Decorated U.S. Navy veteran Alphonse Danner gets life because he allegedly took an unloaded gun
Danner joined the U.S. Navy in 1989 and worked on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Ranger aircraft carrier in San Diego, California. In 1991, he served in the Persian Gulf War. After that, “things went downhill for me,” he told the ACLU.
In order to support his drug addiction, Danner committed a series of burglaries over four months.
While waiting to enter custody to serve his sentence, prosecutors brought another charge against Danner: armed burglary and grand theft, during which a gun, and several items were stolen from a house while its residents were away. The burglary was “armed” because a gun was taken.
Danner maintains he did not commit this crime and says that there were no eyewitnesses and no property or weapon was ever recovered or traced back to him.
Danner says he was shocked that the judge so drastically increased the sentence when “just a few months prior to that, he was the same judge that gave me 34 months, which means he did not feel the need to protect the public or think I was a danger to society.”846 His confusion was compounded by the fact that, according to him, his Pre-Sentence Investigation Report recommended a sentence of five to seven years.
Serving a life sentence is “traumatizing,” Danner said. “After [21] years I still can’t believe this.” He told the ACLU that life without parole “makes you feel almost hopeless, useless and you’re just waiting on your death. It’s like a slow, long, agonizing death sentence.” Since he has been in prison, he has lost his father, mother, and sister. Before his sister’s death, she visited Danner almost every month. Their deaths “hurt even more than the sentence,” he said.
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 Danner 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.
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Donate to Danner's Legal Fund (Select Florida, Inmate ID=505552) aka Tony Jackson
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