Court Overturns Mandatory Sentence In Gun Case
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland's attorney general is weighing whether to ask the state's highest court to reconsider a ruling that overturned a mandatory minimum sentence of a defendant with a prior felony drug conviction for carrying a handgun.
Alan Brody, a spokesman for Attorney General Doug Gansler, said Friday the ruling is still being reviewed. However, he says the attorney general's office has serious concerns about its implications.
The court ruled last month that the state has two statutes punishing the same conduct, but imposing different penalties.
The court found the defendant, Kevin Alston, received the more severe penalty of a five-year mandatory minimum sentence when it is unclear how the two laws operate together.
As a result, the court found Alston must be sentenced under the statute with the more lenient penalty.
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