A Black man with a lengthy arrest record in the U.S. state of Louisiana faces life in prison for attempting to steal hedge clippers. 

Fair Wayne Bryant was convicted on one count of attempted simple burglary back in 1997. 

Bryant's life sentence for trying to steal hedge clippers is allowed under the habitual offender law. 

In a 2018 appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Louisiana, Bryant's lawyer wrote, "...his life sentence is unconstitutionally harsh and excessive."

But in a recent 5-1 ruling with one judge abstaining, the Louisiana Supreme Court denied Bryant's request to have his sentenced overturned. 

The only judge to disagree with the ruling was Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, the only female and Black justice on the court. 

Justice Johnson argued the sentence is disproportionate to the offense, and also points out, Bryant's 23 years in prison have already cost Louisiana taxpayers more than $500,000. 

"If he lives another 20 years, Louisiana taxpayers will have paid almost one million dollars to punish Mr. Bryant for his failed effort to steal a set of hedge clippers," she wrote in her dissent. 

Habitual offenders are people who have committed two or three previous felonies or multiple misdemeanors.

If someone falls under this category, increased penalties can be applied to future crimes. 

While some states have amended these laws or limited how they can be applied, many U.S. states still follow these practices. 

In Bryant's case, the 1997 hedge clippers arrest made five offenses, according to CNN.

In 1979 he was convicted for attempted armed robbery, in 1987 for possession of stolen property, attempted forgery of a check in 1989, simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling in 1992 and then the failed attempt at stealing hedge clippers in 1997.

In her dissent, Justice Johnson also notes, "Each of these crimes was an effort to steal something. Such petty theft is frequently driven by the ravages of poverty or addiction, and often both." 

She called this ruling a "modern manifestation" of Pig Laws, which were "designed to re-enslave African Americans."

"This man's life sentence for a failed attempt to steal a set of hedge clippers is grossly out of proportion to the crime and serves no legitimate penal purpose." 

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