York County prosecutor, sheriff irate over Obama shortening drug dealer sentences

York County’s top prosecutor and sheriff are irate after a pair of Rock Hill drug dealers received shortened sentences from outgoing President Obama before he left office Friday.

Obama shortened the sentences of six area drug dealers, among 1,715 commutations in the past few months. Police and prosecutors in Chester and Lancaster counties voiced opposition to earlier orders by Obama that shortened sentences of convicted criminals in those counties.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson, a former drug unit agent, called Obama’s move “appalling.” He said that calling large quantity drug dealers “non-violent offenders” is an “abomination.”

Antonio Jeron Hemphill, 39, whose sentence was shortened from 22 years to 16 on Thursday, is among 330 commutations announced by the White House in the largest one-day sentence reduction in American history.

Sly Stallone Aikens, 37, was released in October after having his sentence cut in half, from 30 years to 15.

Hemphill’s sentence, after he pled guilty in 2005, was shortened to end in 2019 with drug treatment afterward.

“During the arrest of Mr. Hemphill, he intentionally rammed a police vehicle in an attempt to resist his lawful arrest while in possession of over a pound of crack and cocaine,” said York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson.

Tolson said: “To say that Mr. Hemphill is a non-violent drug offender, and to imply that drug dealers are non-violent in nature, is an absolute abomination. Given the recent acts of violence against police, the reduction of sentence of these two individuals by former President Obama is appalling.”

Aikens pleaded guilty in federal court to drug and weapons charges after he led police on a high-speed chase in 2004 through Rock Hill. During the chase, he threw an ounce of cocaine out the window before he was caught with two guns.

York County’s drug unit and other local police agencies handled the investigations before a decision was made by state and federal prosecutors to charge the men in federal court.

No local police or prosecutors were notified of the reduced sentences or were offered a chance to give their side of how the release might affect public safety to a federal panel reviewing potential release.

“What does that say about a process, if the people who are working for the safety of the community and to try and seek justice to protect the public are not told that a convicted drug dealer will be released?” said 16th Circuit Solicitor Kevin Brackett said.

“Local people worked those cases,” Brackett said.

“On the state level we are told of every parole hearing, pardon hearing,” he said. “We are given the opportunity to speak for or against. This is about the safety of the public. Nobody asked me anything, and nobody asked the police whose lives were endangered during these violent crimes anything, either.”

Advocates for the releases say America is about second chances after time served, and that the cases of all those released have been thoroughly reviewed.

The Clemency 2014 Project that led to the commutations came about after defense lawyers, federal prosecutors and White House officials negotiated after sentencing guidelines for drug crimes changed in the federal court system, Rock Hill defense lawyer Chris Wellborn told The Herald in December.

Wellborn is among many defense lawyers across the country who were part of the review process and said there is nothing underhanded or unfair about it.

To get a reduced sentence, offenders had to have served at least 10 years, possessed a good prison record and have no ties to gang or cartel violence. A review of the cases had to show that a sentence under current guidelines used by federal courts would likely have been less than when originally sentenced, and went through several layers of review, Wellborn said.

Both Brackett and Tolson are Republicans, but said politics should have no role in law enforcement, prosecution - or shortening sentences.

Yet Brackett said Obama only started the releases in abundance after his re-election in 2012, that culminated with a flurry of last-minute shortened sentences. With more than 1,700 drug offenders getting early release, there is almost no doubt that some will re-offend, Brackett said.

“I sincerely hope that every one of those people get out and lead productive lives,” Brackett said. “But if any of them commits a violent crime, if someone is killed, that will be the wreath that will be hung on the door of President Obama’s presidential library.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 2:39 PM with the headline "York County prosecutor, sheriff irate over Obama shortening drug dealer sentences."