KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri man convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute is one step closer to being released from prison.
Buchanan County Judge Daniel Kellogg changed Seth Wiggington's sentences of 13 and 10 years from consecutively to concurrently. The judgment makes Wiggington eligible for parole immediately.
"I am still in shock, really, that it's actually going to happen because we lived this nightmare, what I call a nightmare, for the last three and a half years," his mother, Jamie, told 41 Action News.
In 2016, Kellogg sentenced Wiggington to 10 years in prison for being in possession of 18 pounds of marijuana. The judge ruled the 10-year-sentence would be served consecutively to a 13-year probation period stemming from a 2014 conviction.
Originally, Kellogg put Wiggington in prison for 120 days shock incarceration and then on probation. When Wiggington was charged and convicted in 2016, the judge revoked his probation and sentenced him to serve the original 13-year sentence.
Since Wiggington has been incarcerated, Missouri voters legalized medical marijuana. Amendment 2, however, does not provide any retroactive relief to those convicted of crimes relating to marijuana.
Christina Frommer, co-founder of the Canna Convict Project, said the sentencing is “outrageous for a medicinal plan.” Canna Convict Project is a nonprofit organization that aims to help nonviolent cannabis inmates in Missouri with their release from prison, as well as create an exit plan to help them reintegrate back into society.
Frommer has been helping on Wiggington's case.
"I think the state of Missouri is ready to take that leap, and I really hope we are a national example," Frommer said of the judge's recent ruling. "It is signifying that the sentiment has changed not only in Missouri but throughout the country. It's become not as taboo."
A parole board will decide whether Wigginton will be released on parole or continue to serve time in prison. It is unclear when the parole board will meet.
