Leland Dodd will die in prison for talking about buying some marijuana with an undercover agent
Dodd, with three children, worked as a trim carpenter. He tried to buy 50 pounds of marijuana from an undercover police officer posing as a seller, and he was arrested before the sale took place.
He was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He was sentenced to a mandatory life without parole sentence because of his four prior drug felonies dating back to 1978, which included convictions for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of an unlicensed firearm he made from a kit he bought at a gun show.
Under the sentencing guidelines, based on his prior offenses, his sentence would have been 13.5 years.
Since his incarceration, he has divorced from his wife of 17 years. He told the ACLU, “I don’t see the point, I mean I don’t even smoke weed anymore. What’s the threat here? When I was on the street, ”I went fishing and I smoked joints…I wasn’t hurting anyone."
Many of the long serving inmates have no one left to support them. You can help by sharing their stories and asking others to do the same. Sign up to become an advocate for an inmate.
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 Dodd 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 Dodd's Legal Fund (Select Oklahoma, Inmate ID=106915)
Note: 100% of your donation goes directly into the inmate's prison account.
Read full story at ACLU Special Report. A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.