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InvisibleveggieM

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX]
    #8627566 - 07/12/08 11:31 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned
July 13, 2008 - HeraldBanner.com

An appeals court has overturned the conviction and lengthy prison sentence given to a Greenville man, whom authorities said sold crack cocaine and ran prostitution and gambling operations from a residence near a local school.

But the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas did more than just throw out the 85-year sentence for drug possession a Hunt County jury handed down after convicting Allen Lane Whittaker and order a new trial in the case.

In an opinion issued Thursday, the panel ordered Whittaker’s acquittal, claiming the evidence used to convict him was insufficient and the sentence was improperly enhanced.

The office of Hunt County District Attorney F. Duncan Thomas released a statement, indicating there has been no decision made so far regarding whether to seek the opinion of a higher court.

“We certainly agreed with the trial jury’s verdict and disagree with the Court of Appeals,” Thomas said. “We just received the Appellate Court’s decision and intend to consider our options after studying that decision further.”

Whittaker was found guilty in the 196th District Court in April 2007 of possession of between one and four grams of cocaine in a Drug Free Zone. The next day the same jury sentenced Whittaker to 85 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.

During a formal sentencing hearing three days later, 196th District Court Judge Joe Leonard stacked Whittaker’s sentence on top of a parole violation, meaning Whittaker would not even begin serving the sentence for drug possession until his parole is up in 2030.

Former Assistant District Attorney Carol Day Moss handled the prosecution of the case, based on an investigation by Greenville Police Department Narcotics Officer Wesley Russell. Both won civic awards for their actions in putting Whittaker behind bars.

“There was a high amount of illegal gambling, prostitution and drug transactions going on at that location,” Russell said following Whittaker’s sentencing of the home in the 5000 block of Pickett Street, which was within 1,000 feet of the L. P. Waters Early Childhood Education Center.

The residence had been under investigation by the police department for several months prior to Whittaker’s arrest on July 13, 2006. At the time, Whittaker was already on parole for drug-related offenses committed in Greenville. The residence had no utilities and was used mainly for the distribution of crack cocaine, police officials said.

Neighbors in the surrounding area also helped bring the house to the attention of patrol officers, who initiated numerous traffic stops which resulted in arrests and the recovery of crack cocaine.

The charge Whittaker was facing is typically a third-degree felony, punishable by a maximum sentence upon conviction of from two to 10 years in prison. The potential punishment was enhanced to that of a first-degree felony — or up to life in prison — due to Whittaker’s previous convictions and the fact the offense was in a Drug Free Zone.

However, on appeal, Whittaker’s attorney argued that at the time of the raid on the residence, Whittaker was not present, but was asleep at his mother’s house next door. The cocaine itself was found hidden between two slats of a privacy fence which was easily accessible to the public, the appeals court ruled, meaning that Whittaker was not in proximity to the cocaine and it was not accessible to him at the time.

There was evidence presented at trial that Whittaker had access to and may have resided in the house, raising suspicion that he knew about the cocaine in the back yard.

“However, proof amounting only to strong suspicion or mere probability will not suffice to show appellant had knowledge and control over the cocaine appellant was charged with possessing,” the appeals court ruled in its opinion. “Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and render a judgment of acquittal.”

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Invisiblekiowa27
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Registered: 01/30/08
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Loc: Midwest
Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: veggie]
    #8628014 - 07/13/08 02:27 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

85 years for POSSESSION.. oh and he wasn't actually found IN possession of anything.. god bless america  :rolleyes:


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Evil is wasted on the wicked. Only the virtuous can truly plumb its depths, because only they have the necessary strength of conviction.

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OfflineSeussA
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: kiowa27]
    #8628582 - 07/13/08 09:02 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

> 85 years for POSSESSION..

Nope, 107 years for possession when he wasn't actually in possession of anything.  (The sentence didn't start counting until 2030, so add an extra 22 years.)


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Just another spore in the wind.

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InvisibleveggieM

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: Seuss]
    #8628721 - 07/13/08 09:50 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

And people get 20 years for murder.

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InvisibleSuperD
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: veggie]
    #8628788 - 07/13/08 10:19 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

Nothing short of disgusting.


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:super:D
Manoa said:
I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. :lol:

Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), :pm: me if you have any for trade

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OfflinePsilocybinMike
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: SuperD]
    #8628995 - 07/13/08 11:28 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

being black + possessing crack cocaine = jail time


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baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVZBTAYm3rw

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OfflineBCurt420
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: PsilocybinMike]
    #8629047 - 07/13/08 11:45 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

thats crazy, there are over 20 cases in dallas county where convicted murderers got 15yrs probation and seen no jail time. but this dude get basicly life. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!


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:headbanger:MUSIC=LIFE:headbanger:

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InvisibleCognitive_Shift
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: BCurt420]
    #8629161 - 07/13/08 12:20 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

ahhh gotta love those old ignorant white people at the top of the political food chain...


