Michael Bennett Gardner Sr, 58, fails in appeal for heavier sentence f

[kiwi_farmer]

A FATHER-of-nine's plea for a heavier jail sentence to properly recognise his achievement in growing one of Australia's largest cannabis crops has fallen on deaf ears.

Michael Bennett Gardner Sr, 58, voiced his outrage in Brisbane's Court of Appeal over the 13-year sentence he was handed for growing 3.5 tonnes of cannabis with an estimated street value of almost $70 million.

Gardner was of the opinion that his effort in raising a record-breaking crop should have yielded him a jail term of at least 20-years.

Gardner, an anti-abortion campaigner who represented himself in court earlier this weekwearing a T-shirt with the slogan "Abortion is Killing", is among the few Queenslanders ever to challenge his prison term on the grounds it was manifestly inadequate.

In Queensland, it is usually the Attorney-General who appeals sentences deemed to be inadequate - not prisoners.

However, the Court of Appeal on Friday unanimously refused Gardner's appeal to increase his sentence, saying he had "demonstrated no relevant basis for challenging the appropriate of the sentence imposed".

Justice Margaret White, in her written decision, said: "(Gardner) demonstrated no error in the approach of the (sentencing) primary judge."

"The only relevant submission made by (Gardner) is that the extent of his trafficking was so great that it fell within that class of cases described as 'the worst category' for which the maximum is reserved.

"I would refuse the application."

Justices Cate Holmes and Martin Daubney agreed.

The Courier-Mail in June revealed Gardner masterminded possibly Australia's largest cannabis crop to raise funds for his proposed national anti-abortion campaign.

During his sentencing hearing, Gardner, 58, called Brisbane Supreme Court judge Roslyn Atkinson a "tyrant" as she jailed him for trafficking cannabis in quantities of "heroic" proportions between June 1, 2004, and December 17, 2008.

Gardner at the time told the court Queensland's strict drug laws and penalties were baseless and of no relevance in a world and time when abortions could be freely obtained via clinics that advertise in the Yellow Pages.

Gardner, during a 20-minute speech of questionable relevance to his court proceedings, proclaimed he had no regrets at all for growing more than 3.5 tonnes of cannabis and planned to do it again.

Gardner, who pleaded guilty in March to one count of drug trafficking, will have to serve at least 10 years and four months in jail because under state law he is now considered a dangerous violent offender and must serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence behind bars.

Police, the court was told, arrested Gardner the day after they raided his 2225ha property at Inglewood, 265km southwest of Brisbane, and seized almost 3.6 tonnes of harvested marijuana and a further 22,000 plants.

Prosecutor Michael Lehane said the estimated street value of the drugs seized was $68.95 million.

 

of cannabis

• by: Tony Keim
  
• From:The Courier-Mail
  
• October 26, 201212:31PM
  

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