Tyler Texas man gets 35 years for 4.6 ounces of Marijuana

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Tyler Texas man gets 35 years for 4.6 ounces of Marijuana

http://www.dfwnorml.org/forum/here-home/tyler-texas-man-gets-35-years-46-ounces-marijuana-852.html

It is well known in Texas that our Law Enforcement Officers are the best in the nation when it comes to that moment in time when the feet need to hit the ground. When you call 911, you can bet that Texas Law Enforcement Officers will respond quickly and deal with the situation at hand decisively.

Once the Law Enforcement Officers deal with the criminal element, they pass them off to the Texas Criminal Justice System. They are well known for their "tough on crime" campaign toting all of the old paradigms left over from the Reagan administration.

This bring us to the story about a Tyler Texas man named Henry Walter Wooten, 54 years old. Henry isn't the brightest toker in the world. He was caught by law enforcement within 1000 feet of Ebenezer Day Care Center in Tyler with baggies of weed in his pockets toking on a joint. On Thursday, March 4th, Henry received 35 years in a state correctional facility.

Trey Cloud, DPS forensic chemist, testified that the weight of the marijuana seized from Wooten when he was arrested was 4.6 ounces, and the packaging alone weighed 1.06 ounces. He also testified that the drug seized from Wooten was indeed marijuana.

This is, more or less, a warning for those who would openly defy Marijuana Laws in Texas. The Texas Justice system is a series of policies designed to incarcerate people, not rehabilitate or help them in anyway. Henry's case is unique because his possession limit was on the cusp of being a misdemeanor. In Texas, it is a misdemeanor to possess four ounces or less. One to two ounces is a class B, and three to four is a class A misdemeanor. Henry was found guilty of possessing four ounces to one pound, a felony which could be 2 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. However, since Henry was in a "drug free zone", Smith County Assistant District Attorney Richard Vance had asked for the jury to give Wooten a sentence of 99 years. Do you think he got off easy?

[uponit7771]

1. 4.6 ounces is a lot but 35 years for it is stupid relative to fuckin up the US economy

[michreject]

65. Problem was that it was a Drug Free Zone

This is a good read.

http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/06-03_REP_DisparitybyDesign_DP-JJ-RD.pdf

[Auggie]

2. Cruel and unusual punishment n/t

[Echo In Light]

4. Sicko empire fueled by insane, pro-war fundie zealots & cons who LOVE the 'war on people'(drugs)

[Jennicut]

3. Yes, let's throw a toker into an already overcrowded jail system.

Are they for real?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[indepat]

23. Yeah, it probably won't most more than $1.5- to $2 million to incarcerate him for

35 years. :P

[Jennicut]

36. My point exactly. For a non violent marijuana user, of all things.

[Echo In Light]

46. Did you catch that they deleted my post simply b/c of how I referred to the system?

lol... apple polishers

[tridim]

7. ..where he'll learn how to become a real criminal.

IMO that is the #1 problem with locking up non-violent cannabis users.

[Blue Owl]

6. ridiculous

Someone with a 40 oz. open container of beer would be charged what, maybe $100 for the same basic "crime"?

[MercutioATC]

8. 4.6 ounces is a LOT of pot.

I don't agree with the sentence...but it's definitely more than what would be reasonable for personal use.

[piratefish08]

11. In some saner areas of the country an ounce or less would be a fine.

35 years is an INSANE sentence. IMO any jail time for weed is just silly, but that's a different argument.


Not for nothing, 4.6 ounces is a lot, but not unexplainable. I would (hypothetically) buy a few ounces when it's available and the price is right........

[tridim]

12. Well it's all relative..

4.6 ounces is what it is, about two plants worth, or 4-5 mason jars. A typical stash for the majority of users with small, personal gardens. It's almost impossible to NOT have that quantity of product just based on the fact that cannabis needs to be cured after harvest for several months in glass jars.

[tammywammy]

14. Yeah, that would explain a home stash

But the guy was walking around with that much. Just seems strange.

[reggie the dog]

30. exactly

[eShirl]

13. maybe he had just bought 1/4 lb in bulk

buying in bulk is economical

[Juneboarder]

43. When you buy in bulk...

the dealer usually puts it all in one baggie. Thus alleviating the "intent to sell" motive. I would never walk around with multiple baggies in my pocket. I would also, lol, not be smoking a joint in the public while holding multiples of baggies of pot in my pockets. This guy just wasn't thinking, lol!

