Pubdate: Thu, 25 Apr 2002
Source: Birmingham Post-Herald (AL)
Copyright: 2002 Birmingham Post Co.
Contact:  http://www.postherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/46
Author: Cathy Humber

ABOLISH MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCES

I am writing to ask for support of H.R. 1978, which would abolish mandatory 
minimum sentences for simple drug possession, distribution, manufacturing 
and importation of drugs.

Mandatory sentencing laws don't work. These laws limit the facts that 
judges may consider to weight and type of drug and prior convictions and 
prevent them from considering the defendant's role in the offense or 
prospects for rehabilitation. As a result, 55 percent of federal drug 
offenders are low-level offenders and another 33 percent mid- level drug 
offenders. Nearly 90 percent of the federal drug offenders are non-violent.

H.R. 1978 would eliminate mandatory sentences, but it would not eliminate 
punishment. Drug offenders would be sentenced under the U.S. Sentencing 
Guidelines, which allows judges to consider all the facts of the case. Thus 
we would move nearer to the ideal sentence: one that fits the crime.

I am not going to lead you to think that I know about the law and that I am 
able to cite case after case, because I don't. However, I do know the 
mandatory sentencing that our federal government imposes is wrong. I can 
tell you about case after case where people have ended up spending most of 
their lives in federal prisons. I can tell you about a 19-year-old lady who 
became entangled in a methamphetamine conspiracy that cost her 19 years of 
her life (she was a first-time offender). I can tell you about a 
19-year-old man, arrested on one count of possession with intent to 
distribute crack cocaine. He was offered a plea agreement and in exchange 
it would be recommended to the court that he be sentenced to 15 years. He 
turned down the plea because he did not feel he was guilty of one of the 
charges. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 19 years and seven months 
(he was a first-time offender).

I have done hours of research and can tell you about many more cases, but I 
want to tell you about the case of my brother.

My brother and I grew up in a happy middle-class Christian home. Our father 
was a lay-preacher. My brother has always been a respected member of our 
community. He has always been there for families when a member of their 
family died. He has bush-hogged fields and piled brush for a lady in our 
community that had no one to help her, and he never charged her a dime. I 
can tell you of many more things that he has done.

My brother has always been in a great deal of pain because a car hit him on 
a bike when he was 13 years old. Unable to deal with the pain, he started 
taking drugs for personal use. In August 2001, he was arrested in a 
methamphetamine lab.

He was only there to buy (which is wrong), but when the police came in, he 
had been handed a bottle to wash so he was also charged with conspiracy. He 
also had a registered pistol in his pocket. My brother was given no other 
option but to plead guilty, which meant even though he wasn't making the 
drug, that was part of the plea. Other than one speeding ticket, he has 
never been in any trouble in his life. He was sentenced to eight years nine 
months.

My brother has a wonderful wife who loves him, a 10-year-old daughter and a 
14-year-old son. This whole thing has been like a death in our family. We 
have all had a hard time dealing with it.

The mandatory sentencing law the federal government has is not a fair law. 
This law has taken the lives of many American citizens that deserve just 
one more chance. Many of these people need help - not prison. I saw one 
45-year-old man sentenced to 15 years and nine months and he sat there 
crying before being sentenced, asking the judge to get him help because he 
couldn't do it alone. The judge had no compassion.

Please, support the H.R. 1978, make sure this mandatory sentencing law is 
changed.

Cathy Humber
3993 Humber Road
Dora
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart