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55-Year sentence upheld for first-time pot dealer |
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Written by Chris Conrad
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Wednesday, 08 February 2006 |
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Jan. 10 upheld a 55-year sentence
for the first-time conviction of pot dealer Weldon Angelos, 27, who had
but did not use a gun.
Angelos had no prior felony convictions but did
have a gun in his pocket that he neither brandished nor displayed
during three alleged sales totaling 24 ounces of cannabis, and was
convicted of “possessing a firearm while involved in a drug deal.”
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) had been watching the case
because under Utah law he was convicted of three violations; the first
has a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, and each subsequent
conviction added a mandatory 25-year sentence to the total, with no
hope for early parole.
Nearly 160 ex-Justice Department officials signed onto an amicus
brief, including four former U.S. attorneys general (Janet Reno,
Benjamin Civiletti, Griffin Bell and Nicholas Katzenbach), former FBI
director William S. Sessions and numerous federal judges, arguing the
sentence was so excessive as to constitute “cruel and unusual
punishment.” |
Chris Conrad |
| About the author: |
| Staunch supporter of Oaksterdam News
Chris Conrad has studied cannabis (marijuana) since 1988. He has written two books on the topic and contributed to others. Familiar with numerous books and at least 100 scientific studies, such as federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and National Institute on Drug Abuse data. Reported on cannabis dispensaries for California legislators. Consults with government agencies. Testified at National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine hearings. Regularly consults with physicians including some of the world’s foremost authorities on cannabis and patients as to their knowledge and experiences regarding cannabis.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 August 2006 )
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