人兽性交

JACKSON, Miss. -- The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a motion for rehearing in the case of Willie Nash, a man who was egregiously sentenced to a 12-year prison sentence for bringing a cell phone into a county jail. The filing argues Nash鈥檚 sentence is disproportionate to the crime committed, a violation of the U.S. Constitution鈥檚 Eight Amendment prohibition against听 cruel and unusual punishments.听 Mr. Nash鈥檚 motion for rehearing is due today, January 23, 2020.听听

In 2018, Nash, 39, was taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge and booked into Newton County Jail. Nash had a cell phone when he was taken into custody and after being put in jail he handed the phone to a guard and asked if it could be charged. Nash was charged with illegally possessing a cell phone and given a 12-year prison sentence even though it is a victimless crime.

Nash, a husband and father of three, is now in jail until February 2029. 人兽性交 will ask the Mississippi Supreme Court to reconsider its previous ruling upholding the 12-year sentence. In the original appeal, Nash argued that the sentence was "grossly disproportionate to the crime."听

鈥淢r. Nash did nothing wrong,鈥� said Will Bardwell, senior staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center. 鈥淭he Newton County Jail鈥檚 policy is to strip-search everyone when they arrive, but the jail violated its policy by failing to search Mr. Nash; if they had, they would have found and taken his cell phone.鈥�

鈥淣ash never attempted to conceal his cell phone and the only reason that authorities found out about it is because Nash gave it to a guard,鈥� Bardwell said.

The motion for rehearing argues that Nash didn鈥檛 voluntarily possess his cell phone in jail because he was not searched as the jail鈥檚 policy required. It also argues that a 12-year sentence violates the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the Mississippi Constitution.

At least 36 states allow sentences of no more than five years for possessing a cell phone in prison, and several states do not punish cell phone possession with jail time at all, according to research done by the 人兽性交.听

This legislative session, the 人兽性交 is advocating for changing Mississippi鈥檚 habitual offender law that needlessly extends sentences for nonviolent offenders and statutes like the one Nash鈥檚 was indicted under that make it possible for a person to receive fifteen years for simply possessing a cell phone. 听The 人兽性交 will also advocate for restoring the possibility of parole for thousands of people and investing in meaningful rehabilitative and reentry programs.

鈥淣o other state in America punishes behavior like Mr. Nash鈥檚 as excessively as Mississippi,鈥� said Bardwell.听 鈥淢r. Nash is why we need to address excessive sentencing as part of reforming our criminal justice system.鈥澨�

Nash鈥檚 case has generated significant national media attention due to the severity of the sentence.听

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The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Alabama with offices in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C.,听is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.听For听more information, visit听.

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