35 Year Sentence for 4oz of Pot: Reasonable?

For being caught with just over a quarter pound of pot, 54-year-old Henry Walter Wooten will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, thanks to a jury in Tyler, Texas.

His prosecutor, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance, originally sought a sentence of 99 years over the 4.6 ounces of marijuana police found in Wooten's vehicle, according to published reports.

Source

Another Source

So, they cut this guy a bit of a break. Instead of 99 years the judge only gave him 35. Should we be satisfied? This is Texas, remember.

Obviously the guy is either pretty brazen or just an idiot. Either way is a 35 year sentence justified for 4 oz of pot? Murderers are generally given sentences of 25 years.

Meanwhile there are grumblings among comments on other sites that the DA is a good old boy who does not prosecute his own children and their friends. I do not, however, know what law they allegedly broke. I'm assuming pot but I don't know.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by TheComte]

Thats Bull# man, I'm glad I live in Canada, [snip] But seriously that's horrible pot is no worse then alcohol or smoking, the sentence of 35 [snip] years is just retarded i hope he gets parole because i don't see anyone standing up for him anytime soon.


gee

[edit on 9-3-2010 by Geehood]



Removed personal use comment and a profanity.

From the top of the page:

Personal use, advocacy of legalization, and related non-conspiratorial topics are not allowed. Members posting about personal recreational use of drugs and related mind-altering substances may be banned without warning.

[edit on 9/3/10 by masqua]

Since we started letting the corporations own and operate prisons, who do you think they would rather have as inmates?

Killers or peaceful potheads?

Do they care more about keeping dangerous people behind bars or profits?

What do you think they lobby for in local and national elections?

As the percentage of people in prison for non-violent drug crimes keep growing higher, and the amount of killers who are released and kill again on the news, I'm starting to believe that is the reason more and more.

As I cannot fathom any other reason ANYONE would keep a pothead in jail for longer than a child rapist or murder.

There is something VERY wrong here.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by breakingdradles]

reply to post by breakingdradles


I agree 100% it is just Dumb, there is NO reason not one to let a murderer go before a pothead like holy Jesus. what is the world coming too.

I can only hope that people come to their senses and just start selling pot like smokes, it would make life easier on us "normal" people.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by Geehood]

Lets see....my uncle killed 1 person by means of a dui and got out in 20. He turned around and killed 2 more people by means of another dui and got our in another 20. These laws against pot are ridiculous to say the least.

As someone who can thankfully say they just got out of the law after 2 years.... as of a couple of days ago, (probation intense supervision) the laws in Texas, are like another country!!!

Although The Judge that sentenced me, my probation officer, and the rest of our probation department, and judges have just resigned and are under investigation. Too bad I got screwed before the investigation started.....

I'm just surprised for that amount they didn't shoot him on sight.

I did a little digging to find out a little more about this case, all the sites I found were either blogs or pro-marijuana sites, a bit biased I thought.

I did find the original article and also a transcript from an appeal he lodged in 1991.

A couple of things that the OP source plus the others seemingly failed to mention.


The guy has had two previous convictions, one was for aggravated possession of coc aine in 1989 and the other was in 1987.

He was caught on possession of marijuana within 1000 feet of a day care centre, which is why his sentence is much higher due to a law that was introduced in the 80's.

He was video taped removing a number of bags filled with marijuana from his pockets, this was shown in court and yet he still pleaded not guilty to possession.
He was also found to have a set of digital scales in his car when arrested.

So the guy has prior convictions, was caught near a school and is a dealer, not some recreational user.

Having said all that I do believe the sentence given does seem a little excessive but that is Texas for you I guess.

I think the point I'm trying to make here is before you make this guy a martyr for your cause, get all the facts first.




www.tylerpaper.com...
tx.findacase.com...

Originally posted by Geehood
Thats Bull# man, I'm glad I live in Canada...
[edit on 9-3-2010 by Geehood]

Thank you all for the replies.

Hey, Geehood, I'm glad I live in Canada too. That's just a crazy sentence. This is Texas though; they are known for being ultra hardcore. Still, the whole cannabis prohibition/prison industrial complex is a travesty of justice. We in Canada have to be vigilant and not let the Harper Conservatives bring that system here like they wish to.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by TheComte]

reply to post by Chadwickus


Nothing in the Constitution authorizes government to dictate what adults may or may not put into their own body, hence drug laws are unconstitutional.

Last I checked, having a digital scale wasnt against the law either. If it is, bakers and chefs are in alot of trouble.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
I think the point I'm trying to make here is before you make this guy a martyr for your cause, get all the facts first.

Good find.

I must admit i'm the most anti-drug person on the planet, but at first i thought this was a bit harsh on the guy.

If he's a dealer though, whilst i think it's disgusting that he gets more than a murderer or paedophile, if he's dealing near a school and has any intentions of selling it there, he deserves every year of that 35 year sentence. I don't care what drug it is and how many people say it does no harm.

CX.


