Leroy Fields gets life as attorney calls no witnesses, introduces no evidence in retrial for possess
An unemployed 30-year-old father of three, Fields was pulled over in New Orleans for a traffic violation and found to be driving a car that had recently been reported stolen. Fields says that he borrowed the car from a friend and did not know the car was stolen.
The jury could not reach a verdict in his first trial, which ended in a mistrial. According to court records, in his one-day retrial his attorney called no witnesses and introduced no evidence, and the jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for 25 minutes.
Fields was sentenced to mandatory LWOP as a third-strike habitual offender because of his prior convictions for possession of crack cocaine and for stealing a $90 pair of shoes from a shoe store.
Fields describes prison as a “living hell” and says that earlier during his imprisonment, “I really wanted to give up on myself and my life…I saw no hope.” He has committed a number of disciplinary infractions in prison and reports that he has spent 12 years in solitary confinement.
Fields explains, “When I first got life, I really felt my life was over and I would die here in prison, so I really acted out a lot.” Fields says that now that he has gotten clean and developed some hope that Louisiana’s sentencing laws will change, he is a completely different person.
He wishes he could have the opportunity to appear before a parole board, “to meet Mr. Leroy Fields now instead of the drug addict I once was.” If released from prison, he says, “I would work, I’ll go home and be with my family and enjoy what little life I have left in me, crime-free.”
Read full story at ACLU Special Report. A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.
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As voters, citizens, taxpayers and bystanders, we as a society have inhumanely punished thousands of nonviolent people. Currently Washington DC and 30 states have compensation statutes for wrongfully convicted inmates. Congress’ recommended amount is $63,000 for each year served. On the other hand, overly sentenced victims who in many cases have suffered equally or worse typically receive $20 and a bus ticket if they are fortunate enough to ever be released.
Select the link below to donate directly to Fields to help him with legal and other expenses. Most of these inhumanely sentenced inmates don't remember the last time they were able to buy personal items or snacks from the commissary. No donation is too small. JPAY is used for state inmates and Western Union for federal.
No Harsh Justice inmate has ever been convicted of a violent crime.
Donate to Field's Legal Fund (Select Louisiana, Inmate ID=115883)
Note: 100% of your donation goes directly into the inmate's prison account.