Mississippi Man's 60 Year Sentence for a Cannabis Crime Will Not Be Heard by the US Supreme Court

Posted by Karri Gallaugher on October 13, 2010
Oct 132010

The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a convicted Mississippi marijuana dealer on Tuesday. Lorenzo Tarver was sentenced in 2006 for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He is serving a 60 year sentence, double the maximum sentence for his crime, due to aggravating circumstances.

Tarver was caught back in 2004 and charged with the crime of possession of marijuana and the intent to distribute charge. Leflore County police found 69.9 pounds of cannabis in Mr. Tarver’s home when they showed up with a search warrant. A confidential informant had told police there was a large amount of marijuana, money and a gun in Tarver’s home in Greenwood Mississippi. When it came time for the trial two years later, the marijuana evidence was missing from the evidence vault. Tarver was arguing that the the State’s comments during trial referencing the missing marijuana were highly prejudicial and suggested that Tarver’s attorneys were responsible for the disappearance of the evidence.

In 2006, a judge sentenced Lorenzo Tarver to 60 years in prison for his crimes. Under Mississippi state law, the maximum penalty for possession of more than a 2.2 pounds of marijuana is 30 long years in prison. The trial judge then doubled the maximum sentence of 30 years because Tarver’s house was withing 1,500 feet of a day care center. The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld his conviction, along with his 60 year sentence in 2009.  The news is not very good for Mr. Tarver, the supreme court is petitioned with about seven to eight thousand cases a year, and only agrees to hear around 200. Mr. Tarver was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.

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One Response to “Mississippi Man’s 60 Year Sentence for a Cannabis Crime Will Not Be Heard by the US Supreme Court”

  1. Mississippi Man’s 60 Year Sentence for a Cannabis Crime Will Not Be Heard by the US Supreme Court | The NORML Stash Blog says:
    October 14, 2010 at 10:50 am

    [...] See more here: Mississippi Man’s 60 Year Sentence for a Cannabis Crime Will Not Be Heard by the US Supreme Court [...]

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