Transporting marijuana to pay cancer costs, William Dufries gets life sentence for public defender m
Dufries became involved in transporting marijuana in order to pay his medical bills after he was diagnosed with lung cancer while uninsured.
He rejected a 40-year plea deal because his public defender told him that he would only be eligible for parole after serving 36 years, when in fact he would have been eligible by now. Also, his public defender never explained that a life without parole sentence was a possibility when he decided to go to trial.
Dufries calls his sentence a “walking death sentence.”
Referring to his understanding of James Holmes’s sentence for his mass shooting of moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, Dufries told the ACLU, “It kills me that the kid who killed all those people in the movie theater is getting the same sentence I did. It doesn’t add up.”
He adds, “Never going home for a nonviolent crime is just the worst. If I had killed someone or been a child predator, I could understand, but I just don’t—it is cruel, ” harsh and so wrong.
Dufries has completed an intensive year-long character development program with a faith element. During his incarceration, both of his parents and his sister died of cancer.
Read full story at ACLU Special Report. A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.
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 Dufries 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 Dufries' Legal Fund (Select Oklahoma, Inmate ID=469998)
Note: 100% of your donation goes directly into the inmate's prison account.