Black Man Freed After Almost 10 Years In Prison For A $30 Marijuana Sale

A Louisiana man who was sentenced to life in prison for selling less than $30 worth of marijuana has been freed after nearly 10 years in prison.

Derek Harris’ life sentence was recently condensed to his time served, nine years, and he was released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday (8/18), according to a press release from the Promise of Justice Initiative.

"This delayed justice was a terrifying ordeal for Derek and his family," according to Mercedes Montagnes, the New Orleans based nonprofit executive director said. "As COVID-19 rates continue to rise in DOC facilities, every day spent in Angola was a tremendous risk for Derek's health and safety."

According to the release, Harris used to work in the prison's hospital for years but is now a free man with no job and in need of "basic help for medications and other necessities to get him started in his new life."

Harris' lawyer, Cormac Boyle, is now asking for the community’s help to get Harris back on his feet.

"Righting the harms done to a person through incarceration includes supporting their health, housing, and adjustment to their long-deserved freedom we need all the help we can get," Boyle said.

The military veteran was accused of selling an officer less than one gram of the drug. Initially, Harris was given 15 years prison, but in 2012 he was re-sentenced to life in prison under the Habitual Offender Law, which allows judges to grant stricter sentences on someone who has been charged before.

According to Boyle, Harris’ release was mutually agreed upon by prosecutors in Vermillion Parish after the Louisiana Supreme Court allowed him to have a new hearing.

Eventually, the state’s supreme court agreed with the veteran’s logic, saying he had "ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing on post-conviction review,” which was sent back to the trial court.

The lawyer also added that Harris had a substance abuse issue when he came back from a 1990 U.S. military operation during the Gulf War.

“His prior offenses were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs," Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer wrote in his opinion.

Photos: Promise of Justice Initiative