« Blog Scan | Main | Who Decides? »

The Big Island

From Fox News:


HONOLULU (AP) — A 65-year-old first-time drug offender on the Big Island is facing a maximum 20-year sentence.

The case against farmer David Finley of Volcano involves possession of more than 75 pounds of marijuana. Police say they also found nearly 200 marijuana plants in greenhouses on Finley's 29-acre ranch, along with other drugs.

Circuit Judge Glen Hara has sentenced Finley to two maximum 20-year sentences to be served simultaneously. He said any other sentence would undermine respect for the law and hurt society.

But the judge said he is convinced Finley is not an evil person. He was arrested Jan. 29, 2007 and already has served 14 months in jail.

The judge said marijuana is fully entrenched in the Big Island way of life with many people starting to use it before they are teenagers.

Make of it what you will.

Posted by Steven K. Erickson on April 24, 2008 06:04 AM |

Post a comment

If you return to this page after signing in, click here for instructions.

This is a place for informed discussion of issues related to criminal law and criminal justice policy. Persons who wish to engage in ad hominem attacks, name-calling, profanity, flame wars, and general rudeness are cordially invited to do so somewhere else. For this reason, and to prevent comment spam, commenters are required to register with TypeKey, and individual comments will have to be approved before they are published for your first few comments.