Tractor man may leave prison soon

WASHINGTON — "Tractor Man" could be a free man far sooner than first thought.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson reduced Dwight Ware Watson's sentence on Wednesday from six years to just 16 months. Watson's lawyer called his release "imminent."

Watson, 51, of Whitakers, N.C., drove his tractor into a pond on the National Mall on March 17, 2003, and claimed to have bombs. During a 47-hour standoff with police, streets were closed and traffic backed up for miles until Watson surrendered.

Jackson on Wednesday cited a Supreme Court ruling that came one day after last week's initial sentencing. The top court ruled that only juries — not judges — can lengthen prison terms beyond the maximum set out in state sentencing guidelines. That ruling applies only to a Washington state case, but Jackson believes he's bound by it and that what he did at the first sentencing was "illegal."

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office said the government filed an emergency motion for Jackson to stay his order late Wednesday, calling it a precursor to an appeal. Jackson rejected an earlier request from a federal prosecutor to stay his order, pending guidance from the Justice Department.

Watson's sentence will now be recalculated based on the more than 15 months he has served since his arrest, according to A.J. Kramer, director of the federal public defender's office.

"His release is imminent," said Kramer, who filed the paperwork seeking sentencing review.

"What Judge Jackson decided to do was to follow what the Supreme Court says the Constitution requires," Kramer said.

The resentencing came as a shock to Watson's relatives, who contacted Kramer by telephone after hearing of the developments.

"He could be out over the next two weeks," said George B. Watson Jr., 58, who spoke to The Associated Press from Durham, N.C. "My family is going to be as ecstatic as I am about this. It's like winning the lottery."

One week ago, it was likely that Dwight Watson would spend over four more years in a federal prison for making a false bomb threat and destruction of federal property. He damaged a small island in the pond with his tractor during the standoff.

Watson had not yet been moved to federal prison and was in court Wednesday.

He contends that changes in state and federal tobacco policy, along with the $200 billion multistate tobacco settlement, are threatening his family's 150-year-old farming interests.

The family once grew tobacco and ran an agricultural seed operation on 1,500 acres. The few remaining acres are threatened with foreclosure by the end of this year.

"I intend to stand up with the family and my brother and fight for the farm as hard as we can with the time we've got left," said George Watson.

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On the Net: Dwight Watson Recovery Fund: www.dwightwatson.com