Scott Walker gets life for first offense while supplier gets 5 years for third drug felony
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Walker says he turned to marijuana at age 14 in an effort to cope with emotional stress. He recalls becoming psychologically addicted, and his drug use escalated to LSD, cocaine, and methamphetamine. He began purchasing small quantities of drugs in Arizona and taking them to Illinois for resale to support his drug addiction.
Walker was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, and LSD. It was his first felony conviction; previously, he had committed two petty juvenile offenses—for stealing a bicycle and theft of aluminum gutters from a yard, when he was 17 years old—and had adult misdemeanor convictions.
Walker was sentenced at age 26 to life without parole, a penalty resulting from his attorney's decision to go to trial. His co-defendant, the supplier and kingpin of the conspiracy who was 20 years older and had two prior felony drug convictions, served less than five years in prison because he testified against Walker and pleaded guilty.
Judge J. Phil Gilbert, a former prosecutor and appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, had no discretion in sentencing Walker to die in prison.
Judge Gilbert told him at his sentencing hearing in 1998, “[T]o do what I am compelled to do under the law is not easy for me. If you think it’s easy to sit up here and impose a life sentence on someone, it’s not. And there’s no question you need to be punished severely for what you have done. Whether this is the right sentence or not, is not for me to judge. I have to apply the law and apply the facts to the law, and I’ve done that here. And it’s a very harsh sentence, but that, as I said, is not for me to decide, but I want you to know that it’s not easy on this Court to impose a life sentence on anybody. This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. I hope it’s the last because I don’t like to do it.”
Calling the sentence “excessive and disproportionate,” Judge Gilbert added, “[M]aybe somewhere down the line Congress will relieve the people in your position,” and he encouraged Walker to write to legislators in Washington.
Judge Gilbert wrote in support of Walker’s pending commutation petition, “Mr. Walker’s fourteen years of incarceration read like a handbook on self-improvement,” concluding, “As a judge, as a citizen, and as a taxpayer, I see no reason that this individual should spend the rest of his natural life incarcerated.”
Judge Gilbert later told the Southern Illinoisian that Walker’s sentence continues to haunt him, explaining, “There have been times that I’ve had to render decisions, such as in the sentencing area with sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums, that are dictated by the law. In one particular case, I had to give a life sentence to an individual who I didn’t feel deserved it. That affected me for quite a while, day and night, and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Walker has maintained a clean disciplinary record with the exception of one minor citation for remaining in bed following a work call. He reports he has been sober ... and has completed self-awareness, values, drug education, literature, and correspondence courses. Walker’s mother, Brenda Shelton, has been raising his teenage daughter since taking custody of her when Walker was incarcerated. His daughter said: My father never forgets to send me cards on holidays. He writes me letters, calls me on the phone and on birthdays and Christmas, and always tries to see I have a gift of some kind from him. Most of all, he talks to me about staying in school and away from drugs, alcohol, and people that are involved in drugs. He tells me he has been in prison
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.
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