| Photo: I Love Weed |
| Willie has never been shy about his continuing love for and frequent use of marijuana. |
Willie Nelson’s prosecutor in a Texas marijuana possession case may not be going along with the judge who rejected a plea deal struck with the country legend and sought harsher punishment.
Becky Dean-Walker, the judge in Willie’s pot case said the plea deal struck between Nelson and District Attorney C.R. Bramblett — in which the singer would have paid a $500 fine and the case would have gone away — smacked of leniency because of Nelson’s star status.
Judge Dean-Walker, sporting a garish vintage 1980s trailer-park hairdo, told the prosecutor to come up with a harsher punishment, with a maximum of one year in jail.
“There’s a strong possibility that the prosecutor will not recommend a stronger punishment, but instead just sit on the case until it’s dismissed for lack of prosecution,” reports TMZ.
“Call it defiant, but the prosecutor is riding a wave in Texas to treat marijuana possession for what it is… and not fill the overcrowded jails with recreational potheads,” TMZ wrote.
| Photo: Hudspeth County, Texas |
| Vengeful Judge Becky Dean-Walker, who evidently gets her hair done at Trailer Park Skanks R Us: “If Willie Nelson gets off with nothing, I’m not going to be part of it.” |
Nelson was arrested last November by the U.S. Border Patrol when they found several ounces of weed on his tour bus.
The bust went down at the Sierra Blanca, Texas checkpoint after Nelson’s tour bus pulled in and a Border Patrol officer smelled marijuana through the vehicle’s open door.
Willie had reportedly agreed to plead “no contest” to a charge of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as pay a $500 fine and $280 in court costs, with presiding Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker initially indicating her agreement.
The country singer had faced up to two years in prison for the marijuana charges.
But the judge claimed she had “accidentally” signed off on the paperwork approving the plea deal for Nelson, then crossed our her signature.
“I’m not going to be guilty of signing something because someone is a celebrity,” Judge Dean-Walker said. “Everybody should be treated the same in my court.”
The judge said that prosecutor Bramblett had previously asked to have Nelson’s charge reduced to a Class C misdemeanor and that she had refused. She claimed that Bramblett “has made a habit of speaking with the press before anything has been resolved.”
Bramblett had previously suggested the marijuana possession charge against Nelson could be dismissed if the singer would agree to perform his 1975 hit “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” before the court. But Judge Dean-Walker quickly slapped down that idea, saying there would be no singing in her courtroom. Bramblett later tried to claim he had just been kidding.
Nelson has long advocated the legalization of marijuana, even co-chairing the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).