Dontae Walker, former MSU star running back, will receive 22 years in prison and a $1,000 fine for possession of cocaine and another three years and $1,000 for a felony possession of marijuana.
While Walker deserves to go to prison for his drug charges, the conviction is too harsh.
For a simple possession of drugs, and with no previous convictions, Walker nearly received the harshest sentence he could.
One possible reason for the harsh sentence is that the court had previously considered convicting Walker with the intent to sell the drugs, considering the amount of drugs in Walker’s possesion. Yet the jury, after much deliberation, acquitted Walker of these charges. They decided to only convict him on possession of cocaine and marijuana.
The judge must have had this in mind when he was sentencing Walker. Yet since Walker was acquitted of “intent to sell” charges, possession should have been the only factor in the sentencing, with taking into account that Walker had never been charged before.
The punishment should fit the crime, and in this case, it didn’t.
The Reflector editorial board is made up of opinion editor Angela Adair, news editor Elizabeth Crisp, assistant news editor Jed Pressgrove sports editor Jeff Edwards, entertainment editor Dustin Barnes, managing editor Pam McTeer and editor in chief Josh Foreman.