Black Man Sentenced To Life For Stealing Clippers May Get Second Chance

A parole hearing has been scheduled in October for a Black Louisiana man sentenced to life in prison for stealing hedge clippers in a 1997 burglary. Although the Louisiana Supreme Court thought the consequence was fair, its Chief Justice, Bernette Johnson, thought otherwise, saying the suspect’s punishment is harsh, excessive, and rooted in racist law.

According to the November decision by an appeals court, the sentence of the 62-year-old suspect, Fair Wayne Bryant, was in line with the habitual offender law, and after an earlier appeal failed, it was no longer subject to review.

The sentence came after Bryant was found guilty of theft for stealing hedge clippers from a storeroom at a home in Shreveport. In addition to his criminal record, he was accused of a 1979 attempted armed robbery conviction, which is considered a violent crime in Louisiana. His crimes also include three other nonviolent crimes: possession of stolen things in 1987, attempted forgery of a $150 check in 1989, and simple burglary in 1992.

The Supreme Court voted 5-1, with five white male justices voting in favor of letting the ruling stand and the only Black member, Chief Johnson, voting against it. The court issued the decision without comment, but Johnson released a two-page disagreement that drew national attention to the case, arguing that the sentence was not in proportion to the crime and unconstitutional.

According to Johnson’s disagreement letter, she called the habitual offender laws “a modern manifestation” of legislation passed after the Civil War to make it easier to convict former slaves and their descendants for minor crimes and sentence them harshly. Those laws, she said, were an attempt to “re-enslave African Americans.”

Executive Director of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole, Francis Abbott, said the factors that will be taken into the decision to release Bryant will be based on his criminal record, his behavior in prison, if he will have a place to live when released, and comments from the victims of his crimes.

After Bryant applied for parole on July 21, three members of the parole committee agreed on Wednesday (8/12) to set a hearing for him on October 15.

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