A man will spend the rest of his life in jail for possessing 1.5 ounces of marijuana after losing an appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Allen Russell, 39, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in Forrest County in 2019 after being convicted of being in possession of 1.54 ounces (43.71 grams) of marijuana, an amount within the legal limits of the California statute. state medical cannabis (3 ounces per month), a law that was signed in February 2022.
The state's highest court decided Thursday to uphold Russell's life sentence after ruling the sentence was not a violation of the Eighth Amendment and
in line with state statute,
WLBT reported.
Allen Russell.Noticias Telemundo
The conviction would normally have carried a sentence of up to three years, but Russell received this sentence because he had previous convictions and these made him a repeat offender.
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In Mississippi, a person can be sentenced to life in prison without parole after serving at least one year in prison for two separate felonies, one of which must be a violent crime, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Russell was convicted of two home burglaries in 2004 and unlawful possession of a firearm in 2015.
In that state,
robbery is considered a violent crime, whether or not there is evidence of violence.
Though that wasn't the case when Russell was convicted of home burglary in 2004. Back then, burglary was considered a violent crime only if there was evidence of violence, but the law changed 10 years later.
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In his appeal last year to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, Russell argued that a life sentence constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment and is grossly disproportionate" to his marijuana possession crime.
The Court of Appeals then disagreed with its majority opinion and held that Russell's life sentence is consistent with Mississippi law.
Russell was not being convicted solely of having marijuana, but of being a habitual offender, the judges argued.
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The state Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and, in a split decision, six justices upheld the trial court's ruling, saying Russell received "the only sentence available."
"Given that the first instance judge followed the law to the letter, we confirm it," he said.
