Pubdate: Thu, 13 May 2004 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Author: Merlene Davis Cited: FAMM http://www.famm.org Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) TIME IN PRISON IS WORTH TALKING ABOUT During the year since I last visited with Mary Leah Atkinson, her husband of 42 years died and her imprisoned daughter was transferred from Lexington to Danbury, Conn., via Oklahoma and Georgia. But the one thing that hasn't changed is the one thing she has worked hard to overturn: Mandatory minimum sentences are still the law of the land. Atkinson is the Central Kentucky coordinator for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a non-profit organization founded in 1991 that has 35 chapters in 25 states. Atkinson's daughter Leah Jean Atkinson, 39, was sentenced to a mandatory five-year prison sentence after being caught in a drug sting. Two more years were added to that sentence because she left the state without permission while awaiting sentencing. Mandatory minimum drug sentences were approved by Congress at the height of the country's war on drugs in 1986 and tightened in 1988 to include drug conspiracies and gun offenses. The prison population doubled in the 1980s and doubled again in the 1990s due in no little part to the longer sentences. The simple act of taking a message for a drug sale or-driving a drug dealer to a sale makes a person a conspirator, regardless of that person's awareness of the situation. Conspirators can face the same charges as dealers. Often those conspirators are the girlfriends or wives of drug dealers. In 2002, 54.7 percent of all prisoners in the federal system were serving time for drug offenses. In comparison, 3.3 percent of that population was in prison for murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping, and 11.6 percent were imprisoned on weapons, explosives and arson charges. Additionally, women sometimes serve longer sentences than the husbands or boyfriends who actually dealt drugs. See, the dealers could become informers, which could mean lighter sentences. The more you know, the more you tell, the less time you serve. That's what Mary Leah Atkinson is fighting to end. In essence, the mandatory sentencing laws took discretion out of the hands of judges who are paid to do just that: judge. "We need to put the mandatory minimums in the judges' hands," Atkinson said, "and parole needs to be put back into the federal system. Most people don't realize the federal prison system has no parole." Plus, she said, the same budgetary cuts that have decreased the amount of money available for health care and education are also negatively affecting programs that could help rehabilitate inmates. "And more and more people are being sent to prison," she said, and they are receiving fewer services. Atkinson is not alone in her fight against those laws. Calling the laws unwise and unjust, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy last year asked Congress to end mandatory minimum sentences. He said all they do is jam prisons with young people who lose hope. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has made similar comments. Also, presidential hopefuls Gary Nolan, a Libertarian, and Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat, are in favor of rescinding the laws. So, despite the sadness Atkinson has experienced this past year, she will tell anyone willing to listen just how unfair mandatory minimum sentences are, not just for her daughter, but for everyone. Call (859) 223-7304 and set up a time for her to speak to your group. You, too, can be added to the growing list of folks who are taking a second look at the law. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin