Black Man in MS Sentenced to Life
for Three NONVIOLENT Offenses
When Allen Russell was 21 years old, he made a mistake. A big one. He committed burglary and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He did not harm anyone.
In 2015, he made a second mistake. He possessed a handgun, an illegal act for a convicted felon. If you live anywhere in the deep south, you know how common gun ownership is. Gun ownership seems to be the norm rather than the exception.
In 2017, Russell made a third mistake. He was arrested and convicted of possessing about 1.5 ounces of marijuana.
Because Mississippi has classified burglary as a violent crime since 2014, Russell’s conviction for marijuana possession combined with his two previous convictions made him “eligible” for a life sentence, which the court imposed — even though burglary was NOT classified as a violent crime in 2004, when Russell committed his crime.
There is NO evidence that Allen Russell has ever actually harmed another human being.
We are, quite properly, concerned with police killings of unarmed African-American men, but sometimes we focus so much on these all-too-common but still relatively rare cases that we neglect the over-incarceration of men of color. The lifetime risk of an African-American man spending time in prison-not jail — approaches 30 percent, nearly 1 in 3.
That 1 in 3 figure means years of lost freedom, lost income, lost time with family. It also means that the African-American community is deprived of sons, husbands, and fathers.
It is time to end the over-incarceration of minority males for non-violent crimes.
To help Allen Russell in particular, please write Governor Tate Reeves at governor@govreeves.ms.gov. If Allen Russell’s fate becomes enough of a political issue, he will take action.
