Defendant Sentenced To 10 Years For Pot Farm; Religious Defense Found Insincere

Last Monday in a northern California federal courtroom, trial onlookers shouted at federal district judge Marilyn Hall Patel and the federal prosecutor after Patel sentenced defendant Charles "Eddy" Lepp to the mandatory ten years in prison on charges of running a vast marijuana farm known as "Eddie's Medicinal Gardens and Ministry of the Rastafari." According to Law.com, Judge Patel questioned the sincerity of Lepp's attempted religious defense to the charges, saying he did not display much knowledge about Rastafarianism. The judge, who said she thought the mandatory minimum was excessive but had no authority to modify it, said she would entertain a motion to modify Lepp's sentence if Congress changes the law while he is still in prison.