[Wizard777]

85. Not always. But someone ought to take that particular piece of legal fiction to SCOTUS.

Multiple baggies goes to ability. Not motive. In fact everyone I know that's been charged that way had no actual intent to sell it. That law simply alleviates the states burden of proof. They only have to show ability. Motive and opportunity become irrelevant. Besides in this case the felony charge was based on weight and not multiple baggie. He would have been the same even if it was in one baggie.

[Rebubula]

16. No...

...it is not.

Just slightly better than a 1/4 pound.

I usually buy 1/2 pounds for economical reasons - plus it decreases the amount of chances I have getting busted (meeting dealer; driving home etc).

[MercutioATC]

20. Do you usually carry it around with you?

...while smoking it on the street?

My point is that "4.6 ounces" sounds like a small amount, but it's a decent-sized pile of pot.

[Romulox]

54. If you've never known anybody who had a Q.P. on hand, then you haven't known any stoners...

A quarter pound of that shitty Mexican stuff is only worth a couple hundred bucks down there, if that.

[reggie the dog]

31. which is why I prefer to buy 50 or 100 grams of hash

once every 5 or 10 months as opposed to buying 10 grams once each month.

[reggie the dog]

17. easily personal use

You can easily smoke that in a month. Especially if it is low thc grass. I did an ounce a week of low grade for a few years. Now a qp, 4 oz would last me probably 2 to 4 months depending on the strength. If you grow your own you need to harvest between one and 2 pounds a year to smoke like I do.

[Mopar151]

22. $33,000/yr x 35 years

For the crime of being stupid. That's a win/win......
Another way of looking at it - a quarter-pound is somewhat equal to a case of booze, or 4 cartons of butts. What is the going penalty in TexAss for serving underage patrons in a bar near a school? How about underage cigarettes?

[Blue_In_AK]

32. Some people grow their own

and may have that much on hand for personal use while they're waiting for the next crop to mature. Just sayin'.

[hobbit709]

38. That's NOT a lot

when I got busted in 2000, my lawyer stated "A 1/4 lb in South Austin, that's personal stash"

[Romulox]

51. Nonsense. nt

[mdmc]

53. depends on the person..

[druidity33]

87. that's just not so

I had a very good friend (who's since passed) that went through over 2 oz a month for her cancer treatment times. That's about 5 joints a day. Not only not a lot, but i'd say there are plenty of "just plain stoners" that smoke way more.

BTW... it was 3.06 ounces of pot. They weighed the baggies too and the larger sentence was for 4 oz or more. It's called railroading. I'm surprised they didn't give him the max at 99 years.

:shrug:

[MadHound]

9. Other states are just as bad, sad to say.

Had a friend of mine who got pulled over with a joint, a single joint. He had to do seven years in the state pen for possession of that one joint.

This insane war on drugs has got to stop. Legalize the stuff, tax it, and let people live free.

[asdjrocky]

10. Thank God for California.

I know some people who this wouldn't even get through a week.

Richard Vance needs to go.

[Deep13]

15. And the Chinese buy another state.

As bad as that is from a humanitarian point of view, the cost of the so-called war on drugs is sinking us.

[Jkid]

18. 35 years for about 4 ounces?

That is excessive. The fact that throwing people who did a minor low level crime into a real prison, with real criminals, is dumb on crime.

[rhett o rick]

27. It's all about the for-profit prison industry. nt

[wuushew]

19. Luke 23:4

n/t

[Supersedeas]

34. there ya go

[quinnox]

21. Pretty dumb to do that in a state like Texas

Its known to be tough on criminals and this dummy took a chance and, sucks for him, he rolled snake eyes. The old saying applies "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime"

[rhett o rick]

26. You sound like my right wing father in law. He is found of saying that.

I bet you are a big fan of Nancy Grace. No punishment is too much for a crime.

[quinnox]

29. not really

I don't watch Nancy Grace. But I think the saying is a good one, if you don't want to go to prison then its probably a good idea not to do a crime. Unless you are smart enough not to get caught then why take a chance.

