A New York drug dealer connected to the overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams received a two-year prison sentence on Tuesday after both The Wire creator David Simon and Williams’ nephew petitioned the court for leniency.
Carlos Macci was looking at 20 years in prison after being connected to the drug crew that sold Williams the fatal dose. Unlike fellow dealer Irvin “Green Eyes” Cartagena, Macci was not directly charged with Williams’ death, but he was still looking at significant jail time. In a letter to the court, Simon argued that Williams would’ve been opposed to the lengthy sentence.
Via Associated Press:
“I miss my friend,” he wrote. “But I know that Michael would look upon the undone and desolate life of Mr. Macci and know two things with certainty: First, that it was Michael who bears the fuller responsibility for what happened. And second, no possible good can come from incarcerating a 71-year-old soul, largely illiterate, who has himself struggled with a lifetime of addiction.”
Williams’ nephew Dominic Dupont, who was extremely close to the actor, also asked the court for leniency. Dupont told the judge that he sympathized with Macci’s plight and believed he could turn his life around.
“It weighs heavy on me to see someone be in a situation he’s in,” Dupont said. “I understand what it is to be system impacted.”
(Via Associated Press)