The Story of a Black Man Facing Life Imprisonment for Cannabis
This is the story of a black man incarcerated for life for cannabis. Yes, life in prison for a plant! Corvain Cooper was a young man just trying to do what’s best for his family. As an entrepreneur with a new clothing line, he had everything going for him. Unfortunately, he had a past that eventually caught up with him. While he was found guilty of nonviolent cannabis-related crimes for which he admits and takes full responsibility, he became a victim of California’s “Three-Strikes” law. During his time in prison away from his family, a cannabis brand was created in his honor. The attention he received from many advocates and supporters who believed that he was unjustly imprisoned, led to his release from prison following a commutation by former President Donald Trump. Today, cannabis has been legalized in many states and is currently a multi-billion dollar industry in California. While there are people profiting off of the sales of cannabis, there are more just like Corvain who are still serving sentences that they should not. While Corvain’s story shows what can be accomplished when people and organizations band together, there’s still much work to be done – this is a start!
Corvain Cooper’s Life and Upbringing
Corvain’s Youth – 1979 to 1997
Corvain Cooper was born on November 2, 1979 at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California. In the 1980s, his father, Tony Cooper, was a drug dealer and his mother, Barbara Dillard (now known as Barbara Tillis), was a drug addict. He was raised primarily by his grandmother in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood full of gangs and violence. Instead of joining the Crips or Bloods, young Corvain focused his efforts on hustling like an entrepreneur. Corvain had the good fortune of attending Hollywood High School to take part in their performing arts program. He got very good grades and was a very popular student known for his fashion sense. Once he received his high school diploma in 1997, he found himself drawn to a lifestyle of crime.
Corvain’s First Bouts with the Law – 1997 to 2012
Corvain started out doing petty crimes just to make ends meet, but it wasn’t long before he moved on to harder crimes like credit card fraud. In 2004, he was introduced to cannabis. He and friend began selling marijuana for a major drug dealer. They’d buy an eight of weed and split into three $20-bags to sell. While started out at the bottom, over the years he worked his up in the cannabis business. From 1998 to 2011, Corvain was convicted for many crimes from petty theft to forgery. It wasn’t until 2011, that he was first arrested for possessing a brick of cannabis and unprescribed codeine cough syrup. He served about a year in a state prison and was release in 2012. Instead of going back to crime, he indicated that he’d learned his lesson. He went back to his entrepreneurial roots and started his own clothing line called Old Money. At the time, he also had two daughters to raise and was focused on he and his fiance’s family.
Corvain is Sentenced to Life in Prison – 2013 to 2021
In 2013, a year of starting Old Money and staying away from crime, Corvain found himself stuck with a life sentence. While getting ready to take his oldest daughter to a drill team competition, federal agents arrived at his home and arrested him. Apparently, one of his old friends from childhood had been arrested and given the opportunity to have a shorter prison sentence in exchange for 100 names. Corvain fought the charges in court because he was no longer in the business. Unfortunately, in spite of a trial, he was charged with being responsible for all of the cannabis that was transported from California to North Carolina by the entire group of people whose names his friend had provided. At age 34, Corvain was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of payrol for drug trafficking. All told, he was found “guilty of money laundering, tax evasion and conspiracy to distribute more than one ton of marijuana.”
None of the others who were named were charged with being the ringleader or life in prison. In fact, many had been let go years before Corvain was freed. Corvain’s conviction fell under California’s “Three Strikes” Law because he had received two prior felony convictions for drug offenses. A memo to the Obama administration asking that no enhanced sentences be given to those with nonviolent drug offences resulted in no change before his trial. In 2017, Corvain’s sentences were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors as a result of a change in California’s laws; however, North Carolina courts refused to reduce his sentence.
The “Three Strikes” Law
The “Three Strikes” law or statute falls under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The law provides for “mandatory life imprisonment if a convicted felon: (1) has been convicted in federal court of a “serious violent felony” and (2) has two or more previous convictions in federal or state courts, at least one of which is a serious violent felony (the other offense may be a serious drug offense).” Although there had been questions and controversies as to the effectiveness of this law, more than half of all states have enacted the law. Considerable variety existed among states as to how they set up the law in terms of how the strikes are defined and how many are required.
California Law
Of all states, California’s “Three Strike” law was the most far-reaching one. It required “a defendant convicted of any new felony, having suffered one prior conviction of a serious felony to be sentenced to state prison for twice the term otherwise provided for the crime. If the defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more prior strikes, the law mandated a state prison term of at least 25 years to life.” California’s law was originally enacted in 1994 but later amended in 2012.
California’s Amended Law
In 2012, the amended law changed to require the new felony to be one of a serious or violent nature before being convicted for 25 years to life. In addition, the amendment allowed for defendants to petition to have their current sentence reduced from a third strike to a second strike sentence if they would have been eligible for second strike sentencing had the amendment been in effect at the time of their sentencing. In the case of Corvain, his prior convictions had been reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, which means he’d have no strikes on his record. If he were tried for the same crime today, he would not have been given a life in prison sentence.
