‘The Travesty of It All’: Court Upholds Mississippi Man’s Life Sentence for 1.5 Ounce of Marijuana Possession, and His Case Is Not An Anomaly
A Mississippi man will spend life in prison for possessing an ounce-and-a-half of marijuana because of the state’s strict sentencing law. Allen Russell, 38, was sentenced to life without parole in 2019, after being found guilty of having 1.54 ounces of marijuana. The simple possession charge would typically lead to a three-year sentence. However, prosecutors…