[rhett o rick]

50. The fact that he committed a crime is not the issue here. The sentencing is obsene. You sound as if

you dont agree. My right wing father-in-law believes all criminals should be punished as much as possible. George Bush executed over 100 and some may have been innocent. Didnt matter to simple minded George and it doesnt matter to the T-baggers. Be tough on crime, is the main emphasis. Not justice. Do you think justice was served in this case?

[quinnox]

67. I really don't have an opinion on that

My main point is whatever the sentencing rules are, its something anyone who does a crime faces. And if you don't want to go to prison (for any length of time long or short) then it behooves you to not break the damn law. So its irrelevant what the prison term is and the potential length of sentence.

[Krakowiak]

69. I agree - let's execute people for crossing the street while the "don't walk" is flashing (nt)

[rhett o rick]

71. Just think about it for a second. Do you really think this man knew that he was risking life in

prison, doing what he was doing? Besides sentencing guidelines are to give the judge leeway to consider the circumstances and make a reasonable judgment. But you have no empathy. You probably dont even believe in juries. If arrested you go straight to jail for the standard sentence. Now that's law and order.

[Occulus]

86. You've already broken several laws in your lifetime

you just don't know it.

I, however, would love to punish you for the laws you've broken that you don't even know exist, just to teach you how fucking wrong your opinion is.

[Leftist Agitator]

88. +1

:thumbsup:

[bamacrat]

58. That's a douchy way to look at it. He wasn't stealing, killing, raping, trafficking.

He was using it for himself. Yes it was a poor and misguided decision to smoke in public but he was smoking something that wouldn't kill him, wouldn't send him into a rage, or cause him to rob someone to get his next baggie. The law is stupid not the man.

[rhett o rick]

24. Appropriate is happened in Tyler Texas, the home of T. Don Hutto for-profit prison.

The for-profit prison industry is one of the few American businesses thriving today. Even Dick, the son of Satan, Cheney is heavily invested in this new growth industry. Just think, keeping Mr. Wooten in prison for 35 years means the taxpayers will be footing the bill, including the CEO's salary, for 35 years.

[Subdivisions]

25. This is outrageous! This has GOT TO STOP!!! How much longer are

we going to put up with this shit??? We're getting fucked nine ways from Sunday all the way from Wall Street to Washington to the local police departments!

We the People! God damn it!

[Flaneur]

28. This was the prosecutor's call. Focus on the prosecutor.

The prosecutor wanted 99 years.

[SimonPhoenix]

40. Stop misdirecting

In the absence of the law allowing for such a ridiculous sentence, the prosecutor wouldn't have been able to press for it.

[Flaneur]

33. Kick for all those people who think nobody goes to jail for pot anymore.

[onethatcares]

35. and there goes another statistic.

1 out of every 30 American Adult males is in prison. We are the most incarceraton happy country in the world, but talk about helping others out or providing healthcare, we suck, big time.

[walldude]

37. So how much does the judge have invested in the private prison

that just received a 35 year boost to it's numbers? This stinks of corruption. Anyone want to bet $1000 to your favorite charity that somewhere someone involved in this is making money off this guys incarceration?

[SimonPhoenix]

39. Poor guy- if only this had happened in New York

He would have been charged with a class A misdemeanor which probably would have pled down to a class B misdemeanor and he would have been put on probation for a year with no jail time. Probably a small fine as well. Texas has some pretty draconian pot laws.

The sad thing is that this guy received a longer sentence for pot than a rapist or murderer would have received.

Anyone ever see "The Last Detail" with Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid? Great movie. Randy Quaid plays a sailor who gets 8 years in the brig for attempting to steal $40 from a polio charity donation box. This sentence for the Tyler, Texas man is equivalently egregious. If I were running our criminal justice system, Randy Quaid's character would have been dishonorably discharged and this Texas resident would never have been charged.

The drug war is a farce. So why does it continue? Some on here would point to the pharm companies and blame them. Fat chance. Stop blaming corporate America. Look in our backyard-look at your fat, well-fed piggies in the state prison workers and police unions. These pigs feeding at the trough are the reasons why we have such draconian drug laws in some states. Even my own state of NY, which has decriminalized pot, still has draconian laws when it comes to other drugs. And look at the federal government- the DEA, home of the federal piggies. And now they have shows about the DEA on tv-glamorizing their work and touting the agency as necessary to combat our drug problem.

