By Mission Green, an initiative of the Weldon Project, a judicial reform advocacy group, announced Thursday that it has filed a lenient petition for Parker Coleman, who is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for distributing marijuana. continues Mission Green’s campaign to secure the release of men and women incarcerated for marijuana crimes, and President Joseph Biden recently announced that he would pardon all federal convictions for simple marijuana possession. followed by.
The amnesty application is part of the efforts of Mission Green, an initiative of the Weldon Project working to free cannabis inmates from prison. The Weldon Project is headed by He Weldon Angelos. Weldon Angelos was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison on a non-violent marijuana conviction after various groups of lawmakers, legal scholars, athletes and entertainers campaigned for his freedom. I spent 13 years.
“Since my release from prison, I have dedicated my life to securing the release of other individuals imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses,” Angelos said in a statement. Coleman’s case is a perfect example: he shouldn’t spend another day in prison for an act that is no longer criminalized in much of the country.
Mission Green, in partnership with the Academy of Justice, is a generous petition urging Biden to carry out the pledge he made during his campaign to free those convicted of non-violent marijuana crimes. are submitting. The submission to Coleman is part of the Cannabis Clemency Initiative, a new campaign that seeks to help those in prison for marijuana convictions, starting with those in federal prisons. Promote collaboration between criminal justice scholars and reform advocates to achieve its ambitious goals.
Legal scholar drafts Clemency petition
Coleman’s generous petition was drafted by Eric Luna, Amelia D. Lewis professor of constitutional and criminal law and founder of the Academy for Justice, a criminal justice reform program within Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law. it was done. In the petition, Luna said commuting Coleman’s sentence would be “a powerful, concrete step that affirms the president’s commitment to ending federal incarceration for nonviolent marijuana crimes.” I wrote deaf.
“Young African-American Parker Coleman is currently serving a 60-year sentence, effectively life imprisonment for people of color, for non-violent marijuana distribution, an act permitted under state law across the country. Serving federal prison time, openly pursued as a business by the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry,” Luna wrote. “Mr. Coleman’s ruling is not only a troubling example of racial and class disparities in federal drug enforcement, but the terms imposed in related lawsuits and compared to those imposed in state courts today. and excessive.”
In 2014, Coleman was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for marijuana trafficking and money laundering, plus an additional 30 years for nonviolent firearms crimes. The lenient petition argued that the sentence was excessive in an era of widespread reform of cannabis policy, and Coleman rehabilitated himself and, while in prison, offered several options to improve his life. It states that action has been taken.
“His effective life sentence is also inconsistent with recent legal and policy reforms, a major shift in public opinion, and moves away from imprisoning people like Coleman for non-violent drug offenses and non-punishment. approach to marijuana,” the petition reads. “Despite his unjust sentence, Mr. Coleman has worked hard in rehabilitation and self-improvement. makes them ideal candidates for amnesty relief from excessive and unjust sentences.
Luna called President Biden’s recent pardon for federal crimes for simple marijuana possession a “historic event in criminal justice reform and an important first step in correcting the long-standing injustice of a nationwide drug ban.” However, he added that “additional work is needed, particularly the release of those imprisoned for non-violent marijuana-related crimes at the federal level, including Parker Coleman.” .
By granting a pardon in this case, Luna said, “the president will further demonstrate his commitment to righting injustice and his belief that America truly is a country of second chances.”
Clemency Petition Supported by Glasshouse Brands
The leniency petition is backed by Glass House Brands, a vertically integrated cannabis company in California, and its chairman and CEO, Kyle Kazan, who has worked to secure Coleman’s release for more than a year. . A former police officer and Mission Green board member, Kazan personally backs Coleman’s generous bid by ensuring mentorship, meaningful employment and housing after his release.
In an official statement, Kazan said: Prisoners like Parker Coleman are jarring. ”
“It is my moral obligation to dedicate my time and resources to correcting the ridiculous disharmony that exists today in the twilight of marijuana prohibition.” he added.
“Parker is a cannabis prisoner,” said Graham Farrar, president of the Glasshouse.
“It’s crazy that he’s locked up in a cage for a 60-year sentence on a non-violent cannabis charge,” Farrar wrote in an email. high times.
“The work of Weldon Angelos and Eric Luna is amazing. Glashouse and Kyle are proud to be a part of it,” he added. Parker and other 2,700 other federal nonviolent marijuana prisoners in jail at cannabis factories are an important voice in the fight for cannabis tolerance.It is time to end the war on cannabis and free our fellow Americans. rice field.”
