He was sentenced under Alabama 's mandatory minimum laws , which dictate that someone caught possessing more than 2.2 pounds of a drug .
Who had been convicted of certain felonies before that , must be sentenced to life in prison without parole .
He was sentenced under Alabama 's mandatory minimum laws , which dictate that someone caught possessing more than 2.2 pounds of a drug , and who had been convicted of certain felonies before that , must be sentenced to life in prison without parole .