Louisiana Man Sentenced to Life for Marijuana Offense

Cornell Hood II, aged 35, will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted, for the third time, on marijuana offenses.

Hood was caught last Sept with nearly 2 pounds of marijuana, $1600 in cash and scales for weighing drugs in the New Orleans Home he shares with his mother and young son; and was charged with separate counts of attempting to possess and distribute marijuana.

A jury on Feb. 15 took only 2 hours to come back with a guilty verdict on a drug charge that would normally result in a maximum 15 year sentence. Due to Hood’s history of marijuana offenses, assistant D.A. Nick Noriea Jr. called Hood a career criminal and lobbied for a more severe sentence. His arguments apparently resonated with Louisiana State Judge Raymond S. Childress, who at sentencing on Thursday used the state’s repeat offender law to up that guilty verdict to a sentence of life in prison.

Hood had twice before been arrested and charged with separate counts of possession of marijuana and intent to distribute marijuana, once in 2009 and once in 2005. On each charge he received 5 years probation and 5 years suspended jail time. Under Louisiana’s repeat offender law, drug offenders can face life in prison after receiving three sentences of 10 years or more.