Probation for reggae singer BOB Marley's daughter

WTF...

The daughter of legendary reggae musician Bob Marley will spend the next seven years on probation for growing marijuana in her Caln home.

Noting her lack of a prior criminal record, Judge Thomas Gavin on Monday had offered Makeda Jahnesta Marley, the youngest of the reggae singer's acknowledged 13 children, an option to serve two to 23 months in Chester County Prison then be done with court supervision, or to go on probation for seven years and risk the possibility of a 15- to 59-month state prison sentence if she violates the terms of her release.

Gavin called it a Door A or Door B choice.

Marley, 29, chose Door B, probation.

"Thank you, your honor," she said in a hushed voice.

She then left Gavin's courtroom with a

group of supporters, including friends and a younger brother, to report to the Chester County Adult Probation Office.

Under the terms of her probation, Marley will be subject to random drug tests and mandatory requirements to stay away from those who use illegal drugs. Any violation of these terms, Gavin warned, could lead to her incarceration.

Marley was charged in 2009 with growing marijuana in her basement and with tampering with evidence for trying to destroy the plants before police could seize them.

Police found 11 marijuana plants in the house. State law calls for a mandatory one-year prison term for possessing more than 10 plants, but the Chester County District Attorney's Office had decided to waive that mandate in Marley's case.

After Gavin's sentence, Marley's attorney, Thomas Schindler of West Chester, said his client would be able to abide by her probation requirements. He said growing marijuana was an "aberration" in her life.

Schindler had argued that probation would be best in her case, pointing to sentencing guidelines that call for a minimal probation period. He said his client should be given the benefit of the doubt because of her lack of a criminal history.

"It is a fair-minded and practical sentence which places the burden of success squarely on Miss Marley," Schindler said afterward.

Assistant District Attorney Carlos Barraza prosecuted the case and had asked Gavin to sentence Marley to 23 months in prison. Barraza noted Marley had lied to police when they arrived at her home on Sept. 10, 2008, by saying she was going to get a key to her basement to open it for them when in fact she went to the basement to get rid of the plants.

Barraza also noted that Marley had been growing the pot while caring for her 5-year-old son in the house.

Barraza declined to comment on the sentence and said his office would not require any higher degree of attention to Marley's probation because of her famous father.

"We will leave it in the very capable hands of the adult probation office to do what is appropriate," he said.

At her 30-minute sentencing hearing, Marley apologized.

"I'd like to express my deepest sorrow for what I've done," said Marley, dressed conservatively in a dark gray pants suit. "I ask for your mercy in my sentence."

Friends and family who appeared on her behalf all spoke about her worthy character and devotion to her son, Kai, and echoed her request for leniency.

Her younger brother, Troy Crichton, a Philadelphia attorney, said Marley had taken responsibility for what she had done.

"She's a good person who just made a mistake and who is now owning up and taking full responsibility," Crichton said.

Hy Mayerson, a Spring City attorney who said he had known Marley's family for years, said he was shocked to learn that she was growing and using marijuana because her parents, mother Yvette Crichton and stepfather Don Crichton, did not tolerate such activity, as did her father, who was widely known for his use of marijuana.

"She is a good and honorable person," Mayerson said.

Gavin expressed skepticism about Marley's remorse for her actions, noting that the indoor growth of marijuana is not done by accident.

"You are sorry now, but this was an ongoing process," Gavin said. "This was not something that just happened. This took quite a deal of effort and thought on your part."

Gavin said the nine months minimum prison time proposed by Barraza was not a fair sentence, but he said he was not entirely comfortable with a straight probation sentence either. And that, he said, is why he offered her the option of two months in prison now or the threat of 15 months in prison later if she violates her probation.

Gavin gave Marley a few minutes to discuss her options with Schindler outside the courtroom. When they returned, Schindler said she had chosen to remain free on probation.

Marley is a 1999 graduate of Coatesville Area Senior High School and an alumna of West Chester University. She was born in Miami on May 31, 1981, less than three weeks after her famous father died of cancer in that same city. In addition to his widow, Rita Marley, Makeda Jahnesta Marley's mother, Yvette Crichton, is the last of several women with whom Bob Marley is officially recognized as fathering a child.

Bob Marley has extensive family ties in Delaware and was a popular and influential musician who helped promote reggae music and brought attention to the Rastafarian movement, whose followers worship the late Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie and use marijuana as an aid to spiritual enlightenment.

Despite the sentence on the marijuana charge, Marley must report to prison Wednesday. She was sentenced to 72 hours to six months in prison for a DUI charge that arose from a traffic stop in Downingtown on Dec. 28, 2009.

source:http://dailylocal.com/articles/2010/10/26/news/srv0000009773729.txt