Behind Bars: An Update

12Dec07

I found a very interesting article on CNN.com, “Judges Can Slash Crack Sentences”. But before you view the article (linked at bottom of page), read below:

A few weeks ago, my dad posted on his blog about his cousin Lonnie’s imprisonment. He was convicted under federal law for conspiracy to traffic crack cocaine, and it was his first offence. In his post, Behind Bars, my dad describes his visit to the Federal Prison in Talladega, Alabama to see Lonnie. It was very sobering, to say the least. The following are excerpts from some of my dad’s emails that provide context and background:

  

11/04/07  Background before meeting:

My first cousin, Lonnie, was convicted in 1992 at the age of 28 for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Lonnie was convicted under federal law which had mandatory sentencing guidelines at the time requiring a sentence of life without the possible of parole. Thus, in 1992 Lonnie began serving his life sentence. He is incarcerated in a federal prison in Alabama.

Here are a couple of facts: Lonnie was arrested as part of an 18 month federal drug sting operation. At least one of Lonnie’s employees (who also was convicted to a lesser sentence) testified against Lonnie. Lonnie pleaded innocent. Lonnie maintained his innocence. He was featured in a 1999 PBC Frontline documentary on the disparity in the federal sentencing guidelines. NOTE: I do not know enough about the guidelines to have an opinion on their suitability. I am generally in favor of tough sentences for drug distributors. My only point here is to provide the background for how Lonnie’s last 15 years have unfolded and set the context for the current prayer request. The important thing to remember is that Lonnie proclaimed his innocence throughout the trial and afterwards.

Part of the story is who the prosecutor was. The US attorney at that time for that federal district was [name omitted]. His office prosecuted the case. [He] is now a US Senator from Alabama. His office maintained that they would not re-open the case and that the prison recantation was likely not valid, as many such recantations are not deemed credible.

Now, fast forward to June of this year. I received a communication from a doctor in Mobile, Dr. [name omitted] Nelson. Apparently Dr. Nelson knew Lonnie in high school and in youth group. They lost touch over the years and in 2005 Dr. Nelson came across something which brought Lonnie back to mind. He looked into Lonnie’s situation and began writing and visiting him in prison. I now know from that June communication, that Lonnie has completely reversed his position and has admitted his guilt. He now says that he lied, thinking he could beat the charge. He maintained his innocence for years because as he summarized, “The first lie led to the many….” Finally, he says that he had a spiritual reawakening and has come clean. He now wants to serve Christ wherever he spends the rest of his life. But as you can imagine, he would love to be on the outside, serving Christ in some capacity. Lonnie has written [the US Senator who formerly prosecuted him] and others confessing his guilt and apologizing for misleading the court.

Now, through the leading of Dr. Nelson and Lonnie’s attorney, a petition/letter is being prepared for the US Pardon Attorney in DC seeking a commutation for Lonnie. As you probably know, a commutation is not a reversal of the conviction. It is tantamount to a change in the sentence to “time served.” Dr. Nelson has pulled together a prayer team and men from his church to advise/disciple Lonnie. He has received endorsements from Mobile area civic and church leaders. There was a meeting in late August which included the US Congressman from that district. [This Congressman] has added his name to the list of people asking for commutation. [The US Senator, formerly the prosecutor], while not explicitly asking for Lonnie’s commutation, has nevertheless said that he will not oppose it. That is a huge factor.

Dr. Nelson has secured a December 10th meeting in Washington, D. C. with the US Pardon Attorney to plead Lonnie’s cause. The Pardon Attorney has limited the meeting to him/her and four people of Dr. Nelson’s choosing. He has asked me to attend that meeting representing the family interests (Lonnie’s dad is living but does not think he would function well in the meeting emotionally). The four of us will be Dr. Nelson, an asst. pastor from [a baptist church in Alabama], Lonnie’s lawyer and me.

    

12/10/07  Update After meeting:

We did meet this morning with [a US Pardon Attorney]…. Dr. Nelson and Lonnie’s attorney had been told to expect nothing out of the meeting—no indications, hints, etc. We had no idea how long we would have in the meeting…. [The US Pardon Attorney] said he would meet as long as we wanted. We ended meeting about an hour.

Each of us talked and described our relationship and explained why we were there. We did not impugn the system at all, and in fact commended the courts and the penal system as necessary and serving very useful purposes. Our message was simply that Lonnie was guilty. He was sentenced to what almost everyone agrees was an unduly harsh penalty, given the non-violent and first-time offence. We were simply saying that given Lonnie’s extraordinary record as an inmate and the undeniable rehabilitation that has taken place in his life and the countless church and civic leaders waiting anxiously to help reintegrate Lonnie into society and finally the now on 15 years served, if anyone deserved a commutation it is Lonnie.

[The US Pardon Attorney] took careful time to explain the process and even offer some ideas to us on things to do and things which would not be good for the process. I believe that Dr. Nelson’s wife helped the cause tremendously by showing photos of Lonnie and of his two children (whom he has had no contact with since his conviction, at his ex-wife’s insistence).

….Thank you all for praying. Do continue. He said the process could take a year or so…. and the case [may] just [have] to run the usual course.

    

Some text and some names have been omitted from the above quote to maintain anonymity.

   

Now, given Lonnie’s situation, I find this article very interesting and hopeful:

CNN: Judges Can Slash Crack Sentences

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