I don’t understand how 40 years of prison for a non-violent crime isn’t considered to be both “cruel” and “unusual”. It is objectively cruel. I certainly hope that it is also unusual. I certainly hope that there aren’t many more like him, imprisoned for decades for what amounts to personal-use levels of pot. 5.5 lbs of pot when you include the stem and roots isn’t that much and certainly sounds like a personal supply to me.
Life sentence for growing some pot. Meanwhile the Jan 6th insurrectionists are getting maybe 2 years, or if you're a card carrying proud boy terrorist you might be looking at up to 20 years.
That law provides several different levels of trafficking, and Hotchkiss was convicted under the lowest level – having between 2.2 lbs and 100lbs. That weight includes all parts of the plant, root and stem and all.
What could the parole board's justification for denial possibly be? I don't see any risk from this guy, unless there's something more nefarious than 2.2 lbm of pot going on.
Remember these headlines any time someone makes excuses for the lack of action by the Federal Government, even when we give Democrats Congress and the presidency.
2.2 -100lbs is a massive range especially when the weight every part of the plant. That's a difference of growing enough for a month to smoke and supplying the neighborhood. Two massively different goals.