Businessman and former race car driver Peter Morgan, who was earlier this year sentenced to ten years in a New York Court for drug trafficking, has filed a notice of appeal seeking a 33-month deduction from his sentence.
In a handwritten notice of appeal, filed by Morgan himself days after he was sentenced in February, the drug convict contends that while his plea bargain with officials includes a non-appealability statement he is of the opinion that “there exists a jurisdictional issue of 33 additional months creating a partial liberty interest.”
In the letter, seen by this newspaper, Morgan contends that the plea agreement specifically states that the court must make a finding as to the application of the ‘safety valve’ in the case but it appears as if no such finding was made.
He said the court stated that there was a “fine line” between the arguments presented. This was not a finding with the required “requisite specificity.”
“This distinction is paramount as it covers a 33-month reduction in sentence and as such creates a partial liberty interest which is jurisdictional in scope,” Morgan wrote.
As such he appealed to the Second Circuit of the United States Courts of Appeal to determine if the safety valve issue was properly addressed.
A sobbing Morgan, who had pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to import drugs into the US, was sentenced on February 5.
His sentencing was delayed on several occasions, a sign sources say that there was a plea deal.
The businessman was facing a three-count indictment which accused him of conspiring to import, possess and distribute five kilogrammes of cocaine between December 2001 and August 2003.
