Court Upholds Life Sentence for Dealing Less than a Gram of Cocaine

TEXARKANA � An Upshur County man�s life sentence for dealing less than a gram of cocaine has been affirmed this week by the Texas 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana. On Wednesday, an appeals panel found no error had occurred in the life sentence of Kirk Douglas Bolton, 57, in Upshur County�s 115th Judicial Court in late 2011. KETK reports he was found guilty of delivery of cocaine less than one gram in a school zone of a daycare.

During the sentencing phase, the state prosecution was able to convince jurors Bolton was a habitual offender, raising the minimum punishment to 25 years up to life behind bars. The jury handed down a life sentence. The dealer appealed based on alleged insufficient evidence, an alternate juror present during deliberations, and limited cross-examination of an informant. The appeals panel sided with the trial court�s judgment in all of Bolton�s arguments.