General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama Grants Early Release To Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Pot
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/03/31/3641430/obama-grants-early-release-man-sentenced-life-prison-pot/
Obama Grants Early Release To Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Pot
by Ian Millhiser
Posted on March 31, 2015 at 4:34 pm
Francis Darrell Hayden, a man who was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars in 2002 will instead be freed in late July, thanks to a grant of mercy announced by President Obama on Tuesday. Hayden is one of 22 drug offenders granted commutations by the president on the same day.
According to a 2004 federal appeals court opinion, Haydens only crimes were marijuana violations. Yet, in part because the 2002 conviction was his third he was also convicted of marijuana offenses in 1980 and 1990 Hayden received a life sentence for his involvement in a conspiracy to grow and harvest marijuana.
In fairness to the court that sentenced him, this conspiracy involved a whole lot of marijuana a total of over 18,900 marijuana plants were grown in rows hidden by taller rows of corn. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Hayden was given a life sentence for producing a product that 51 percent of the nation believes should be legal, according to a 2014 Gallup poll.
Although Obama did grant mercy to close to two dozen people along with Hayden, the president has historically been quite stingy with the use of his pardon power. The 22 people granted commuted sentences on Tuesday equal more than half of the total number of people Obama has given a pardon or commutation.
Nevertheless, the Obama administration told a reporter last year that it plans to step up its use of the pardon power, potentially granting clemency to hundreds or even thousands of non-violent drug offenders in the future.
benld74
(9,908 posts)project_bluebook
(411 posts)Release all the pot smokers and lock up a bunch of crooked republicans in their place.
kickysnana
(3,908 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)By Darlene SupervilleAssociated Press
POSTED: 03/31/2015 04:41:12 PM PDT15 COMMENTS|
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_27824085/obama-commutes-sentences-22-drug-offenders-including-eight?source=JBarTicker
tridim
(45,358 posts)And it was not sold to children.
IMO that is why Obama is being very careful with these.
lsewpershad
(2,620 posts)him to also pardon Don. we all know he was railroaded for political reasons.
Schema Thing
(10,283 posts)Man from Pickens
(1,713 posts)Including not just the people presently incarcerated over Drug War bullshit, but all of those who have been released and still carry around the economic and social burdens of having an arrest and conviction on the record.
A single symbolic act is not enough. Everyone who has suffered under the tyranny of the drug war ought to be pardoned and exonerated. I see no Constitutional limit to the power of the pardon which would prevent this.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Obama's pardon power only applies to people in federal prison.
villager
(26,001 posts)IDemo
(16,926 posts)But I don't believe growing one plant on your balcony or thousands (assuming you're not destroying public lands and/or threatening people) should be a crime.
Vattel
(9,289 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)druidity33
(6,446 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)when he first took office.
He hasn't done enough to rescue people jailed for decades due to the 'war on drugs' and states that have horrible oppressive 3 strikes laws and mandatory sentence laws.
I want Obama to get focus off republican distractions and free Americans from the 'for profit' jail systems the republicans put in place during their bush-glory years.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)SusanCalvin
(6,592 posts)Now he needs to pardon Don Siegelman.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/obama-pardon-don-siegelman
winterwar
(210 posts)I do believe in full legalization and pardon of all marijuana crimes. But I love seeing progress made on this front in any form. Thank you Mr. President for selecting a marijuana crime to pardon. The only victim in this "crime" was the plants being destroyed instead of being used for medicine.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)forest444
(5,902 posts)Pastiche423
(15,406 posts)to be considered by a Democratic president.