Pubdate: Thu, 20 Mar 2008
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2008 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact:  http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Paul Turenne

JUDGE RIGHT TO RIP INTO DRUG DEALER

For anyone who failed to understand why Queen's Bench Justice Donald 
Bryk ripped into the personal character of convicted drug dealer Jose 
Neves -- someone he didn't even know -- this week, the answer lies in 
one simple explanation.

Cocaine trafficking is not a victimless crime.

Neves was handed a 10-year sentence in Winnipeg Tuesday for selling 
cocaine to a police agent while on parole for a previous cocaine 
trafficking conviction.

Bryk let him have it at his sentencing hearing, calling him 
"cold-hearted, greedy, manipulative, dishonest and deceitful," 
accusing him of creating misery and caring nothing for human life, 
and suggesting neither his children nor the city's Portuguese 
community should be proud of him.

All this despite several glowing letters of support that indicated 
Neves is an honest, decent and caring family man who happened to get 
caught up in the wrong lifestyle.

But Bryk rejected any suggestion a twice-convicted big-time cocaine 
dealer could be anything resembling honest and decent. Bryk's 
comments were based on the idea regardless of what other 
characteristics a cocaine dealer exhibits in his "everyday" life, the 
fact he knowingly deals cocaine is enough to consider him a 
cold-hearted peddler of poison.

Bryk is absolutely right.

Police will freely admit the majority of crime in Winnipeg -- yes, 
the majority -- is related to drugs.

Drug addicts, especially those hooked on crack, commit any number of 
crimes to acquire money to buy more drugs, including robberies, 
muggings, thefts, break and enters, and, of course, prostitution.

Many of those people have kids, so not only do they create victims of 
their crimes, but they also create victims of their addiction.

Then there's the crime related to those who sell drugs. Debts to pay, 
turf to defend -- much of it leads to violence, including kidnapping, 
assaults and murders.

It all leads back up the chain from the addicts and street dealers to 
the big time distributors. Ask the convenience store clerk who gets a 
knife shoved in his face by a crackhead what he thinks of cocaine 
dealers. Ask the woman who gets her purse stolen or her house or 
garage or car broken into.

Ask the mother and father of the teenage boy who gets shot in a gang 
dispute, or the teenage runaway who turns tricks for crack money 
because she's got nothing else left to sell.

Justice Donald Bryk doesn't need to ask them.

He, and all his fellow judges, see the victims of people like Jose 
Neves in court every day.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom