Richard 'White Boy Rick' Wershe Jr. denied early parole in Florida

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Photo: Florida Dept. of Corrections

Richard 'White Boy Rick' Wershe, Jr. was denied a shot at an early parole by a Florida court Tuesday.

In June Wershe, 49, was granted parole in Michigan after almost 30 years in prison. He was sentenced as a teenager to life behind bars when he was caught with cocaine at the age of 17.

Wershe will stay in prison until October 26, 2020 for his current sentences of racketeering  back in 1999 for his alleged part in a car theft ring. 

Last March the Florida governor and Clemency Board had announced that his case would be taken into consideration, but today he and his family had those hopes dashed. In a letter dated March 27, the clemency office denied the request for commutation of the sentence.

At 17, Detroit police said Wershe had stashed nearly $30,000 and about 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) of the drug.  Wershe had worked as an FBI informant and reported corrupt Detroit police officers but wasn't given leniency.

At the time of his sentencing in 1988, the drug crimes he committed carried a mandatory life sentence. He was 17 at the time. Since his imprisonment in 1988, Michigan repealed the lifer law for drug dealers. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that life sentences for juveniles was not constitutional.

Despite that, Wershe remained in prison.

But while Wershe was behind bars, he got caught up in a scheme to sell stolen cars that resulted in a criminal conviction in Florida. When he was released from Michigan prison in August of 2017, he was transferred down to Florida to serve time there.

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Since then, Wershe has been the subject of a Hollywood movie. The 2018 film "White Boy Rick" starred Matthew McConaughey.