Corvain’s Case Becomes a Nationwide Media Frenzy
Through a number of avenues, Corvain’s case begin to make headway from lawyers and activists all the way to the White House. While his mother and family continued to support and cheer on his release, nobody would imagine how far all the combined efforts would actually reach.
The Launch of 40 Tons Cannabis
Black-owned 40 Tons Brand was thrilled to announce the release of Corvain. Loriel Alegrete, the founder of 40 Tons, knew all to well what it’s like for a man with a family to be unjustly incarcerated. Her husband had spent time in federal prison for a cannabis-related crime, and she felt compelled to do all she could to support and advocate for the release of Corvain. This injustice and the harshness of the “Three Strikes” law that resulted in a life sentence for Corvain is exactly why she launched the brand in 2020. It was 40 Tons that promoted the petition put out by his attorney. This collaborative effort resulted in nationwide attention being brought to Corvain’s case.
As a brand, 40 Tons touts itself as being socially conscious. On their website, front and center, they ask the question: “Life in prison for a plant?” They refer to Corvain and the many people spending time behind bars for nonviolent cannabis offenses while others continue to freely profit from the cannabis industry. They continue to advocate for changes in the following laws, which they note have changed the lives of many forever: Restorative Justice, Cannabis Legalization, Reduced Sentencing and Rehabilitation. Now that Corvain has been released, the organization continues to raise money to help Corvain get back on his feet.
Pro Bono Lawyer Garners Support
In 2014, Patrick Megaro, an Orlando lawyer, took on Corvain’s case pro bono. He began by appealing his case to the United States Supreme court as well as petitioning Trump for clemency. In Patrick’s eyes, “the system failed Corvain Cooper“ because of “the unjust and unusually cruel sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling marijuana.” Patrick also worked with others who focused on freeing those who’ve been wrongly imprisoned for cannabis crimes. Cheri Sicard, a Long Beach activist, collected support letters from cannabis festivals with the help of Corvain’s mother Barbara. Both were overjoyed to hear of Corvain’s pardon, but Cheri vowed to keep advocating for those who weren’t as lucky what she called a “clemency crapshoot.”
The Last Prisoner Project Advocates for Drug Crimes
Corvain serves as an advisor for the Last Prisoner Project, which is one of many of programs designed to fight injustice and inequality in the legal system particularly as it pertains to drug crimes. According to their nonprofit website, the “team of cannabis industry leaders, criminal and social justice advocates, policy and education experts, and leaders in social justice and drug policy reform are committed to freeing every last prisoner of the unjust war on drugs, starting with 40,000 people in prison for cannabis offenses legal in most states.” In California, the organization developed the Prison to Prosperity reentry program to help people gain employment in the legal cannabis industry. It has also worked with the federal government and the White House on policy reform including commutations for those service nonviolent drug offenses.
Lawmakers Push for Clemency
People like Corvain who receive clemency don’t normally get any recognition for their case. Corvain credits many individuals and organizations for calling attention of his special case to the president for possible clemency. Specifically, he personally credits the following for his clemency: Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Patrick Megaro, prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, the Last Prisoner Project, Weldon Angelos’ Project Mission Green and many other advocacy groups.
Trump’s Pardon and Clemency Efforts
Many other people like Corvain Cooper are facing long jail sentences for non-violent drug crimes, sought pardons from Former President Donald Trump. Michael Pelletier, a 65 year old paraplegic because of a farming accident as a child who was facing a life sentence after being caught in the early 2000s smuggling pot into Maine from Canada. Maine and Canada have since legalized marijuana. Weldon Angelos had spent 13 years in prison for a federal marijuana conviction. His sentence had been reduced and they released him in 2016. Due to the inequities of the system that he experienced, the White House quoted him as being “an active criminal justice reform advocate and champion of giving second chances.” Although many of Trumps pardons were considered controversial, his was seen as a step forward for civil rights. Weldon has been credited for being an inspiration force for the First Step Act, which was a law enacted in 2018 to “improve criminal justice outcomes, as well as to reduce the size of the federal prison population while also creating mechanisms to maintain public safety.” He was also part of a White House Prison Reform Summit that same year. Trump pardoned more than a dozen people facing cannabis-related prison sentences including marijuana “lifers” Ferrell Damon Scott, Anthony DeJohn, Craig Cesal and James Romans.
This is Only the Beginning
Corvain Cooper’s story is one that must be told. This family man who was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison was finally free. His story is one that shows the inherent problem with the “Three Strikes” law. There’s an overwhelming number of prisoners of nonviolent drug crimes who’ve been locked up, many having the key thrown away. It’s only a matter of time before recreational cannabis use is legalized throughout the United States. Today, recreational marijuana remains illegal under federal law but legal under local law in 15 states, two US territories and Washington, DC. Under the current White House administration, President Joe Biden has seemingly opposed the legalization of marijuana whereas Vice President Kamala Harris has shown support for its legalization. It’s believed that they will tolerate state-legal cannabis businesses in the same way that Trump did. In any case, let Corvain’s story along with the brands and organizations that he’s associated with give him a head-start on readjusting back to civilian life while also giving others the inspiration to continue fighting in the hope for justice and freedom.
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