Stoner4Life
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Tyrone Brown, 33, is serving a life sentence for testing positive for marijuana while on probation for a $2 stickup committed when he was 17.
No one involved seems able to explain the severe penalty. Brown's victim in the holdup said he rarely thinks about the incident, but points out that he was unharmed, that Brown returned the wallet to him after removing the $2, and that police apprehended Brown and recovered the money that same evening. Neither Brown's attorney in the trial nor the court-appointed lawyer who handled his appeal even remember the case.
Keith Dean, the judge who sentenced Brown to life for the failed drug test, also said he didn't recall the case when first asked about it. Legal experts say the legal system in Texas, where the incident took place, affords judges wide latitude in sentencing and requires little accountability. Dean now claims that professional ethical standards prevent him from discussing the case because he could have to rule on related cases in the future.
That seems unlikely now. Dean, who lost his bid for reelection in the 2006 midterms after nearly 20 years on the bench, came under national scrutiny after ABC's news magazine "20/20" aired a story contrasting Brown's sentence with that of another probation violator. Alex Wood, the son of a prominent Waco pastor, repeatedly failed the drug tests required by his probation for a murder conviction, testing positive for cocaine, among other substances. Not only did Dean decline to impose any prison sentence, he eventually allowed Wood "postcard probation," which requires only that Wood send a postcard each year giving his current address.
Meanwhile, Brown remains in prison, where he has been for the past 16 years. He does not come up for parole until 2009. His story has inspired activists to take up his cause, however, and people wishing to help him can visit.... www.savemrbrown.com
Tyrone Brown needs your support now as he is closer than ever to reaching his goal.
NewsHawk: Stoner4Life - 420Magazine.com
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Copyright: 2007 Marijuana Policy Project
Contact: info@mpp.org
Website: Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
No one involved seems able to explain the severe penalty. Brown's victim in the holdup said he rarely thinks about the incident, but points out that he was unharmed, that Brown returned the wallet to him after removing the $2, and that police apprehended Brown and recovered the money that same evening. Neither Brown's attorney in the trial nor the court-appointed lawyer who handled his appeal even remember the case.
Keith Dean, the judge who sentenced Brown to life for the failed drug test, also said he didn't recall the case when first asked about it. Legal experts say the legal system in Texas, where the incident took place, affords judges wide latitude in sentencing and requires little accountability. Dean now claims that professional ethical standards prevent him from discussing the case because he could have to rule on related cases in the future.
That seems unlikely now. Dean, who lost his bid for reelection in the 2006 midterms after nearly 20 years on the bench, came under national scrutiny after ABC's news magazine "20/20" aired a story contrasting Brown's sentence with that of another probation violator. Alex Wood, the son of a prominent Waco pastor, repeatedly failed the drug tests required by his probation for a murder conviction, testing positive for cocaine, among other substances. Not only did Dean decline to impose any prison sentence, he eventually allowed Wood "postcard probation," which requires only that Wood send a postcard each year giving his current address.
Meanwhile, Brown remains in prison, where he has been for the past 16 years. He does not come up for parole until 2009. His story has inspired activists to take up his cause, however, and people wishing to help him can visit.... www.savemrbrown.com
Tyrone Brown needs your support now as he is closer than ever to reaching his goal.
NewsHawk: Stoner4Life - 420Magazine.com
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Copyright: 2007 Marijuana Policy Project
Contact: info@mpp.org
Website: Marijuana Policy Project | We Change Laws
