Father-of-two, 25, sentenced to life for stealing a POWER TOOL - Louisiana [View all]
Father-of-two, 25, sentenced to life for stealing a POWER TOOL: Thousands of inmates are being kept behind bars due to 'over-sentencing'
Patrick W. Matthews was jailed in 2009 at the age of 22, for stealing a $750 welding machine in Lousiana
He was convicted under Habitual Offender Law - because he robbed a fruit stand as a teenager with a drug problem
3,278 people are incarcerated in the U.S. for minor offenses and 65% of inmates are black, according to ACLU
The family of a young father have revealed their heartache as he serves a life sentence - for stealing a power tool.
Patrick W. Matthews was jailed in 2009 at the age of 22, for stealing a $750 welding machine, some tools and a generator, according to court documents. Matthews, who has a history of drug abuse, was sentenced to life in a Louisiana prison for his crimes.
His case has come to light after a report was released this week by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which shows the shocking number of non-violent offenders who are facing the rest of their lives in jail for relatively small-time offenses.
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Matthews, who had been using meth and heroin since he was a teenager, was sentenced under Louisiana's Habitual Offender law.
The harsh sentence came because the young man had prior convictions - one for stealing from a pawn shop and another from a fruit stand while he was a teenager and high on meth.
Matthews had never spent a day in jail before he was sentenced to a life term.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2507331/Family-man-given-life-parole-non-violent-crime-stealing-power-tool.html#ixzz2kg9cuf5P
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