Gulf War veteran Derek Harris was given life in prison for a non-violent crime -- selling $30 worth of marijuana to an undercover police officer. Now, nine years into his life sentence, Harris is being set free after the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned his previous sentence.
Harris was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 under the Habitual Offender Law. He had previous convictions for non-violent drug-related charges, according to CNN.
Harris' current lawyer, Cormac Boyle, argued in court that his client's previous legal counsel was ineffective and inadequate.
"His attorney at the time was just silent, never once appealed it or said I don't agree with it or anything. He was virtually just quiet, so his counsel was ineffective. And the Supreme Court ruled that he did have ineffective counsel," said Derek's brother Antoine Harris, according to NBC.
Harris' drug abuse problem began upon his return from Operation Desert Storm. Once he is released from Angola State Prison, he plans to move in with his brother.
"He's still a little bit ... all shocked about all of this, because we've been working at this for a long time trying to obtain his freedom and now finally it's here, so it's a bit overwhelming for him as well as us," his brother told KATC.
In 2013, his case was decided by a panel of judges at the appeals court when Harris complained about the sentence he received. The white judges sitting on the panel upheld the life sentence. The sole dissenting vote came from Judge Sylvia Cooks, who wrote in her decision, "I believe it is unconscionable to impose a life-sentence-without-benefit upon this defendant who served his country on the field of battle and returned home to find his country offered him no help for his drug addiction problem. It is an incomprehensible, needless, tragic waste of a human life for the sake of slavish adherence to the technicalities of law."
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
