Home > Article
VOL. 35 | NO. 50 | Friday, December 16, 2011
Nashville Area
Sentence upheld for threats against federal judge
NASHVILLE (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the sentence of a man who sent threatening letters to a federal judge in Nashville.
Herbert Wilfred Nixon sent the letters to Senior Judge Thomas Wiseman after Wiseman sentenced him to jail for credit card fraud in 2002. The Tennessean reported that one of the letters contained a white powder that turned out to be artificial sweetener (http://tnne.ws/sXm1bq).
Nixon pleaded guilty to making a false threat involving a biological weapon. He appealed his sentence of five years, which was greater than the federal sentencing guidelines of 30 to 37 months.
A three-judge panel on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sentence on Tuesday, citing Nixon's criminal history and the fact that his hoax was meant to terrorize a judge and his staff.