Anthony Williams
Free Anthony
Anthony Williams #08435-068
Federal Medical Center
PO Box 15330
Fort Worth, Texas 76119
Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 24 states. Yet people are still being sentenced to years in prison for marijuana.
With that in mind, in 2011 Anthony Williams was at a friend Shahan Small’s house when state law enforcement knocked on Small’s door. They were investigating a marijuana crime.
Small gave them consent to search his home. Their search yielded 40 pounds of marijuana found in Small’s dryer.
As a result, the state of Arizona charged both Smalls and Anthony with Attempted Transportation for Marijuana for Sale (class 3 felony). See CR:2013001080 Maricopa County (Arizona).
Anthony vehemently maintained his innocence. But his court-appointed attorney browbeat him into submission, persuading him to take 3 years’ probation. After all, his attorney told him, there was no jail time involved. According to Anthony, his attorney was not concerned with the lack of evidence, but was focused on the jury convicting him because “he is Black.”
Small also pleaded guilty and received 3 years’ probation.
But before Anthony could finish his probation, he was federally indicted in an unrelated federal cocaine conspiracy case.
As such, Anthony received a 156-month federal sentence. Problem is, this violated Anthony's 3-year marijuana probation, resulting in a 6-year consecutive prison sentence for the marijuana.
So after Anthony finishes his lengthy federal sentence this year, he must start a new 6-year sentence for his marijuana crime. Worse still, because of the marijuana sentence hanging over his head, Anthony could not participate in the residential drug treatment program, use his First Step Act pre-release credits accrued in federal prison, nor was he eligible for halfway house.
In all, the pending 6-year marijuana sentence effectively extended his federal sentence by 2 - 3 years.
Although marijuana was certainly a crime in Arizona in 2011 when Anthony was convicted, that has since changed. Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in Arizona.
Although Anthony cannot erase his past behavior, while in federal prison he's taken more than 40 different classes and programs, including substance abuse and parenting classes, maintained good conduct, earned more than 500 days in First Step Act credits, worked, and has a low PATTERN score (which measures his risk of reoffending).
But instead of starting a new life after his extraordinarily rehabilitative efforts, he will have to be warehoused in state prison for a six-year stretch for something that is no longer a crime in that state. This is senseless.
And, remember his buddy Shahan Small. In a recent affidavit, Smalls swears under the penalty of perjury that the marijuana found at his home was his marijuana, and that Anthony had nothing to do with it. He also swears that he repeatedly told his attorney that Anthony had no hand in his marijuana, even offering to testify at Anthony's trial. Smalls says, however, that the court-appointed attorney's singleminded focus was on getting guilty pleas.
Anthony's only hope is a pardon by the governor of Arizona. Free Anthony.