Post by WaTcHeR on Jan 10, 2006 10:24:51 GMT -5
Appeals Court Upholds 55 Year Mandatory Sentence
Jan. 09, 2006 - The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the gun-nutty 55 year mandatory sentence of 27 year old Weldon Angelos, who had no prior felony convictions.
Angelos was in possession of a gun, that he neither brandished, used nor displayed, when he conducted three marijuana sales. The total amount of pot involved was 24 ounces.
"Four former U.S. attorneys general and nearly 160 other ex-Justice Department officials and federal judges" filed an amicus brief on his behalf, arguing the sentence was so excessive as to constitute cruel and unusual punishment. In upholding the sentence,
.... the appeals court judges said they agreed with prosecutors who said the sentence was appropriate for Angelos' convictions and for other behavior involving drugs, guns and gang activity that prosecutors had evidence of, but did not charge him with.
"Although it is true that Angelos had no significant adult criminal history, that appears to have been the result of good fortune rather than Angelos' lack of involvement in criminal activity," said the ruling, written by Judge Mary Beck Briscoe.
As for how the sentence was computed,
Under the law he was convicted of violating three times, a first offense carries a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, and each subsequent conviction carries a mandatory minimum 25-year sentence that must run back-to-back with any other sentences.
Last year's landmark decision in U.S. v. Booker did not affect the case, since it was not about the sentencing guidelines, but mandatory minimum sentences.
