Business
See other Business Articles
Title: He’ll Rot For Pot: 55 Years For Weed (Koch bros fight)
Source:
The Daily Beast
URL Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl ... face-of-the-koch-campaign.html
Published: Feb 8, 2015
Author: Tim Mak
Post Date: 2015-02-08 00:24:27 by Hondo68
Keywords: None
Views: 12556
Comments: 39
Weldon Angelos could have hijacked a plane and spent less time in jail. But due to mandatory sentencing laws, the father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail for selling pot – a term so long even the judge who gave it to him protested its injustice. A group backed by the Koch brothers agrees, and is now fighting to get him out of prison. Angelos is an extreme case: even though the crime was considered non-violent, Angelos carried a firearm during a series of marijuana sales to a Salt Lake City police informant – so federal mandatory minimums required that he be put in jail until he’s 80 years old. Judge Paul Cassell protested the sentence when he was forced to make it in 2004, a move he told The Daily Beast he considers “the most unjust, lengthy sentence that I had to hand down.” At the time of the trial, Cassell noted that Angelos’ sentence exceeded the minimum required for an individual convicted of airline hijacking, detonating a bomb intended to kill bystanders, and the exploitation of a child for pornography. Angelos is now 35 years old and has spent some 11 years behind bars. He has more than 40 years left to go. Even though his crime was non-violent, parole is not an option at the federal level. His only hope for relief from his sentence is an order by the president. “If we’re going to deprive someone of liberty, and deal with the high cost of incarceration, it better solve a problem. And in this case, it doesn’t solve any problem,” argued Mark Osler, Angelos’ lawyer, who filed a clemency petition on his behalf in 2012. This is where the Koch brothers come in. The case is being highlighted by Koch-backed group Generation Opportunity, which targets millenials, in a broader campaign to press for criminal justice reforms this year. They will kick off the campaign with a documentary highlighting Angelos’ predicament, premiering at Washington, D.C.’s Newseum next week. “[This year] offers a unique moment in history in which people of different backgrounds and political leanings are coming together to facilitate a substantive dialogue on how to fix [the criminal justice system],” said Evan Feinberg, the group’s president. “We can work towards a more just system that reflects the rule of law without overcriminalizing non-violent offenses.” The new campaign will target the overcriminalization of non-violent crime, mandatory minimum laws, and helping criminals who have served their sentences reintegrate into society. The demilitarization of police and the excesses of civil asset forfeiture will also be addressed. Generation Opportunity worked with Families Against Mandatory Minimums on the documentary. FAMM founder Julie Stewart was in the room during Angelos’ first sentencing hearing. It was, she said, a severe example of a worrisome trend in the criminal justice system. In 1980, the average drug offense sentence was four years. Now, it’s more than nine years. “Is the defendant twice as bad? Or have we just gone crazy with sentencing? I would say the latter,” Stewart told the Beast. For the Angelos case, she added, “we all know 55 years is too much.” “A lot of people just thought that because of the amount of time my brother was [sentenced to], he had done something terrible, just because of the ignorance that is out there about mandatory sentencing,” said Lisa Angelos, Weldon’s older sister and advocate. “Before the case, I had no idea that this was possible in America.” The judge who was forced to hand down the sentence, Paul Cassell, said the Angelos case is an example of “clear injustice marring the public perception” of the federal courts – and victimizing taxpayers who have to pay to keep him locked up. “We have in place in our country today some very draconian penalties that distort our whole federal sentencing scheme,” Cassell said. “When people look at a case like Weldon Angelos and see that he got 55 years, and they see other cases where victims have gotten direct physical or psychological injuries and don’t see a similar [result] from the system, they start to wonder if the system is irrational.” When he was sent to prison, Angelos’ children were small, now both are in their teens. Without their father, the family fell on hard financial times. His children rarely talk to him, Weldon’s sister says, because they can’t afford a cell phone on which they can be reached. “When I tell him stories about his kids, you can tell how very hard it is for him to hear it… to know that he can’t be here,” Lisa Angelos said. “It’s destroyed him in many ways.” The Angelos’ have waited for more than two years for word on their executive clemency request. The average successful clemency request takes approximately four years, according to his lawyer. Weldon Angelos deserves clemency, Osler said, because his sentencing “doesn’t correlate in this country with what’s wrong, and what those wrongs deserve.” Disclosure: Five years ago, the author received a 10-week Koch Summer Fellowship. Poster Comment: 55 years in jail, for being a capitalist businessman.