Look at all the piggies I've listed above-the prison guards, the local/state cops, and the federal DEA ones. They all have a vested interest in keeping marijuana AND other drugs illegal. If all drugs were legalized, prison rolls would drop by up to 45%. And a chunk of that money could go to drug education and drug rehab for the more serious drugs that people get addicted to.

If all drugs were legalized tomorrow at the state and federal level, and all people in state and federal prison serving time for non-violent drug crimes were pardoned, it would be a day that I would celebrate for the rest of my life. I'd still leave the kingpins and violent drug dealers behind bars, however, because these scumbag thug-life gangstass would go right back to the inner city never having paid penance for getting children addicted to unadulterated smack and murdering honor students in low-income areas of this country.

[Grand Taurean]

72. As you said.

The police unions are the one union that MUST be BUSTED!

[snooper2]

41. The guy should have known better (baggies of weed )

you don't carry around "baggies of weed"...

That's the best way to get slapped with an intent to sell and distribute...and that's the one that fucks ya...

My buddie got busted with two baggies with a half ounce in each one. He got a $500 fine and had a year probabtion..and had to do a stupid drug program...

[SimonPhoenix]

42. Screw off

He should have known better. Should the pigs have known better before they became members of organizations that take regularly shits on the United States Constitution? The Drug War^TM is an unconstitutional clusterfuck that causes immeasurable harm and has no obvious benefits.

[snooper2]

47. Yes, he should have known better...

A responsible pot smoker knows you carry all your weed in a single container/baggie so you don't get busted as a "dealer"...

Unless he is a dealer then he is just fucking stupid...is the sentence cruel and unusual punishment..you betcha, are the vast majority of drug laws bullshit, yep..

Is this guy a fucking idiot for the way he got busted- yep...As a pot head living with the draconian laws that are on the books, you should be intelligent enough to not get busted. And indeed not get busted with ounces of weed in multiple baggies in a school zone. That's just asking for trouble....

Maybe he should have invested in a dugout for $16.78. In fact, I was busted smoking weed with friends behind a bar one night. Helicopters and about seven cop cars surrounded us. We learned they thought we had something to do with the Pawn shop alarm going off in an adjacent building. We were all sitting in the bed of a pickup truck and of course they got us to give up the dugout and one hitter they saw us passing when pulling up. Good thing was we had just finished off the last bowl and the dugout was empty as the cop knocked it out upside down on his cruisers hood :rofl:

$250 ticket for the pipe is all one of our friends got who had the pipe last. ( lesson on not bogarting ) We each gave him $50 to cover it...no biggie...yep- In Texas...

So to sum up...yes this guy is a fucking idiot and got screwed by a fucked up "War on Drugs"


But for you my friend...here's a big Texas Bless Your Heart! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[SimonPhoenix]

49. Hilarious that you chastite this guy for his stupidity

yet you also admit to smoking in public with your friends. Outside a bar, right? Why not smoke in a private residence? Surely that is just as "stupid".

[snooper2]

56. dude...I'm not doing 35 years hard time either am I?

It's called "hanging your ass out" and you choose when and where to do that.

by the way,
you are all over the map...I saw you in another thread in the lounge looking for something to argue about. Since we are talking about pot here maybe you need to toke a little :rofl:

I've got some in my truck, drivers side door right next to the cologne :P

[SimonPhoenix]

59. I can't smoke pot because I'm drug tested periodically at work

I'm a pharmacist.

[vadawg]

64. yup, as soon as i read baggies i was thinking i wonder if he was a pwid

rather than just for personal use, nothing dumber than carrying dope in multiple bags, or having scales and lots of cash on you, even if it is for personal use every jury is going to look at you as if you are a dealer, and if your caught close to a school, then it just escalates the dealer tag...

also i didnt see in the article if he had prior arrests and convictions..

[JoeyT]

76. If stupidity were illegal

most of both our states would be in prison and what was left would be forced to be prison guards.
If anything people that are *this* dumb oughta get lesser sentences. You know he didn't waste much of the court or jury's time. ;)

Back when I smoked my rule was "Never carry more than you can eat quickly."

