Date: Thu, 6 Jul 1995 20:37:40 -0500 From: [c--o--n] at [dsmnet.com] (Carl E. Olsen) Subject: Thank you from Paul! Paul Westmoreland 43766-019 PMB 1000 Talladega AL 35160-8799 July 4, 1995 Carl Olsen Iowa NORML P 0 Box 4091 Des Moines Iowa 50333 Dear Carl, I am sending these pictures as a reminder of the long sentences that the feds are giving for nonviolent marijuana "Crimes". How many of these people received such long sentences are absurd stories, but even if they were all caught with large amounts of marijuana their sentences are still outrageous considering the average length of time someone does for murder is about eight years. It is bad enough that we are in prison, but it is even worse and enough to break someone's heart when we are put in here with men that death will be their only release from here. Many of these people have exhausted their appeals and the only thing that gets them through another day is the hope that legalization activists give them. Sincerely, Paul Westmoreland Dear Carl, I want to thank you for the help that you gave us with getting the marijuana plant weight change in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The change will get a total of 45 years cut off of the sentences of some of the people in these pictures and with some changes in the Mandatory Minimum sentencing laws the plant weight change will help get even more time cut from some of these people's sentences. I also want to encourage all marijuana POWs to become active, even if it is just writing one letter a month to somebody. That one letter helps! I also want to tell all federal POWs not to waste their time in prison by spending some time in the law library researching their case. Of course a lawyer is going to try to make you think that he/she did as good of a job as they could, but if you will research your case you might find out that they didn't. Don't think that everything the U.S. Attorney said is the truth, if you check you might find out they lied about many things. I started of with a 151 month sentence three years ago, after finding out the U.S. Attorney lied about my criminal history (I told my lawyer I thought they had one charge wrong, but even my lawyer lied to me and said he checked that charge and U.S. Attorney had it right) I will be able to get my sentence reduced to 63 months. In 1993 the U.S. Sentencing Commission changed the way that it weighed LSD and I thought that the amount of weight charged for marijuana plants was just as absurd as the way they had been weighing LSD, so I started writing people asking them to get the marijuana plant weight changed. It took two years to get the change, but now I might be going home as soon as November of this year. I am not saying that everybody will get the same results, but you never know until you try! Sincerely, Paul Westmoreland MAY 13, 1995 TALLADEGA FEDERAL CORRECTION INSTITUTION NONVIOLENT MARIJUANA OFFENDERS L - R PICTURE 1 Theron Godwin 20 Years Randy Haggard 14 Years Robert Jonas LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE Benny Buice 10 Years, 10 Months Picture 2 Ronnie Hatchett 30 Years Michael Lawrence 8 Years, 1 Month Steve Tucker 10 Years, 1 Month Stephen Becker 30 Years Picture 3 Fred Cundiff LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE Scott Hames 26 Years Gary Tucker 16 Years, 8 Months Sam Hester 21 Years, 10 Months Picture 4 Ralph Carnes (76 years old) 8 Years, 4 Months Mike Cutkomp 25 Years James Fuller (70 years old) 12 Years Paul Westmoreland 12 Years, 7 Months Picture 5 Bobby Steed 17 Years, 6 Months Tim Latham 21 Years, 10 Months Pedro Reynaga 7 Years, 2 Months TOTAL LENGTH OF TIME 290 Years, 11 Months (NOT INCLUDING THE TWO WITH LIFE SENTENCES) THE AVERAGE SENTENCE IS OVER 17 Years ALL FEDERAL INMATES MUST SERVE 85% OF THEIR SENTENCE ******************************************************************** * Carl Olsen * [c--o--n] at [dsmnet.com] * * Post Office Box 4091 * http://www.calyx.com/~olsen/ * * Des Moines, Iowa 50333 * [Carl E Olsen] at [commonlink.com] * * (515) 243-7351 voice & fax * [73043 414] at [compuserve.com] * ********************************************************************