A Mississipi Supreme Court has upheld a court ruling that sentenced an inmate to a further 12 years in prison for being in possession of a mobile phone.
The man, Willie Nash, was initially sentenced on a misdemeanour charge two years back in 2017 and is now facing 12 more years because of being in possession of a mobile phone. He was caught with the phone when he asked a security guard to charge it for him.
Willie said that he was using the device to communicate with his wife. The court documents say that he willingly gave the phone to the security guards.
A jury found Willie guilty of the crime that carries a punishment of up to 15 years in prison. Nash, who was formerly convicted on burglary charges, appealed his sentence, saying that the punishment of more than a decade behind bars does not fit the crime.
Mississipi Supreme court, however, upheld the verdict despite one of the justices agreeing with him. Justice Leslie D. King wrote that it was problematic to potentially allow someone into jail with a phone and prosecute that same person for that action.
It seems problematic to potentially allow someone into the jail with a cell phone, and then to prosecute that person for such actionHis crime was victimless, and the facts of the case lend themselves to an interpretation that his crime was accidental and likely caused by a failure in booking proceduresJustice Leslie D. King
Willie Nash is now expected to be released from prison in February 2029.