise above a $50 fine and maybe 3 consecutive weekends in jail, or 6 consecutive days, along with an offer for substance abuse treatment. Even that much jail time would be pushing the boundaries of decency.
Long prison sentences should be reserved for BAD people; NOT recreational drug users.