-Caveat Lector- Some of you may remember my asking for help in what to do to help this woman given a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole for a first time drug offense involving a $75.00 sale of narcotics. Well, all our efforts have paid off as she now will be re-sentenced. I certainly hope and pray it is reduced to time already served. This was a heartbreaking story but perhaps it will have a better ending now. Article below. ~Amelia~<very happy about this> She called me around 7 pm last night and did not mention this, so she obviously did not know yet. I tried to get the prison staff to get her to call me this morning, but they refused. http://www.al.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?j1 911_BC_AL--DrugBaronLaw-Appe&&news&al_headlines � State appeals court says life-without parole sentence too harsh By BILL POOVEY The Associated Press 8/31/01 5:39 PM MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama's only prison inmate serving a life-without parole sentence as a first-time drug offender -- a woman who sold prescription medicines to an undercover officer -- was too harshly punished and must be re-sentenced, a divided state appeals court ruled Friday. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals in a 3-2 decision ordered Jefferson County Circuit Judge J. Richmond Pearson to re-sentence Theresa Wilson. Court records show Wilson was prosecuted under the state's Drug Baron's Enforcement Act of 1986. The law carries a mandatory life-without parole sentence for "those who habitually trade in and profit from dealing in large quantities of drugs." "Wilson does not fit into that category," Judge Sue Bell Cobb wrote in the majority decision. Wilson, who was 28 years old when arrested, testified she became addicted to drugs in 1991 when a doctor prescribed narcotics for her after she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome. Court records show Wilson "acknowledged that she sold some of her own medication to the undercover officer so she could pay her utility bill, and because her neighbor's children needed food. Wilson said that, when the officer asked her whether she could obtain anything else, she told him that she might be able to sell him some morphine her neighbor had ... . She was to pay her neighbor $70 and retain $80 for making the sale." Wilson was convicted of distributing a controlled substance and trafficking in morphine after she sold Valium, Fiorinal and liquid morphine to the undercover officer. In the distribution case, she was sentenced to two years in prison. That sentence was suspended. Two five-year enhancements were added because the sale occurred within three miles of a school campus and a public housing project. In the trafficking case, Wilson received the mandatory life-without-parole sentence. "Never before in this state has a first-time drug offender been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole" on a first-offense drug conviction," Cobb wrote. "Based on our analysis of the crime Wilson committed and the punishment imposed upon her, ... the punishment, in this case, was grossly disproportionate to the crime." Presiding Judge H. Ward McMillan and Judge Kelli Wise concurred with the decision. Judges Pamela Baschab and Greg Shaw dissented. Baschab, in a written dissent, described the majority's decision as "ludicrous and outrageous," based on Wilson waiting too long to file the appeal and her attorney's failure to argue at trial that a life-without parole sentence was cruel and unusual punishment. Wilson's attorney, J. Mark White of Birmingham, said Wilson has been in prison about three years. "That is a magnificent result," he said of the decision. "She will be thrilled. She never lost faith. She is an amazing lady." White said Wilson is married and has children. He said "no drug baron had ever been sentenced to life with parole." "If she had not been poor, if she had been an athlete or a professional or somebody who had resources, she would have gotten counseling," White said. "She was addicted to prescription drugs. She has always recognized that she had violated the law. She knew that she had to pay the price. But the idea of giving her what in reality is a death sentence just is unheard of." Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
