Then he was lucky enough to have his 20-year-old sentence suspended by Maryland Circuit Judge Lynn Stewart-Mays. However, he got his second chance to a life outside prison with a warning. If he were to violate his probation in any way, he will face the full term.
The case of possessing a quantity of marijuana that wasn’t even enough to “roll you a decent joint”, as one Maryland District Judge suggested in the court of law, eventually sent Ronald Hammond in jail for 20 years. It turns out that possessing $5 worth of weed was enough to be considered as probation violation.
This is how in total $45 worth of drugs sent Hammond 20 years in prison. The unfortunate turn of events forced the man to fight the court’s decision. Ronald Hammond, who considers himself a changed man, doesn’t believe he deserves to go to jail for such a long time. As a result he is now appealing in court. This is just another example of how what would seem for some as an excessive sentence is really possible because of current drug policies.
