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Inmate given 6 months for being high in court

An inmate who was held in contempt for showing up for a court appearance on drugs was sentenced on Monday

By Helen Freund
NOLA.com

NEW ORLEANS, La. — An Orleans Parish Prison inmate who was held in contempt after showing up for a court appearance stoned on drugs was sentenced by a district judge Monday (April 28) to serve jail time for the offense.

Even though a new drug test administered for Willis Turner, 31, returned negative, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Frank Marullo refused Turner’s attorney’s plea to scrap the contempt charge and instead sentenced the inmate to serve six months in jail.

Turner, who is awaiting trial on a charge of attempted murder, showed up in Marullo’s courtroom in January so high on drugs that he could not stand properly or respond to questions, a condition that irked Marullo and raised questions as to how the inmate was accessing the drugs while in OPP custody.

Full story: OPP inmate sentenced to 6 months for being high in court

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