[edit on 9/3/10 by CX]

reply to post by Chadwickus


All that stuff was in the source I posted. Didn't think I needed to spell out every detail for everyone. Just thought they'd read it. Obviously, I was wrong.

Sorry, 35 years is not reasonable even if he had two previous felony convictions, was in a "drug free zone," didn't plead guilty just because he was seen with the baggies, or was a dealer. Like I said the guy was a brazen idiot. But he doesn't deserve to spend 35 years in prison because the simple fact is zero harm came to anyone or anyone's property.

reply to post by CX


Wait a minute. He was NOT caught dealing. It is assumed he was dealing, I'm sure, by you and by others. But that's just another case of being presumed guilty. He was only within a "drug free zone." 1000 feet is quite a long distance away from the school. Plus, it's a day care centre. It will take a huge stretch of the imagination to believe he was selling to toddlers.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by TheComte]

I hate drugs and its users, i think hey are all scum, but jailing them is just stupid, give him a fine and that's it.

There are rapists and murderers who get less time then this.


[edit on 9-3-2010 by winterass]

Originally posted by TheComte
reply to post by CX

 

Wait a minute. He was NOT caught dealing. It is assumed he was dealing, I'm sure, by you and by others. But that's just another case of being presumed guilty. He was only within a "drug free zone." 1000 feet is quite a long distance away from the school. Plus, it's a day care centre. It will take a huge stretch of the imagination to believe he was selling to toddlers.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by TheComte]

Ok fair enough it was not proved he was dealing, but please go an look at the news article about the case, read the evidence and tell me it looks like it was for personal use only?

Do people who use drugs for personal use always have a set of scales on them, just incase they give themselves just a tiny bit too much in that joint?

CX.

reply to post by TheComte


Not all. There was no mention on of the individual bags or the scales and the felonies in the 80's was glazed over.

The article did mention the school zones though.

You've gotta keep this in context... When you pull a situation like this out and say "OMG, this verdict is RIDICULOUS", you don't know the local circumstances.

I mean, down in Tyler, Texas, maybe this guy is a perpetual fekk-up, a repeat offender, a hustler, a gangster, whatever. Maybe he refuses to pay alimony and his ex-wife is spreading hate about him. Maybe he's a local organized crime figure. Maybe every damned body in Tyler, Texas — including the judge & jury — knows this fekkhead deserves a life sentence. Maybe he's a really bad guy and everybody hates his ass, and they are wanting to send him away — you know how local court systems work.

Haven't you known a guy who you wished would get busted for something? For anything? He's such a pain in the ass that everything would be better if he went away to prison!
Hell, yeah, you know people like that.

Maybe that's what this guy is... A schmuck who needs to go to prison, and they finally tagged him for a meager few ounces of herb. There may be people praising God that this clown is going up the creek.

You never know.

It aint about justice, it's just about processing data.

— Doc Velocity






[edit on 3/9/2010 by Doc Velocity]

reply to post by TheComte


35 years for a plant?

Isn't everyone a gardener?

reply to post by Chadwickus


OK. Fairplay. I added a better source to the OP with more facts. One is that when they weighed up all his baggies, the packaging alone was 1.06 oz. Therefore he only had a little over 3 oz of drug on him. And his two other felonies were 21 years ago.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
I did a little digging to find out a little more about this case, all the sites I found were either blogs or pro-marijuana sites, a bit biased I thought.

I did find the original article and also a transcript from an appeal he lodged in 1991.

A couple of things that the OP source plus the others seemingly failed to mention.


The guy has had two previous convictions, one was for aggravated possession of coc aine in 1989 and the other was in 1987.

He was caught on possession of marijuana within 1000 feet of a day care centre, which is why his sentence is much higher due to a law that was introduced in the 80's.

He was video taped removing a number of bags filled with marijuana from his pockets, this was shown in court and yet he still pleaded not guilty to possession.
He was also found to have a set of digital scales in his car when arrested.

So the guy has prior convictions, was caught near a school and is a dealer, not some recreational user.

Having said all that I do believe the sentence given does seem a little excessive but that is Texas for you I guess.

I think the point I'm trying to make here is before you make this guy a martyr for your cause, get all the facts first.

www.tylerpaper.com...
tx.findacase.com...

Do you think that someone with 2 prior drug convictions, who was selling drugs, and was near a day care center deserves more time in prison than someone who has committed murder?

Just kidding, but I agree with you, this man is no Martyr.

It is however showing how people with NON VIOLENT offenses get longer jail terms than murderers sometimes.

Something that makes no sense to me.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by breakingdradles]

reply to post by TheComte


Who was the victim again in this crime?

Hmmm?

Oh, I know, he killed the plants. I did not know murdering plants was illegal.

Let me look through the statutes again.

Nope nothing about murdering plants. Oh well, he got what he deserved for doing that to the victim. Oh wait, there was no victim.

Back to the beginning again.

Remember folks, there is a thing called jury nullification. Next time instead of attempting to get out of jury duty. Maybe try to get picked for a trial where you do not believe in the case. Such as this.

Use your rights, or lose them.,