Weldon Angelos with his family way back when…
The Weldon Angelos case was a case involving mandatory minimum sentences presented to the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
Weldon Angelos, the son of a Greek immigrant and founder of a rap record company, was accused of selling marijuana to a police informant [known as] “Snoop Dogg” on several occasions worth a total of $350; the witness stated that Angelos had a firearm strapped to his body, but no photographs or evidence existed other than his testimony, and Angelos never used or brandished his gun.
However, section 924(c) of the federal code provides for mandatory sentences for dealers who carry firearms during their drug transactions; meaning Angelos, who had no prior criminal record, was sentenced in November 2004 to a minimum of 55 years to 63 years in prison.
The judge in the case, Paul Cassell (of the U.S. Court for the District of Utah) who sentenced Angelos to 55 years, said that due to mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, he had no choice but to impose it. Cassell urged President Bush to commute the sentence, calling it “unjust, cruel, and irrational”, noting the sentence is much more than the minimum for hijacking, kidnapping, or rape. On appeal the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Angelos’ petition.
Weldon Angelos had a projected release date of November 18, 2051 [That is Two Thousand Fifty-One]. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
On April 29, 2009, a federal judge denied a request by Angelos for a new trial by rejecting a claim that his trial attorney mishandled plea negotiations with the federal prosecutor, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled that attorney Jerome Mooney had provided Angelos with “competent and thorough” legal help. This is likely one of the last appeals Angelos can launch, thus making it increasingly likely his sentence is final.
The Constitution Project has written a letter, signed by 113 people, to President Barack Obama urging him to commute Angelos’ sentence.
In a radio program the prosecutor Robert Lund justified his decision to charge Angelos with a felony carrying a minimum sentence of 55 years for his first marijuana offense on the following grounds:
● Weldon Angelos was suspected of gang involvement.
● Weldon Angelos had purchased a Lexus car for $30,000.
● Weldon Angelos had not accepted a 15 year plea bargain.
● Weldon Angelos’ girlfriend’s house held a duffel bag with ‘cannabis shakings.’, and the duffel bag would be large enough for two people to crawl into.
The same prosecutor later worked to secure Weldon’s release from prison.
The case is an example of what is technically known as 924(c) stacking. In many such cases the jury decides a gun may have been present beyond an acceptable probability of reasonable doubt appropriate for a commensurate sentence, rather than a sentence commensurate with a violent crime. For example in a similar case involving defendant Michael Prikakis, Prikakis, like Angelos, was induced by a paid informant to make three drug sales. It was asserted that a gun was present, this was denied by Prikakis, and the jury decided a gun was present beyond reasonable doubt. It is known in that case that the judge’s instructions to the jury did not apprise them to use a standard of reasonable doubt appropriate for a stacked sentence. The judge Vinson later wrote that the jury would have been shocked to learn of the stacked sentence: “I think they would rise up in indignation, as anybody else would, if they know about how this law is being applied and construed in circumstances such as this, which is essentially one underlying offense.” Judge Vinson also noted that in such cases the prosecutor can choose the length of the sentence by choosing what number of controlled buys to solicit prior to the arrest of the defendant. Articles also note that prosecutors can solicit controlled buys from an essentially innocent defendant known to carry a gun, thereby inducing a previously innocent person to commit transactions leading to life imprisonment. Proponents argue that 924(c) stacking effectively punishes recidivist offenders and removes them from society. On the other hand, J. Shulhofer wrote that although 924(c) stacking was intended to be applied to repeat offenders, in practice prosecutors actually apply it “on first offenders in borderline situations who may have plausible defenses and are more likely to insist upon trial.”
On May 31st, 2016, after serving 13 years in prison, Angelos was released from prison. The reasons for the court’s reduction of Angelos’ sentence remained unclear, as the records had been sealed. According to the Daily Mail, a (paywalled) Washington Post article quotes Angelos’ attorney explaining “After three and half years of inaction on Weldon’s clemency petition, he is free because of the fair and good action of a prosecutor. He returns to citizenship because of the actions of one individual.” The Daily Mail also says it was the prosecutor in Salt Lake City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weldon_Angelos_case
President Obama: Commutation for Weldon Angelos – 55 years for marijuana
My brother Weldon Angelos, who was on his way to becoming a successful musician–writing and producing songs with artists such as Snoop Dogg and other acclaimed musicians–has been in federal prison for over 12 years. He faces 43 more years. All because he sold small amounts of marijuana and possessed – only possessed, didn’t use – a gun at the same time! Even the judge who sentenced Weldon disagreed with the mandatory sentence of 55 years.
The father of two young boys and a daughter, Weldon had never before been in trouble with the law. He was convicted when he was 24 years old of selling small amounts of marijuana to a confidential informant three times. The informant, who was a childhood acquaintance of Weldon, testified that a gun was present (never brandished or used) during two of the pot deals, which were friendly encounters in a store parking lot.
When the police officers presented a warrant for Weldon’s arrest, he consented to a search of his home, where officers found some marijuana and three guns, one in a locked brief case and the other two in a locked safe.
The conservative federal judge Paul Cassell, appointed by President George W. Bush, sentenced Weldon to one day in prison on the marijuana charges. But, to the judge’s dismay, he had to sentence Weldon to 55 years in prison because Weldon possessed a gun during a drug offense, which was mandatory under federal law, even though Weldon had never before been convicted of a crime.
Judge Cassell called the sentence “cruel, unjust, and even irrational,” and “one of those rare cases where the system has malfunctioned.” Members of Congress have also publicly decried the injustice of Weldon’s sentence, including Senators Rand Paul (R- Ky.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Ut.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), and over 100 former federal prosecutors and judges joined together to challenge Weldon’s outrageous sentence.
Judge Cassell highlighted that Weldon’s sentence is far longer than the sentences received for “child rape (11 years),” “second-degree murder (14 years),” and even “aircraft hijacking (24 years).” Had Weldon been prosecuted in state court, the judge noted, Weldon would have served about 2 years in prison.
In 2004, Judge Cassell called upon the President to commute Weldon’s unjust sentence. Since then, Senators Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch of Utah, and dozens of prominent celebrities, activists, book authors, legal scholars, business leaders (including Koch Industries), and former elected and appointed government officials have joined Judge Cassell in calling on President Obama to release Weldon from prison. But that hasn’t happened yet. After 12 years, Weldon is still in prison. It breaks my heart. My father feared he would die without ever seeing Weldon free from prison. And on January 4, 2015, that’s exactly what happened. Our father died without seeing his son free from behind bars.
The Constitution provides the President with the power of commutation to reach a humane, merciful, just result.
By Lisa Angelos
https://www.change.org/p/president-obama-commutation-for-weldon-angelos-55-years-for-marijuana