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Comment by Natsu | Hacker News Reader

The downside of this, sadly, is that he appears to have mental health issues. Unless he has some outside support, which may be difficult with his dad being dead and having been incarcerated since something like 1994, he would be rather likely to end up on the street, alone :(

Here's hoping there are people on the outside to help him out.

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> Here's hoping there are people on the outside to help him out.

I thought the same thing and wondered whether he had been granted clemency, so I googled a bit and found a page by his sister[1], which at least suggests that he has family that thinks of and cares about him. So hopefully they could help out.

1. https://www.change.org/p/my-brother-was-sentenced-to-life-wi...

That's encouraging to hear, thank you.

>with his dad being dead --

For those unaware his father died in Prison. Why was he in Prison? Well the son committed the crime in the house the father owned. His father died 8 years into a 10 year prison sentence. Cruel.

Ok, curious, what circumstances led to that? The enforcement nowadays seems limited to civil forfeiture, where they would have seized ownership of the house without ever charging the dad, also an egregious act but very different from what happened here?

I read that Timothy was selling LSD to a DEA agent so this implies the entire case was federal? Do the feds still act this way in charging the homeowner instead of "merely" moving to seize the house?

I can't find much info on the father but the wikipedia cite for his father going to prison goes to this:

> In May of 1992, Tyler sold pot and LSD to a longtime friend who was really a police informant. His father, who was also named Timothy and had a fireworks business in Florida, helped out with the deal and was charged along with his son. ... His father, who had a prior pot charge from 1969, got 10 years, Tyler-Stoafer told me. He had heart trouble and died in prison when he was 53, after serving 8 years in prison. http://www.businessinsider.com/timothy-tylers-mandatory-mini...

I also found this:

>Some packages with LSD were mailed to Tim’s father’s address, implicating him in the case as well. https://www.headcount.org/this-peaceful-deadhead-will-die-in...

ah okay, according to that it wasn't completely passive involvement, got it

I'm sorry I don't have an answer for that at this moment. I read the comment on a different medium that had posted this story. I cannot verify it at this moment and don't have the available time to research it further.

If this is the story I recall he was mailing it via USPS and they letters originated from the house the father owned. However, this is a fuzzy memory from some time back.

I would bet that a jam band or ten would be more than happy to put on a concert/festival on his behalf.

>incarcerated since something like 1994

Wow. Wait until he sees a cell-phone...

You are aware they have television, newspapers, books, and, yes, even in some cases cell phones in prison, aren't you?

Sure, but I'd be surprised if they had iphone 6s laying around.

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