Instead, these outdated laws put people behind bars for incredibly long periods of time regardless of their circumstances. (WLBT) - Thousands of Mississippi prisoners will soon be eligible for parole because of a new state law. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Inaction on habitual laws mean that individuals like Tameka Drummer, who is serving a habitual life sentence for marijuana possession, and Paul Houser, who is serving a 60-year habitual sentence for a drug conviction, remain indefensibly behind bars. I trust my Parole Board appointees to make wise decisions. Nearly 80% of those people are 40 or older, and 27% of them are 55 or older. The hopeful news for criminal-justice reforms came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, dealt a blow to some advocates with. Now is the time to redeem ourselves, and now is the time for our leaders to act. Parole - MS Those previously sentenced based on "habitual offenders" guidelines can be eligible for parole, retroactively benefiting from the law's change. Maybe not in this lifetime Ill ever be able to sit in a boat and fish with him again, or just actually sit at the kitchen table and have a home-cooked meal with him., Judkins said Mississippis habitual-offenders laws contribute to making the state one of the nations highest in incarceration. Without their combined efforts, the bill would not have become law.. You got my 40? Ronnie Hewitt asked Jermaine Mitchell, who was then 29 years old, on the phone on Aug. 1, 2009. Nine hundred and six people received 20 or more years in prison, There are over 175 people serving 20+ year little. The judge who presided over her drug charge said the enhanced sentencing applied to Brown even though she was guilty as an accessory, because state law makes an accomplice guilty as principal. There is plenty of strong weed out there, but some, If you are consuming cannabis and THC, it is essen, CBD and THC are both phytocannabinoids that come f, incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. But, at the end of the day, I believe it meets my standard for a measured approach, & with proper implementation, it can be a net positive for Mississippi.. The first step would be to draft new legislation to allow habitual offenders the opportunity for parole. New Mississippi Parole Law | The Coon Law Firm, PLLC Three of the major changes are as follows: . In fact, two-thirds of Mississippi voters agree, according to a 2018 survey conducted for FWD.us., and believe habitual sentences shouldnt be applied to people whose current convictions are for non-violent crimes. Bain, who spoke to the Mississippi Free Press on Monday, Jan. 31, said the bill provides a basis for optimism to individuals condemned as repeat offenders. REGULATE HABITUAL OFFENDERS; TO REMOVE RESTRICTIONS FOR REDUCTION OF PAROLE; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING CHANGES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. Under Mississippi's habitual-offenders law, Jermaine Mitchell will stay in prison until 2129 for selling $40 crack cocaine in 2009. When Williams came back, joined Hollins in the vehicle and sat on the passengers side, the law-enforcement officers immediately arrested both men. S.B. The absurdity of gov banning cigarettes but legalizing pot, The good, bad and the ugly in Albany budget sausage-making, Albany lawmakers hash out ways to deal with NYCs illegal weed shops as part of $227B state budget. SB2795 excludes habitual offenders from earned parole. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Pickett says the law change will make around 4,000 offenders eligible for parole. Through our philanthropic efforts, The Botanical Empress is helping shine a spotlight on individuals unjustly incarcerated for non-violent cannabis-related offenses. Connect with your community by subscribing today. S.B. 2013 Mississippi Code Title 99 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Chapter 19 - JUDGMENT, SENTENCE, AND EXECUTION SENTENCING OF HABITUAL CRIMINALS 99-19-81 - Sentencing of habitual criminals to maximum term of imprisonment Universal Citation: MS Code 99-19-81 (2013) These are laws that require harsher sentencing for perceived 'repeated offenders'. 3 major changes to Mississippi's parole laws - Eichelberger Law Firm, PLLC More: Parole, habitual offenders: Bills designed to lower Mississippi prison population His sentence was so high because he had previous felony arrests on drug charges one in 2002, and. And no one gets out JUST because they are older. This story has been shared 223,578 times. Only one of the bills made it past the committee levelBains House Bill 981. Guest did not respond to the Mississippi Free Press email on Monday, Jan. 31, to his campaign office for comments nor another on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Since then, Covid-19 has not been eradicated just yet. Previously the state reporter at the Jackson Free Press, he drove national headlines and conversations with award-winning reporting about segregation academies. Bill SB2795 is a small nudge in the right direction. Explaining his 2020 veto at the time, the governor said he feared it would allow violent offenders to get an early release. Essentially, the federal government gave financial incentives for states to implement stricter sentencing requirements around Three-strikes, youre out, and to limit parole eligibility, Latino told the Mississippi Free Press today. to: judiciary b. by: representative clark. The Mississippi Free Press is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) focused on telling stories that center all Mississippians. Drummer'ssentence started when her little boy was only 4years old; hes now 16. There is no parole. A lack of a re-entry plan is another common limiting factor according to board members who say offenders often dont have anywhere to go if released. Why Are So Many Cannabis Offenders Still In Jail? If one of those felonies was violent, however, the big law ensures the person will be sentenced to life without parole. The result: Based on the habitual offender law in Mississippi, the Rankin County district court sentenced Hollins to 60 years in prison without the possibility of parole after trial in 2010 at age 35, the Mississippi Appeals Court explained in its 2012 opinion on the case. HB 234 (As Introduced) - 2021 Regular Session Correction: An earlier version of this story said that a FWD.us study found that Mississippi will save at least $584 million with a low parole grant rate or as much as $988 million a year with a moderate parole grant rate' by adopting the parole eligibility reform. Tate Reeves this afternoon signed a separate criminal justice bill, Senate Bill 2795, making early release possible for thousands of non-habitual offenders. A judge sentenced her to, life in prison without the possibility of parole for felony marijuana possession. Our prisons have become human warehouses. (a) Habitual offenders. He gets 60 years, and Ill be 90 years old. Sadly, the bills refusal to include habitual offenders in earned parole is a huge setback. Thats a life that was thrown away, a family that has been torn apart, she said. These extreme sentences tear families apart with little to no hope of reunification. This contributes to overcrowding. It is in the best interest of all of us that every state with habitual offender laws begins to take the steps to remove them. He estimated that more than one in 10 prison inmates in Mississippi are there with enhanced sentences as habitual offenders., And some of those are doing life for minor drug offenses, he added. 99-19-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows: 99-19-81. He crisscrossed various editorial positions beginning in 2010 before moving to the United States with his family in 2019. List of Mississippi's habitual offenders serving life for nonviolent crime Jimmie E. Gates Mississippi Clarion Ledger 0:00 0:38 The youngest is 35 and the oldest is 71, but both are serving. 2021 regular session. While this would be a major improvement to the current legislation, the true end goal MS should have is the removal of habitual offender laws entirely. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. That makes no sense; that makes no sense to me.. By removing these habitual offender laws, Mississippi can begin to resolve its imprisonment issues. I just pray that something changes.. And it allows you some accountability for everybody, the lawmaker added. Reducing Harsh Sentencing Goal of House Bill to Limit Maximum Boyd then expected to face seven years imprisonment for that crime. This is the kind of reform that will take four or five years for us to see the real benefits of.

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