Pubdate: Thu, 15 Oct 1998
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 1998 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Author: Rick Klein 
Note: Our Newshawk points out that District Attorney John Vance's phone is
214-653-3600.

MAN RECAPTURED AFTER 28 YEARS TO BEGIN LIFE TERM SOON

Arrest Brings Outpouring Of Support, Offer Of Free Legal Representation

Charles Edward Garrett, the Dallas man who disappeared for nearly
three decades after a 1970 heroin-possession conviction, probably will
start serving his life sentence this week.

If his case were tried today, the outcome almost certainly would be
very different.

Laws have changed, and Mr. Garrett has received an outpouring of
support from people who believe the punishment does not fit the crime.
Radio talk shows have been flooded with calls from listeners saying
that Mr. Garrett, 56, has been rehabilitated and that a prison term
would be a waste of time and money.

"This man made a mistake 20-some-odd years ago," said Rick D. Day,
director of the North Texas chapter of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas,
which may petition Gov. George W. Bush for a pardon.

"Society has been better served by him paying his taxes and raising
his family. I believe he paid his debt to society. He has demonstrated
that he has rehabilitated himself."

Mr. Garrett and his lawyer, Mike Gibson of Dallas, could not be
reached for comment.

A jury convicted Mr. Garrett of heroin possession in February 1970.
Police had found him with 23 capsules in a drug-house raid in November
1968. While the jury was deliberating his sentence, Mr. Garrett -
still free on bond - left the courtroom and did not return.

Mr. Garrett spent most of the next 24 years living as Kowl Emil
Williams in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York before
returning to Dallas County in 1984, said Dallas County sheriff's
Detective George Arrieta.

Keeping his secret from even his closest associates, Mr. Garrett
married in 1986 and has several children, Detective Arrieta said. He
held a series of steady jobs and has stayed out of legal trouble, the
officer said.

All of which should mean something for his sentence now, according to
Randy Johnston, a lawyer who has offered pro bono services to Mr. Garrett.

"I can't believe tax dollars are being spent on putting this guy in
prison," Mr. Johnston said. "He lived a perfectly law-abiding life,
something he never would have done in prison. He's doing all of the
things we'd want someone to do."

In the eyes of the law, those facts don't matter. A hearing in state
District Judge Harold Entz's court will make the original ruling
official and send Mr. Garrett to a state prison, said Norman Kinne,
Dallas County first assistant district attorney. A hearing date has
not been set.

Penalties for heroin possession still range up to 99 years in prison,
depending on the amount seized. Attorneys doubt that Mr. Garrett would
have faced such a sentence under today's law but say they aren't sure
because authorities don't know the weight of the heroin in the 23 capsules.

Still, if Mr. Garrett were caught with the same drugs today, his
sentence probably would be far lighter, especially because he was a
first-time offender, Mr. Kinne said.

"It's a different time," said District Attorney John Vance, who
presided over Mr. Garrett's trial as a second-year judge.

State courts today also have more sentencing options. Many first-time
misdemeanor offenders are put in jail treatment programs, said Sabina
Stern, coordinator for the Collin County substance abuse program.

"The whole point is, you want people to get better," she said. "You
don't want them in jail because that's expensive."

That's why Mr. Johnston said he would readily champion Mr. Garrett's
cause. He rarely handles criminal cases but said he believes Mr.
Garrett is worth fighting for.

"Issues like this are really the reason I went to law school in the
first place," Mr. Johnston said.
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Checked-by: Patrick Henry