Lee Carroll Brooker is a disabled American army veteran from Cottonwood, Alabama, who was sentenced at age 75 to life in prison without parole after being convicted of marijuana possession in 2014.[clarification needed]
Life sentence
editIn 2011, Brooker was arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana after police visiting his home in Cottonwood for unrelated reasons noticed he was growing marijuana behind his house.[1] In October 2014, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole by a judge in Houston County. He was sentenced under Alabama's mandatory minimum laws, which dictate that someone caught possessing more than 2.2 pounds of a drug, and who had been convicted of certain felonies before that, must be sentenced to life in prison without parole. More than 30 years prior to being convicted of marijuana possession, Brooker had been convicted of armed robbery in Florida for holding up multiple liquor stores.[1] The 34 plants weighed a total of 2.85 pounds, although his lawyer argued that the usable amount was less than the 2.2 pound threshold.[1] His son, Darren Lee Brooker, was found guilty of trafficking marijuana in 2013.[2]
Reaction and aftermath
editOn September 11, 2015, the Alabama Supreme Court denied Brooker's request for a review of his sentence. Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, although he concurred with the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in this case, later said that Brooker's life sentence was "excessive and unjustified".[3] Brooker – represented by Bryan Stevenson – appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, which rejected Brooker's appeal on April 18, 2016, a decision that let stand the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling.[1][4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Walters, Joanna (15 April 2016). "Supreme court considers taking case of man given life in prison for growing pot". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Elofson, Matt (3 October 2014). "Cottonwood man, 75, gets life without parole". Dothan Eagle. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Faulk, Kent (15 April 2016). "Should a 76-year-old serve life for marijuana? Supreme Court considers review of Alabama man's sentence". AL.com. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ Hananel, Sam (18 April 2016). "High Court Rejects Appeal Over Stiff Marijuana Sentence". ABC News. Retrieved 27 April 2016.