13 years in prison for 2 marijuana joints - Louisiana governor pressured to intervene

The Drug Policy Alliance is calling on Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) to grant reprieve to a man who was sentenced to 13 years in jail for possessing two joints' worth of marijuana.

Bernard Noble was put behind bars after being caught with 2.8 grams of marijuana in 2010. Because Noble had prior convictions -- including two felony charges for possessing small amounts of cocaine and marijuana -- he was given the maximum sentence under Louisiana's habitual offender law. (All of Noble's convictions were nonviolent.)

Jindal signed a bill into law earlier this year that significantly decreases the penalties for marijuana possession. Had that law been in effect in 2010, Noble's sentence would have been a maximum of 4 years. However, the law does not apply retroactively and Noble will need a gubernatorial reprieve to have his sentence commuted.
Now, four years into Noble's sentence, the Drug Policy Alliance is pressing Jindal to grant the prisoner clemency before leaving office next month.