Actual Innocence Defense Helps Defendant Avoid Gun Conviction

The conviction of a defendant who pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm is in question because the state conviction on which the charge was predicated wasn’t a felony, the Tenth Circuit said Tuesday.

Timothy Hisey was convicted in 2016 of possessing a controlled substance in Kansas. The sentencing range for his crime was 28 to 32 months, but because he met certain conditions, state law required him to be put on probation and be given drug treatment.

In 2017, Hisey was charged in federal court with possessing a gun after having been convicted of a ...