COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR Willie Nelson has been handed an unlikely judicial reprieve from a Texas prosecutor – who is willing to drop a charge for marijuana possession if he sings for him.

Texas County Attorney Kit Bramblett has told the singer, 77, that he can avoid a prison sentence if he’ll pay a nominal $100 fine – and if he would be willing to perform a song for her in a courtroom.

“I’m gonna let him plead, pay a small fine, and he’s gotta sing ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ with his guitar, right there in the courtroom,” Bramblett told CNN, adding:

You can bet your a** I’m not going to be mean to Willie Nelson.

Bramblett explained that the song had been chosen because it was the favourite song of the local judge, Becky Dean-Walker. Nelson is set to sing it in the courthouse at Sierra Blanca, which has a population of just over 500.

Nelson’s tour bus was travelling through the area last November when it was pulled over by police, who found around 100g of marijuana on board. Nelson acknowledged that the drug was his.

The volume of the drug confiscated could have seen Nelson slapped with a fine of up to $2,000 (€1,421) and 180 days in jail, the BBC said.

Original reports said around 6oz (170g) of material was seized from the bus – a quantity which would have raised the crime out of local jurisdiction – but Bramblett said that amount included containers and other equipment.

The courthouse performance is to be considered Nelson’s community service.