In September of 2008, Fate Winslow a 41-year-old father was living without housing in Shreveport, Louisiana. One night he was approached by an undercover police officer who asked if Fate could procure him two dime bags—worth $20—of cannabis and offered to compensate Mr. Winslow a paltry $5 for the service.
Winslow said of the transaction that he’d been trying to get his life together, but couldn’t afford to turn down the money. “I wasn’t lookin to sell drugs. But when you homeless, every dollar counts [sic],” he told Rolling Stone’s Tana Ganeva. Due to three nonviolent priors, Fate received a life sentence without the possibility of parole under Louisiana’s harsh four strikes law. The dealer, who was white, was never arrested for his role in the sale. (An ACLU study recently found that Black people were 3.4 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than their white counterparts.)
Fate has now spent 12 years incarcerated in Angola Prison, a facility notorious for unconstitutional and inhumane conditions. Earlier this year he wrote to Last Prisoner Project about his concern for his health and safety, given the inadequate care and supplies being issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to ravage correctional facilities in Louisiana and across the country. Fortunately, Fate persevered.
Today, after tireless advocacy from the Innocence Project – New Orleans, Fate Winslow was resentenced to 12 years with credit for time served. He should be released from Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola immediately following recalculation of his time by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DOC).
A fundraiser has been set up by Fate’s family to assist him in rebuilding his life. To donate click here. The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.
The Last Prisoner Project. All rights reserved.
Last Prisoner Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with EIN 83-4502829. Mailing address: 1312 17th St #640 Denver, CO 80202. Our governing documents and conflicts of interest policy can be found here. Our Privacy Policy can be found here.
Website built on KUSHY