via Facebook
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
(Edited)
I guess he should have taken the 15 year plea deal... but he turned it down.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
Screw you porker pig cop scum. The Koch brothers are right and Harry Reid, Pelosi Obama and you suck!
I guess it must have been pretty important to him to become involved in it. Fifty-five years for being stupid.
Breaking the law is something a capitalist businessman avoids. When he does not, it can have drastic implications. For that reason, a capitalist businessman needs to stay attuned to the fact that a business owner can face criminal charges and have to wrestle with the court system after violating laws that lead to his arrest. A capitalist businessman can be held accountable for various criminal acts he commits while operating a business and then serve jail time when convicted. When a capitalist businessman break laws, he sometimes has to face the consequences. Besides facing jail time, a capitalist businessman that sells a product to the public that can be harmful faces the potential consequence of a civil lawsuit and monetary penalties. The consequences in civil lawsuits are monetary penalties. Civil litigation that can end up being costly. Breaking laws have consequences.
Just curious, what's your opinion on Copyright law? It's funny when a so called "Law and Order" type picks and chooses which laws to obey, isn't it.
No, that isn’t funny. You certainly do have a strange sense of humor. No one gets to pick and choose the laws they will observe and obey. No one is above the law. Everyone is subject to the law. Each of us must accept the rule of all laws, even if we have to hold our noses in complying with some of them…while we work to get those we dislike changed.
Sure some people do. They are know as criminals, if caught. If they are not caught, they are probably politicians.
A perfect example of a pair of contradictory statements.
All thanks to American government.
Now, sure. But the prosecutor gave him hope for relief 12 years ago when he offered a 15 year sentence. He turned it down and now wants a second bite at the apple. Screw you. Sit there and rot in prison alongside all the other scumbag drug dealers.
I thought the Koch brothers were eeevil, capitalistic pigs. "In an article in the April 4, 2011 issue of the Weekly Standard, writer Matthew Continetti wrote:" "Starting in the spring of 2009, whenever you turned on MSNBC or clicked on the Huffington Post you’d see the Kochs described in terms more applicable to Lex Luthor and General Zod..." Now they're wonderful people because they want to release some scumbag drug dealer.
Are you talking about Al Capone?
His plea bargain deal was excessive. His sentence was excessive. Actually violates cruel and unusual punishment. If you think he should stay in jail until 80 you are fucked in the head.
The reason for the stiff sentence, is because a firearm possession was involved at the time of the crime. It was that fact that tied the judges hands with a minimum sentence. Also, after the arrest, a search warrant was signed to search another location that was connected to the defendant and the crime... a shipping type duffle bag was found, with "marihuana shake" inside... the duffle bag was big enough to zip two grown adults inside it. He was most likely moving HUGE amounts of marihuana... amount sizes so big, that in 50 years after every state has legal weed possession, it still won't be legal to possess. Also, this defendant was made aware of the case against him, the stiff mandatory sentencing that could be imposed, prior to trial... He was offered a 15 year plea deal... and he rejected it and rolled the dice. He got his constitutionally guaranteed trial by jury... and his peers found him guilty. He deserves what he got. It takes yellow journalism or an anarchist agenda, to truely feel bad for this criminal.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
His appeals fell on deaf ears at the higher courts. Apparently they disagreed with you. "If you think he should stay in jail until 80 you are fucked in the head." Given that I believe drug dealers should be executed, I think he's getting off easy. He was fucked in the head for not taking the plea bargain. Now he's whining about his sentence.
