John lovell shoots robbers

An attorney who put a man away for life on a drug trafficking sentence has revealed his regret over the sentence. Clay, then, was found guilty of drug trafficking for selling 57 grams of crack and was sentenced to a mandatory minimum of life in prison.

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After leaving prosecutorial work in to become a defense attorney, Lovell re-evaluated his stance on aggressive drug sentences and wrote a letter to Clay and decided to make it a goal to work toward getting him out of prison. On March 30, Clay was one of the 61 prisoners who had his or her sentence reduced by President Barack Obama.

He will be on probation for ten years. Lovell said that during his time in Georgia, he was focusing on places 'where there was major drug trafficking', particularly a 'really rough neighborhood in Atlanta where a lot of dealers were selling crack'. He said that the goal at the time was to give out harsh sentences and ultimately 'win the war on drugs'.

Clay was caught selling 57 grams of crack, which is about two ounces. But in Clay's case, the 57 grams required a mandatory sentence of ten years. With a prior conviction, the sentence was doubled to In Clay's case, because he had two prior convictions, the strike-three rule came into play and the sentence resulted in life without parole.

Lovell said he reached out to Clay's attorney shortly after he was arrested asking if he wanted to try to cut down the sentence, but the attorney turned him down. Clay went to trial and was convicted in He was sentenced to life. He could have entered a plea and been given 17 years,' Lovell told The Marshall Project.