Robert Capelli Released To Reentry After Serving Over Half of 8-Year Sentence
We are happy to share that Robert “Bobby” Capelli Jr. has been reunited with his family and was released to a residential reentry management facility after serving over four and a half years of his almost 8-year sentence for a victimless cannabis offense.
In 2019, Bobby was sentenced to 95 months in prison. Just two years later, the state of Connecticut legalized adult-use marijuana, highlighting the stark contrast between past penalties and present laws. While Connecticut may have moved on, we at the Last Prisoner Project did not forget about Robert or all those in the state still incarcerated and advocated for their release.
Robert Capelli Jr. is currently 36 years old. Unfortunately, Robert’s legal troubles began in 2017 when he was indicted and later convicted by a jury on July 25, 2019. The charges stemmed from his involvement in a large-scale marijuana distribution operation that lasted from 2015 to 2017.
Despite these hardships, Robert’s adult life prior to his conviction was free of any criminal history. Yet he was sentenced on December 3, 2019, in the District of Connecticut for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 1000 kg or more of marijuana. His case resulted in a 95-month prison sentence and an additional four years of supervised release.
The judge acknowledged the complexity of Robert’s background during sentencing, but despite these acknowledgments, the sentence imposed was significantly influenced by the guidelines and the nature of the offenses. However, the victimless nature of his offenses should not have resulted in such a severe sentence, which many believe to be excessively harsh.
Even the judge herself noted, “although both sides agree that the advisory sentencing guidelines provide for sentencing range in excess of what is necessary to satisfy the goals of sentencing, nonetheless the Court must calculate the applicable guidelines.” This recognition highlights the tension between legal guidelines and the pursuit of justice and proportionality in sentencing.
“The words I write can’t describe the feelings and hopelessness as you hold your crying wife in your arms and tell her that you have to leave her for nearly 8 years,” Robert lamented in a letter he wrote to Last Prisoner Project while imprisoned. “People like me are being locked away for years upon years caused by cannabis prohibition. A plant medicine that helps millions of people across the country, has zero fatalities, and is being legalized state by state across the country,” he continued in his letter. “I still believe I can beat the odds, be a better person and come out on the other side of this.”
But now, Robert was released to a reentry facility earlier this July and had this to say to LPP supporters, “Losing years of my life in prison for a cannabis conviction was cruel, unjust and unbearable. The pain of subjecting my life in a cage for years on end seemed like an impossible task but the Last Prisoner Project picked me up when I was down. Between Mary Bailey, Goodwin Procter, Liz Budnitz, the commissary assistance and all the letters of support from the LPP subscribers I was able to make it back home to my beautiful wife Bianca. Thank you for everything LPP!!!”
LPP’s advocacy for Robert Capelli Jr. included letters of support, commissary funding, and a reentry grant. Furthermore, we will continue to support Bobby until he is fully free. We thank our Cannabis Justice Initiative partners at NACDL for their work on this case.