The USC declined to hear this case. Even the most liberal, sympathetic, justices disagree with you. I feel our criminal justice system, from crime to incarceration, is probably the best system on the planet. As you know, there are several parts that make up that system. 1) law enforcement 2) judicial 3) incarceration Our society, in part, is in decay because of repeated offenses against society by criminals that aren't punished and incarcerated long enough to give society a break from their lawless behavior. The judges and DA's (the judicial system) are dropping the ball and tarnishing the whole system. Let's be clear, few criminals can be rehabilitated in today's dysfuntional, enabled society. We can only protect law abiding, tax paying citizens by long term incarcerations, IMHO. A stiff sentence every once in a while is a breath of fresh air. Over the last 75 years, we've grown sympathetic towards punishment, as a society. This IMHO, is why you feel it was excessive.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
On June 18, 2003, the government obtained a superseding indictment charging Angelos with seventeen criminal counts, including additional marijuana distribution counts and additional § 924(c) counts. On October 1, 2003, following the completion of a criminal investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, the government obtained a second superseding indictment charging Angelos with twenty criminal counts, including: six counts of distributing marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Counts 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 15); five counts of possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (Counts 2, 4, 10, 14, 16); two counts of possessing a stolen firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j) (Counts 6, 11); one count of possessing a firearm which had the importer's and manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated and altered, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) (Count 7); three counts of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of controlled substances in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) (Counts 8, 12, 17); one count of engaging in and attempting to engage in a monetary transaction through or to a financial institution in criminally derived property in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (Count 18); and two counts of conducting and attempting to conduct financial transactions which involved the proceeds of marijuana distribution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) (Counts 19, 20). United States Court of Appeals,Tenth Circuit.
the Weekly Standard That drug has destroyed your mind! Neocon propaganda is worse than pot, by far. It's killed millions.
You have one huge hole in your argument. Neocons are legal in all 50 states (57 if you're from Kenya), pot isn't.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
A father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail for selling pot. When he was sent to prison, Angelos’ children were small, now both are in their teens. Without their father, the family fell on hard financial times. His children rarely talk to him, Weldon’s sister says, because they can’t afford a cell phone on which they can be reached. These yellow journalism articles love to prey on emotions when trying to sell their agenda. This was not just a local bro selling a couple ounces of pot to a friend. Read the indictment and verdict. His appeals have been denied and SCOTUS has refused to hear his case. The jury, the appellate judges and SCOTUS all decided and they are in agreement with you: “He deserves what he got.” I agree with you: “It takes yellow journalism or an anarchist agenda, to truely feel bad for this criminal.”
I had not read down this far when I Posted #20. No problem, duplication is reinforcement! He no doubt let some wise ass lawyer convince him that he could beat the case, instead of advising him to take the plea deal of 15 and probably get out in 5.
I'd like to know why a "father of two" is put in the article? Do we now decide on incarceration amounts based on how many children we have? It sounds like more yellow journalism... like a "fully armed cop" lol
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
No doubt a bleeding heart liberal wrote it...and he gained some sympathetic support here. That was his intention... I like the way the Koch brothers name was thrown in for good measure. lol!
Would that mean only a bleeding heart liberal would post such yellow journalistic, garbage?
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
Would that mean only a bleeding heart liberal would post such yellow journalistic, garbage? A logical conclusion... Edit: Perhaps a libertarian or anarchist...
If you think he should stay in jail until 80 you are fucked in the head. Drug warriors are evil. The ones who post here think the guy should have been executed.
Sympathy. But for me it has the opposite effect. How can a father of two be so irresponsible as to be a drug dealer? Other criminals might break into his house to steal drugs and money and shoot up the place. He could be arrested and thrown in jail (which he was), leaving his children witout a father and a provider. Plus, he's setting a horrible example for his children.