[NM_hemilover]

60. Dude,

I can agree with you that the war on drugs is not only ineffective, but does a tremendous amount more harm than good, much like your knowledge of "the pigs".......... you're trying too hard.

The "war on drugs" has severe policy problems, and obvious unfair penalties for possession of weed. That being said, "don't be stupid", doesn't seem to be enough for some people, so burn one in plain sight with a bunch of prepackaged baggies of dope and you can explain how unfair it is to your cellmate. Pot is still against the law, it shouldn't be, but it is.



But, more importantly

You just sound like you would be no fun at all to get high with.

[BolivarianHero]

78. Got questioned by a cop while having a quarter on me a few years ago...

Probably would have been given a CAD$300 fine and forced to dump the chronic had I been search. Still think that's way too harsh.

[rhett o rick]

89. No one is arguing about whether or not he broke the law. The sentencing was obscene.

Of course it wouldnt bother a republican, they have no empathy. Do you?

[Jokinomx]

44. Totally B.S.... and the murderer of Harvey Milk got only 7 years...

There is something really messed up with our justice system.

[Grand Taurean]

73. Dan White, a former cop MURDERED a gay during the 1970's.

That's what happened.

[Jokinomx]

75. yep... Murder 7 years... Pot possession 34 years... n/t

[upi402]

45. and Obama lets Rove, Cheney, Bush et al run around crying "VICTIM"

:argh:

[SteppingRazor]

48. Not that this should have any weight in sentencing necessarily, but I still fault the story...

for not mentioning that the guy had at least two previous drug convictions, including one for "aggravated cocaine possession."


That said, this is a gross injustice. I just think that the writer of this story does himself a disservice by not providing all the facts, thereby making it seem as though there's something to hide.


On edit: Sorry, I should have provided a link. Here's a 1991 case involving the guy, which mentions one previous conviction:
http://tx.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%5CTX%5CPLS%5C1991%5C19910517_0040744.TX.htm/qx


Again, I'm not saying this necessarily matters. But the writer's leaving out what may be a salient point does his case no good.

[4_TN_TITANS]

52. This kind of enforcement is not economically sustainable.

[Incitatus]

80. One reason why so many states are in the red

Stuff like this is just fucking stupid.

[panzerfaust]

55. Proud to be a Texan

:puke:

Nonviolent 'crime', 35 years.

How long are Bush and Cheney going to get for at least a million dead, and many more lives destroyed?

[DemoTex]

57. My wife's cousin got busted in Tyler in about 1970.

He did some jail time for a lid of pot. With the felony conviction, he had a hard time finding or keeping work. A life of petty and stupid crime ensued. He did 10 years in Louisiana's infamous Angola prison for a drunken armed robbery of a convenience store. We always thought he never got back on his feet after that arrest as a teen in Tyler.

The Tyler Rose .. right. Way more thorns in that neck-neck-of-the-woods.

[RagAss]

61. And Bush gets a Library.

[B Calm]

62. How much does it cost the tax payers to lock him up for 35 years?

[B Calm]

82. As tax payers we should have a say in this type of sentencing!

[20score]

63. In a just and sane world the DA and the judge, plus the sickos that wrote

Those insane punishments would me the ones in prison.

[fascisthunter]

66. dumb

and I'm not talking about the person charged.

[tabasco]

68. Irrational government. Total injustice.

LEGALIZE NOW.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

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[Crabby Appleton]

74. K&R

[Name removed]

77. Deleted message

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[vadawg]

79. -1000 way to go

[era veteran]

81. That is bullshit

It's been 37 years since Grahm Nash wrote about Texas' stupid inhumane drug laws." Kids in Texas smoking grass ten, year sentence comes to pass, misdemeanor in Ann Arbor, ask the judges why" Texass has stupid Draconian laws, will nothing ever change? " There's not a rich man there" in prison. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZTc4xB268&feature=related

[Puzzler]

83. He'd probably have got away with a fine...

... or a suspended jail sentence in BC (if he was a first time offender).

[brettdale]

84. thats pretty long

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBFScGicAp4

[Scurrilous]

90. What a farce. n/t