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Conviction for Possession of a Weapon in a Prison affirmed

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In United States v. Holmes, No. 09-2846 (W.D.PA 06/07/10), the Court of Appeals affirmed Mr. Holmes conviction for possession of a weapon in a prison.Holmes was a prisoner at FCI - Loretto who was searched by prison guards and found to be in possession of a utility-knife blade. Holmes was subsequently charged with one count of possessing a weapon in a prison in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1791.Holmes proceeded to trial, was convicted and sentenced to 24 months incarceration. On appeal he made the following three claims: 1) the evidence at trial was insufficient for the jury to conclude the blade was a ?weapon? within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1791; 2) that the statute requires the government prove Holmes ?knew? the blade was a weapon; and 3) that the district court erred when it refused to charge him with misdemeanor possession of a ?prohibited object? as a lesser included offense...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on June 29, 2010 (boomark / email).