Hyperbole Kinda like yellow journalism
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
Gee, is that a fact? Then why did this guy get off Scot-free? Oh - he's a cop, never mind. Cop caught with 4 pounds of marijuana at home won’t be charged
Hyperbole Is that so? How about post 15? (misterwhite) Given that I believe drug dealers should be executed, I think he's getting off easy.
I don't think any judge will allow you to use an unrelated drug incident as a defense for sentencing in this case. So why bring more yellow journalism to this post? Start a post about that article... and let's debate the facts of that incident. You should be happy to know that the police POLICED the police in this unrelated case, btw. "The matter came to officials' attention after an officer was assigned in January 2014 to investigate Avila's alleged failure to write more than three dozen police reports, the warrant said. As the investigation continued, internal affairs investigators informed Avila he would be placed on administrative leave for failing to file 37 reports, one of them the report of the marijuana he picked up at the UPS store. When questioned, Avila told investigators that he used 2 pounds of the marijuana to train his police dog in February 2014, and when pressed, he acknowledged there may be more in the trunk of his K-9 patrol car or at his house." It wasn't the police departments fault the officer wasn't charged... the DA felt his evidence wasn't strong enough for a conviction.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
The ONES post 15 shows the opinion of ONE poster... not ONES poster. You disingenuously attempted to get other on this post to think ALL who post in favor of the 55 year sentence wanted him dead. Not very credible.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
The ones who post here think the guy should have been executed. Executed only if he had killed someone in a heinously violent way with the many firearms (some with filed off serial numbers) he had in his possession. Otherwise and based on what I have read, I concur with the findings of a jury of his peers and the decisions by the appellate judges and SCOTUS that he got what he deserved.
Deflection = FAILED EFFORT!
Policing the police, is that what you call it? The cops get away with this shit all the time, and yet not one word of outrage from the badge bunnies who infest this site. You know, it's not so much that the individual cops are scumbags, but rather the "us versus them" mentality of the entire police system. Police officers routinely get a free pass on criminal acts that the average citizen would do years of hard time for.
Oh - Charged with failing to file reports, not with criminal possession of marijuana. Yeah, that's cop justice for ya.
Piss off you bloody tosser. Go give yourself a wristy, why doncha?
Instead of posting a link to another articl,e "why doncha" continue discussing the issue established on the thread. If you want to debate another issue, then "why doncha" start a new thread and let's all debate your new issue. Where did I just hear this???
This one was found, caught and did serve a punative sentence of a loss of job and career. The department would have been happy to press charges for the black eye they received... but the DA felt the evidence wouldn't hold up. Maybe the officers constitutional rights were violated, of search and seizure... for a criminal arrest? Not sure why the DA felt the evidence was weak. "Routinely". A word that adds drama to your plight.. without having to serve up cold hard factual figures. Please pick 100 random officers, show which ones didn't break the law in a year period, which ones did and were caught and which ones got away "Scott free" I 100% disagree with "routinely"... So I'd like a percentage. It's the credible thing to do.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on. Robert Kennedy
#2. To: GrandIsland (#1)
#3. To: hondo68 (#0)
(Edited)
A father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail for selling pot.
#4. To: hondo68 (#0)
55 years in jail, for being a capitalist businessman.
#5. To: Gatlin (#4)
Breaking the law is something a capitalist businessman avoids. When he does not, it can have drastic implications. For that reason, a capitalist businessman needs to stay attuned to the fact that a business owner can face criminal charges and have to wrestle with the court system after violating laws that lead to his arrest
#6. To: Operation 40 (#5)
(Edited)
It's funny when a so called "Law and Order" type picks and chooses which laws to obey, isn't it.
Just curious, what's your opinion on Copyright law?
I am of the opinion that copyright law can sometimes be a complex and curious thing.
#7. To: Gatlin (#6)
No one gets to pick and choose the laws they will observe and obey.
