Kevin Allen was convicted in 2014 by a split 11-1 jury on two counts of marijuana distribution involving about $20 worth sold to a confidential informant in December 2012 and March 2013, according to the Last Prisoner Project. He was first given 10 years per count, then enhanced under Louisiana's habitual offender law to life without parole based on prior nonviolent drug convictions.
The Louisiana Supreme Court vacated the life sentence on November 1, 2022 and ordered a sentence that is not constitutionally excessive. He was resentenced to 35 years at hard labor on May 31, 2023, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeal later affirmed that as not excessive. Last Prisoner Project said it would work with his lawyers to seek further Louisiana Supreme Court review.
Why it matters: About $20 of marijuana, sold twice, is still a 35-year sentence. This is the kind of old, small-scale case we put first.
Source: Last Prisoner Project, 2024-09-19. Forgotten Prisoner's account is based on this reporting.