Florida man spent 31 years in prison for misdemeanor marijuana; is finally released | The State
A 71-year-old man spent the past 31 incarcerated for a non-violent marijuana trafficking offense.
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vjkombajn / Pixabay
MIAMI – A 71-year-old man who spent the past 31 incarcerated for a crime of trafficking in marijuana non-violent was released in southeastern Florida upon serving the sentence that was imposed on him in 1989, local media reported.
Richard DeLisi, who was arrested in 1988 and was considered the oldest prisoner in the US for this type of crime, said that it is a “really fantastic” feeling to be free again, according to statements reproduced by the CBS channel.
A Polk County (Florida) judge sentenced him to 90 years in prison in 1989 for trying to smuggle more than 100 pounds (about 50 kilos) of marijuana from Colombia into Florida, but he was able to get out of prison before thanks to the organization The Last Prisioner Project.
This group works with teams of lawyers and other specialists to get those convicted of non-violent marijuana trafficking out of jail, given that in the country there is a trend towards the legalization of cannabis, which began in the states and has already touched the doors of the federal sphere,
On December 4, the House of Representatives approved legislation that seeks to decriminalize marijuana at the national level, but has no prospect of succeeding in the Senate, dominated by Republicans.
Mary Bailey, directora de The Last Project, He stated that “anyone who has been imprisoned or is now in prison” for crimes like DeLisi’s is “a victim of unjust laws.”
DeLisi was released from the South Bay Correctional Facility jail in Palm Beach County (southeast Florida) on Tuesday, and is now living with his family in neighboring Broward County.
In a statement released by The Last Prisioner Project, DeLisi thanked everyone who “has been with me and has helped me in all these long years.”
The Last Prisioner Project team is committed to freeing “all prisoners of the unjust war on drugs, starting with the 40,000 people who are in prison for crimes related to cannabis, a substance that is legal in most of the states “, as stated on its website.
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