Barney Holt was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for possession of methamphetamine. Having long struggled with addiction, he had only ever been convicted of drug crimes, but the law at the time allowed the judge to impose a life sentence nonetheless. Under today’s laws, this sentence would be illegally lengthy. His lawyer did little to advocate for any other sentence.
Mr. Holt was a Class B trustee at Angola. He earned certificates from the National Center for Construction Education and Research for HVAC. He completed rehabilitative programming. He worked on the prison’s maintenance crew doing carpentry and construction jobs all over the prison. He frequently attended church services. He stopped using drugs.
Mr. Holt wanted to continue to contribute to society so he also sent money to the Baton Rouge Food Bank and Stillwater Ministries for nine years while incarcerated.
Mr. Holt has served more than 12 years in prison. On July 7, 2022, at 61 years old, largely because of his excellent prison record, he was re-sentenced and released.
