A jury unanimously acquitted Doug Darrell, a 59-year-old Rastafarian of Barnstead NH on charges of marijuana cultivation, on Friday. His lawyer Mark Sisti, argued that a conviction would be unjust in light of the fact that Darrell was growing cannabis for his own religious and medicinal use.
Darrell was arrested in 2009 after a marijuana eradication task force spotted 15 plants from a National Guard Helicopter. Darrel turned down numerous plea deals and went to court for a Class B felony, which carries a three, and 1/2 to seven-year sentence. His first trial in Nov. 2011 ended in a mistrial and his second trial ended in acquittal. PRNews reports a Free State juror in the trial successfully convinced their peers to nullify the case on the grounds that Darrell was simply trying to obey the customs of his religion.