#8. To: Pridie.Nones (#7)
#9. To: Gatlin (#8)
#10. To: hondo68 (#0)
"His only hope for relief from his sentence is an order by the president."
#11. To: hondo68 (#0)
"This is where the Koch brothers come in."
#12. To: hondo68 (#0)
"55 years in jail, for being a capitalist businessman."
#13. To: misterwhite (#11)
#14. To: Gatlin (#4)
(Edited)
#15. To: A K A Stone (#13)
"Actually violates cruel and unusual punishment."
#16. To: A K A Stone (#13)
(Edited)
His plea bargain deal was excessive. His sentence was excessive. Actually violates cruel and unusual punishment.
#17. To: GrandIsland (#14)
"is because a firearm possession was involved at the time of the crime."
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Weldon ANGELOS, Defendant- Appellant.
No. 04-4282.
#18. To: misterwhite, weakling standard, neo-tard dopes (#11)
eeevil, capitalistic pigs
The D&R terrorists hate us because we're free, to vote second party
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#19. To: hondo68 (#18)
Neocon propaganda is worse than pot
#20. To: GrandIsland, hondo68, rlk, Operation 40, Pridie.Nones, misterwhite, A K A Stone (#14)
Angelos was charged with twenty criminal counts, including: six counts of distributing marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Counts 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 15); five counts of possessing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (Counts 2, 4, 10, 14, 16); two counts of possessing a stolen firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j) (Counts 6, 11); one count of possessing a firearm which had the importer's and manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated and altered, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) (Count 7); three counts of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of controlled substances in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) (Counts 8, 12, 17); one count of engaging in and attempting to engage in a monetary transaction through or to a financial institution in criminally derived property in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957 (Count 18); and two counts of conducting and attempting to conduct financial transactions which involved the proceeds of marijuana distribution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) (Counts 19, 20). A jury found Angelos guilty of sixteen counts, including three § 924(c) counts.
#21. To: misterwhite, GrandIsland (#17)
(Edited)
#22. To: Gatlin (#20)
A father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail
#23. To: GrandIsland (#22)
(Edited)
I'd like to know why a "father of two" is put in the article?
#24. To: Gatlin (#23)
No doubt a bleeding heart liberal wrote it.
#25. To: GrandIsland (#24)
(Edited)
No doubt a bleeding heart liberal wrote it.
#26. To: A K A Stone, misterwhite, Gatylin (#13)
His plea bargain deal was excessive. His sentence was excessive. Actually violates cruel and unusual punishment.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#27. To: GrandIsland (#22)
"I'd like to know why a "father of two" is put in the article?"
#28. To: Deckard (#26)
The ones who post here think the guy should have been executed.
#29. To: GrandIsland, hondo68, A K A Stone, Gatlin, misterwhite, drug war hypocrites (#14)
The reason for the stiff sentence, is because a firearm possession was involved at the time of the crime.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#30. To: GrandIsland (#28)
The ones who post here think the guy should have been executed.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#31. To: Deckard (#29)
(Edited)
#32. To: Deckard (#30)
The ones who post here
#33. To: Deckard, A K A Stone, misterwhite, GrandIsland (#26)
Drug warriors are evil.
#34. To: Deckard (#29)
#35. To: GrandIsland (#31)
You should be happy to know that the police POLICED the police
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#36. To: GrandIsland (#31)
As the investigation continued, internal affairs investigators informed Avila he would be placed on administrative leave for failing to file 37 reports, one of them the report of the marijuana he picked up at the UPS store.
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#37. To: Gatlin (#34)
(Edited)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Americans who have no experience with, or knowledge of, tyranny believe that only terrorists will experience the unchecked power of the state. They will believe this until it happens to them, or their children, or their friends.
Paul Craig Roberts
#38. To: Deckard, GrandIsland (#37)
... why doncha?
#39. To: Deckard (#35)
(Edited)
Police officers routinely get a free pass on criminal acts that the average citizen would do years of hard time for.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]