Reconsider the Angelos case

There's a reason dozens of high-profile legal minds are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the appeal of a first-time drug offender who was sentenced to federal prison for 55 years: Federal mandatory minimum sentences tie judges' hands and are unjust.

On Monday, a friend-of-the-court brief was filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of an appeal for 27-year-old Weldon Angelos, an aspiring Salt Lake rap producer who was convicted of carrying a handgun during three marijuana deals. Among those named in the brief, which included 145 former U.S. attorneys general, retired judges and former high ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, were former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and former FBI director William Sessions. The brief reads, in part, "... the virtual life sentence imposed upon Petitioner in this case is contrary to our society's evolving standards of decency, fairness and justice and for that reason as well, is unconstitutional."

In fact, Angelos' prison term is twice as long as the prescribed minimum sentences for terrorists, murders and rapists. Had Angelos' case been tried in a state court in Utah, he would have faced five to seven years in prison, according to his attorneys.

In supporting Angelos' bid for a Supreme Court appeal, the editorial board of the Deseret Morning News in no way condones the use or sale of illegal drugs. They are a scourge on society. Angelos was convicted of 16 counts of violating federal firearms, drug and money-laundering laws in U.S. District Court in December 2003. He should serve an appropriate prison term for these crimes. Our interest is the injustice of a federal sentencing scheme that strips judges of their ability to judge. U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell, who sentenced Angelos, described the 55-year mandatory minimum sentence he was required to hand down per federal sentencing guidelines as "unjust, cruel and irrational." It is.

Earlier this year, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Angelos' sentence, ruling that it was Congress' intent to severely punish crimes involving guns and drugs. While getting tough on crime seems to be a rallying cry among politicians, cookie-cutter mandatory minimum sentences take away a judge's ability to consider mitigating and aggravating factors. They also create the possibility that defendants can face life sentences for crimes that do not warrant them. As such, the U.S. Supreme Court should take up Angelos' appeal.