Texas Man Gets 35 Years For Marijuana Possession-Prosecutor Wanted To Put Him Away For 99 Years!

[kpete]

Tyler Man Gets 35 Years For Drug Possession
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer

A Smith County jury found a Tyler man guilty on Thursday of possession of less than five pounds but more than four ounces of marijuana in a drug-free zone.

The jury in the 7th District Court with Judge Kerry Russell presiding then sentenced Henry Walter Wooten, 54, to 35 years confinement in prison. He was not assessed a fine.

Wooten, who had pleaded not guilty to the current charge, had been found guilty of two felonies in Smith County, one in 1987 and one in 1989. He pleaded true to both of those on Thursday before he was sentenced. His 35-year sentence will run consecutively to any other sentences that may be unexpired from his prior felonies, Judge Russell said in court.

.....................

The prosecutor, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance, originally sought a sentence of 99 years.

more:
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20100305/NEWS08/3050307
via:
http://rawstory.com/2010/03/texas-jury-jails-man-35-years-marijuana-possession/

[RKP5637]

1. Some view pot as a crime worse than murder. WTF. BS Nation, IMO.

[Richard Steele]

12. Last time I checked, the average USA "convicted murderer" served about 8 1/2 years in prison.

"JusticeSystem" my friggin ass.

[WhiteTara]

2. wow

those people are animals. I hate going to Texas. I have to visit my mother in the near future (Amarillo...Yikes!) and I'm always uncomfortable there. Seeing the "welcome" to any other state relieves my tension.

The old adage "Go to Texas on vacation; Come home on probation." is never far from my mind.

[RKP5637]

4. I was only in Texas once as a little kid and I hated it there. Wish they would secede. n/t

[HeresyLives]

3. 'Tough' Texans are that afraid of a plant??

Kinda ruins the ol' image there.

:shrug:

[vadawg]

5. makes more sense in this report it was his third strike

kinda dumb though to be an already convicted felon (twice) and be carrying drugs in baggies in a school zone, not sure what he was expecting to happen to him.. it also sounds as though he also has backup time from the other felonies..

[HeresyLives]

7. 99 years worth??

[vadawg]

11. no idea, :shrug: i dont know what his prior felonies where or how much back up time he has

but 99 years is a hell of a lot of time...

[tammywammy]

15. Also he was found with more baggies and a scale in his car

I don't think this was just for personal use.

I think pot should be legal, but how stupid do you have to be? Smoking up around a day care? Seriously?

[vadawg]

16. yup its not as if the drug free zones are not sign posted, only dumb dealers get caught in them

still i wonder what his past felonys were... and how much back up time he had...

[Ed76638]

6. Fuck Texas

I will never in my life drive through that state.

[Uben]

17. I've lived here for 55 years......

...and I find it rather pleasant! Pot possession over four ounces is a felony in Texas and this was the guys third felony, which mandates at least a 25 yr sentence. I don't expect them to change the law anytime soon, so I sure wouldn't be caught with over four ounces. I have seen people get off with a citation for less than two ounces, and some were not even cited. It depends on how redneck the arresting officer is, I guess.

They didn't say what the other two felonies were, but I would bet they were for more devious deeds like burglary. Judges here frown heavily on offenses in drug-free zones, and they carry a heavier sentence than offenses not in drug-free zones. The goal is stop kids from taking drugs to school or trying to sell them there.

We're certainly not as lenient as California, Oregon, or Alaska.......yet.

HAd the guy not been a two-time felon already, and had not got caught in a drug-free zone, he would have probably done 90 days in a state jail or even just cited for possession.


99 yrs was a reach for the prosecutor, but of course he wanted the maximum. They all do.

[duhneece]

8. There is no justice there

How can it be any kind of justice to lock this man up like an animal for possession of cannabis? No one deserves to be locked in a cage like a dangerous animal for what he chose to put in his body or for what he might have been helping others put in their bodies.

[Grand Taurean]

9. Welcome to Texas.

Florida is the same.

[L0oniX]

10. Hmmm ...35 years x $35,000 per year = $1,225,000 cost to the tax payers.

Fucking stupid ass law morans.

[Fire1]

13. Hey! Didn't they want to secede from the union?

WTF happened?

[Richard Steele]

14. No, they waited to see who WON before they chose a side in our Civil War. nm