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10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence

By TChris, Section Court Decisions
Posted on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:34:59 AM EST
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by TChris

The conservative judge who imposed the mandatory sentence thought it was excessive. Twenty-nine former judges and prosecutors agreed, joining a brief that asked the Tenth Circuit to reverse the sentence. Yesterday the court ruled:

A federal appeals court has upheld a 55-year prison term imposed on a Utah man with no criminal record who was convicted in 2003 of selling several hundred dollars worth of marijuana on three occasions.

Half a century for selling a few hundred dollars worth of weed, just because he had a gun hidden on his person? Weldon Angelos is the poster casualty of the failed war on drugs. (TalkLeft background on his case is here and here.)

The Tenth Circuit articulated many reasons for believing Angelos’ lengthy sentence reflected the “will of Congress,” including facts that the government never had to prove to a jury. As noted by sentencing expert Douglas Berman:

To my knowledge, the allegations that Angelos was a tax cheat or possessed stolen guns or sold large quantities of marijuana have never been proven to a jury. But, of course, that would only matter in some alternative universe in which lower federal courts actually take the principles of Blakely seriously. In the Tenth Circuit, apparently a defendant's reputation, and not simply the crimes of conviction, are central to an analysis of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments.

In Prison Nation, 55 years for a first offense marijuana seller supposedly makes the rest of us safer from drug criminals. Never mind that we have to pay to house Angelos for what might be the rest of his life. Never mind that there are plenty of dealers willing to take Angelos’ place in the drug distribution chain. Never mind that no jury decided that Angelos ever committed the other offenses that helped drive his sentence. All that matters in Prison Nation is the sentence: the longer, the better.

A young man with no record goes to prison for 55 years for selling pot. Do you feel safe now?

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    • 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence | 14 comments (14 topical)
    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#1)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 08:42:43 AM EST
    A young man with no record goes to prison for 55 years for selling pot. Do you feel safe now? I feel so warm and fuzzy and cuddly and safe now that I can BARELY CONTAIN MYSELF. :-/ And he'll serve that time in a "correctional" institution?? Not too confident in their ability, to "correct", I guess...

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#2)
    by wishful on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 08:50:06 AM EST
    We are such a confused nation. AG Gonzales says that the "will of Congress" is meaningless if the president says so, notwithstanding Constitutional prohibitions. Tenth Circuit Judges, devining the important "will of Congress" and claiming to uphold it*, directly defy our Constitution by depriving one of us our freedom without charges or an opportunity to defend ourself. The only apparent consistency here is that the Constitution means exactly what government authorities say it means. Pathetic. And we are exporting this form of government at the business end of the world's most destructive weapons, in the name of spreading freedom and democracy??? *Incidently, the three strikes and other recidivist laws were, for one puropse among others, to keep repeat violent felons off the streets whose previous incarcerations failed repeatedly to rehabilitate them. I guess that was to uphold the pretense that we were actually trying to not only punish, make the punishment fit the crime, but also to provide an opportunity to release a rehabilitated citizen back on to the streets. I guess we no longer even hold up the pretense of being a civilized society, and just throw away the key on a first offense--preventive incarceration. I suppose it is more judicially economical at least. We have been SO sold out.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 10:10:03 AM EST
    I geuss he should've raped someone, or ruined the fincancial lives of thousands of Americans like a corrupt executive, or bribed congressmen, he'd have been out in a fraction of that. What a f*cked up, nonsensical, cruel and unusual nation ours can be when it wants to. Why does it EVER want to? is the real question.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#4)
    by libdevil on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 11:03:05 AM EST
    No kidding, Dadler. Jack Abramoff is going to get what, 5-10 years for corrupting two wings of the federal government and stealing millions of dollars? This guy gets 55 years for selling some pot. You know what message this sends to drug dealers? It's not "don't sell drugs." It's not "don't sell drugs while carrying a gun." It's "don't let them take you alive." To the extent that drug dealers follow the news (which I suspect is limited), this is just going to escalate violence against the police. Why not fight if you're going to get what ammounts to a life sentence anyway?

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 11:59:59 AM EST
    Jack Abramoff will most likely get 3 to 5 years, once his 5k cooperation motion is filed.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#6)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 12:15:13 PM EST
    most likely get 3 to 5 years And how much of that will be in prison?

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 12:18:12 PM EST
    I wonder what the average murder sentence is, excluding death penalty cases ... I'm guessing it's under ten years. With the upcoming 30 years of the Roberts overdog court, I'm guessing we won't be seeing a lot less arbitrary and capricious court behaviors. - stan

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#8)
    by Dadler on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 12:23:31 PM EST
    Edge, It won't be enough, even if he has to do all five bucks. And you know what crime I miss hearing about? Racekteering. You just don't hear it like you used to. It sounds so healthy and aerobic. Like the balls should come in a can and say Wilson on them. Ang peg-legged villians, you don't see them either. Or people drowning in quicksand. Quicksand was big when I was a kid. Now? No quicksand. And all of this from an unfair marijuana sentence. That stuff DOES work. Whew.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#9)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 12:27:53 PM EST
    Like the balls should come in a can and say Wilson on them. ahem... Titleist ;-) Reefer Madness has well and truly returned.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#10)
    by Dadler on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 12:33:03 PM EST
    Titleist is more apt, I agree. I'm a Pro V1 man myself.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#11)
    by Rick B on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 01:26:41 PM EST
    If it were just drugs the sentence would be very much excessive. But selling drugs while possessing a firearm makes that a lot less clear. That demands a sharply longer sentence. If we can't simply outlaw firearms, then the next best choice is to make possession of a firearm while committing a felony into a real horror show of a sentence. Still, three felonies without a single prior conviction does not seem to me to meet the three strikes law.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 02:30:23 PM EST
    Edger: The Federal system isn't very flexible. If he gets 5 years, he'll have to do 85% of that inside (51 months) . He'll do the last six months in a halfway house.

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#13)
    by Edger on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 02:40:10 PM EST
    Who's done more harm to society? Weldon Angelos or Abramoff? Too bad the sentences aren't proportional to the damage. Maybe they could trade. (/sarcasm)

    Re: 10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence (none / 0) (#14)
    by Sailor on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 05:22:22 PM EST
    If you are comparing sentences then you should also ask what facility do they each serve time in? Is it club fed for abramoff and a hell hole for Angelos?

    10th Circuit Affirms Angelos' 55 Year Sentence | 14 comments (14 topical)