A Mississippi man will continue to serve a life sentence for pot bust after he has held court for a long time.
Alan Russell’s life sentence was upheld by a state appeals court on Tuesday because of the status of “habitual offender” from previous run-ins with the law.
State law allows for life imprisonment without parole if a person has spent a year in prison on two separate felony counts, one of which must be a violent crime, according to Associated Press / Report for America
.
When arrested in 2017, police seized five bags from Russell and confirmed that two of the bags contained 1.5 ounces of marijuana.
Under state law, possession of between 1.05 to 8.8 ounces of marijuana, a sentence of up to three years, a fine of $ 3,000, or both, the AP said
Russell spent more than eight years in prison on two domestic burglary charges and another two years in Klink after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm, according to Mississippi Court of Appeals The ruling.
Several judges of the court disbanded with the majority opinion.
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