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L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs

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InvisibleJohnAdams
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Registered: 07/13/08
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Loc: Anywhere but here
. [Re: Cognitive_Shift]
    #8630302 - 07/13/08 05:44 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

.

Edited by JohnAdams (03/18/09 01:33 PM)

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OfflineSeussA
Error: divide byzero


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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: JohnAdams]
    #8630578 - 07/13/08 06:39 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

> at that house that was REALLY close to a school

Good point- more propaganda...  "Oh no!  Save teh Children!  Save teh Children!"


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Just another spore in the wind.

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InvisibleJohnAdams
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. [Re: Seuss]
    #8630725 - 07/13/08 07:14 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

.

Edited by JohnAdams (03/18/09 01:33 PM)

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Offlinenicebloomers
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: JohnAdams]
    #8630858 - 07/13/08 07:42 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

i have a very long beef with a prohibition on substances.  when you make something illegal to posses, you are in essence messing with peoples personal freedom amongst other things.  with the "War on drugs" police are given more power and thus, limiting further our ever important civil liberties and rights until they find some other excuse to limit our rights and freedoms more until we have none left.  i could go on and on forever about this.  and in many cases, i have haha.  plain and simple america, our treasury is empty, our jails are full from.... the war on drugs.  and still, drug posession and trafficking rates do not decrease.  we the taxpayer pay tremendous amounts of money that goes to the prosecution of drug dealers, and the other efforts of law enforcement to rid the world of "dangerous substances" you will never ever win a war by making something illegal because people will just possess and sell it more because they can jack up the price.  and what worse, people kill each other over it.  the laws do far more harm than good. 4 grams of crack= 85 yrs?  its time to stand up and say FUCK OFF to the DEA and FUCK OFF to people who support them.  whos comin with me man!

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OfflineAlan RockefellerM
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: JohnAdams]
    #8630898 - 07/13/08 07:48 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

Quote:

Come on man, are you serious? Children are our future and I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't want my kids going to school right next to a crack/whore house.




That is not a good enough reason to put the people in a cage.

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Offlinecynick420
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
    #8635145 - 07/14/08 08:23 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

my moms friend has 15 years for 99 plants...his cellmate has ten for rape...fucked up world.


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Edited by cynick420 (07/14/08 08:24 PM)

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Offlinenicebloomers
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: cynick420]
    #8635507 - 07/14/08 09:40 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

yes something needs to be done about this.  it has gotten out of hand.  rediculous the way shit is

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Invisibleekko
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Registered: 07/14/08
Posts: 19
Loc: Florida
Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: nicebloomers]
    #8636071 - 07/15/08 12:42 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

Who is going to do do anything about it?

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OfflineSeussA
Error: divide byzero


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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: JohnAdams]
    #8636365 - 07/15/08 04:06 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

> Come on man, are you serious? Children are our future and I don't know about you, but I sure as hell wouldn't want my kids going to school right next to a crack/whore house.

Very serious.  "Close" not next door.  Close can be up to a mile or more away as defined by some drug laws.  In most urban areas, it is impossible to find a residence that is not near a school or park, as defined by drug laws.  These types of stories are designed to scare parents by creating an apparent threat to their children, hence my "Oh no, save teh children!" sarcasm.  Trying to motivate public opinion through fear is terrorism.  Not quite the same magnitude as a suicide bomber, but in the same ballpark.  You are being spoon fed fear to get you to support 'moral legislation'.


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Just another spore in the wind.

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OfflineCoaster
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Registered: 05/22/06
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: cynick420]
    #8636379 - 07/15/08 04:14 AM (15 years, 8 months ago)

Quote:

cynick420 said:
my moms friend has 15 years for 99 plants...his cellmate has ten for rape...fucked up world.




BLASPHEMY


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Offlinenicebloomers
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: Coaster]
    #8638583 - 07/15/08 03:55 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

well put Seuss very well put.  this type of propaganda like approach  by the powers that be i feel is very disturbing.  it is a way to get everyone to conform to the way they want us to act.  we are constantly being herded around like sheep everyday of our lives and yet, most of us do not realize it.    the war on drugs is in my opinion, just another way in which people in power try to take away our liberties and plot to enslave us further.  i know my views may sound a bit extreme but the drug war= totally unsuccessful to say the least.  so why is it still happening? because someone in high command has taken an interest in restricting peoples freedom.

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Offlinenicebloomers
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Re: Eighty five-year sentence for drug possession overturned [TX] [Re: nicebloomers]
    #8638593 - 07/15/08 03:57 PM (15 years, 8 months ago)

and btw ekko, people can do shit about it they just need to come together and decide to end the war.  but nothing will happen unless people get off there asses and do something about it.  so to answer your question, anyone who is motivated to change the world for the better would.

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