Black Veteran Serving Life Without Parole For $30 Drug Sale Walks Free
Derek Harris, a Black veteran who was serving life without parole over a $30 drug sale, is walking free after prosecutors in Louisiana agreed to resentence and release him after serving nine years in a state prison.
In 2012, Harris was initially sentenced to 15 years (versus the maximum of 30) after selling less than a gram of marijuana to an undercover agent in 2008. However, the judge changed his decision, sentencing him to the maximum time, after Vermilion Parish prosecutors invoked the habitual offender law. Harris had prior nonviolent convictions for theft and drug-related offenses.
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Ahead of his resentencing, the Louisiana Supreme Court and District Attorney’s office agreed with Harris’ argument, which claimed he had “ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing on post-conviction review.” Also noted, was Harris’ substance abuse problem, which began upon his return from Desert Storm, the US military operation during the Gulf War in the 90s. Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer added, “His prior offenses were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs.” He says, Harris was “not a drug kingpin” and should not be classified “as a drug dealer, so far as I can tell.”
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