Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

FourScore

(9,704 posts)
Fri May 24, 2013, 12:02 AM May 2013

First-time, non-violent drug offenders serve longer than for rape, child molestation, manslaughter

WBUR Boston's NPR Station
MA Reviews Mandatory Minimums
By Monica Brady-Myerov July 30, 2007

SNIP

...MONICA BRADY-MERYOV: Michaelene Sexton is a 55 year old grandmother of four who wears her strawberry blonde hair in a long braid. In the 1990s she was a bartender in Greenfield with a 10th grade education, three children, no husband and a growing cocaine habit.

MICHAELENE SEXTON: And I met this person who offered it to me at a very cheap price and I started including a friend or two in on it and it eventually got it really cheap or for free and eventually I started making a little money at the same time. It just snowballed. I never intended to be selling drugs.

MONICA BRADY-MERYOV: But she did — for almost 10 years. In 1999 she was arrested for possession of 100-200 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute. That amount could be packaged into as many as 9,000 $10 bags of cocaine. Her conviction fell under state mandatory minimum sentencing laws so the judge was not able to take into consideration the fact that she had never been arrested before, had no weapons and was a single mother of three.

MICHAELENE SEXTON: I never imaged that I would end up in prison for 10 year never imagined that could happen because I didn’t murder anyone. I didn’t rape anyone I’m not a child molester. I was a woman who had a drug problem and was doing illegal activities didn’t expected to get a longer sentence than people who do violent crimes. I never expected that.

MONICA BRADY-MERYOV: But federal research shows that the average sentence for a first time, non-violent drug offender is longer than the average sentence for rape, child molestation, bank robbery or manslaughter...Mandatory sentencing laws require the person serve all of the time in prison, no probation, no work release...

MORE AT: http://www.wbur.org/2007/07/30/ma-reviews-mandatory-minimums

17 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
First-time, non-violent drug offenders serve longer than for rape, child molestation, manslaughter (Original Post) FourScore May 2013 OP
K&R nt Mnemosyne May 2013 #1
There is no way this is just duhneece May 2013 #2
Just? malaise May 2013 #4
How thoughtless of me! duhneece May 2013 #5
LOL malaise May 2013 #9
You nailed it duhneece! n/t FourScore May 2013 #12
YOUR BODY DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU Warren DeMontague May 2013 #17
Ideal prisoners for a private for profit prison, not a lot of trouble to handle mostly, productive Fumesucker May 2013 #3
I think the laws, when created, were probably just justiceischeap May 2013 #6
nope, they were racist and classist from inception datasuspect May 2013 #7
Illicit drug users, the last group it is OK to dehumanize and dump on. bemildred May 2013 #8
You're so right. duhneece May 2013 #10
There is a lot of money in locking up minorities in this country and nobody cares so it's very kelliekat44 May 2013 #11
Minorities AND the poor, who may be white! duhneece May 2013 #14
I want drugs legalized, and mandatory sentencing for sexual assault. nt redqueen May 2013 #13
If only our Constitution prohibited cruel and unusual punishment indepat May 2013 #15
Color me shocked. Warren DeMontague May 2013 #16

duhneece

(4,105 posts)
2. There is no way this is just
Fri May 24, 2013, 05:04 AM
May 2013

The injustice of locking someone in a cage like a dangerous animal because of what they chose to put in their own bodies is sickening. I speak up loudly, civilly and often to my elected officials and support LEAP and Drug Policy Alliance.

duhneece

(4,105 posts)
5. How thoughtless of me!
Fri May 24, 2013, 07:25 AM
May 2013

Then, too, are the agencies like DEA, and even my local law enforcement that gets extra dollars for drug cases...it helps them justify their HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficing Area...for places like southern New Mexico) grants. And the idea of treating addiction as a public health issue instead of just a law enforcement one is just too 'soft' of me. Since many addicts, we now know, are self-medicating from PTSD or sexual assault or Adverse Childhood Experiences, it would be too easy to demand treatment instead of incarceration. Where would we be if we took that 'easy' way out and moved toward restorative justice instead of punitive justice?

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)
3. Ideal prisoners for a private for profit prison, not a lot of trouble to handle mostly, productive
Fri May 24, 2013, 05:15 AM
May 2013

Who the hell wants to work a bunch of armed robbers, rapists, child molesters and killers?






justiceischeap

(14,040 posts)
6. I think the laws, when created, were probably just
Fri May 24, 2013, 07:30 AM
May 2013

They were probably put in place to capture legitimate, big-time drug dealers. However, those folks are often too smart to get caught because they have all these lower level people who get busted instead.

Then you end up with people with drug habits, no criminal past, possibly selling drugs to continue their personal habit and they end up serving the sentences that the higher level drug dealers should be serving. As it happens in prostitution, it's usually the prostitute that ends of in jail and the guy soliciting the service gets the fine.

 

datasuspect

(26,591 posts)
7. nope, they were racist and classist from inception
Fri May 24, 2013, 07:35 AM
May 2013

and meant to hurt as many people as humanly possible.

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
8. Illicit drug users, the last group it is OK to dehumanize and dump on.
Fri May 24, 2013, 08:09 AM
May 2013

How will our masters divide and rule us when that last bigotry is gone?

duhneece

(4,105 posts)
10. You're so right.
Fri May 24, 2013, 08:52 AM
May 2013

Addicts are low-life scum, according to this perspective, who don't deserve treatment for the drugs they took to self-medicate.

 

kelliekat44

(7,759 posts)
11. There is a lot of money in locking up minorities in this country and nobody cares so it's very
Fri May 24, 2013, 09:49 AM
May 2013

Last edited Fri May 24, 2013, 01:35 PM - Edit history (1)

lucrative.

duhneece

(4,105 posts)
14. Minorities AND the poor, who may be white!
Fri May 24, 2013, 11:54 AM
May 2013

Obviously among the poor are more minorities & too many Republicans (and a few Democrats) figure that if you're poor, you didn't work hard, you are lazy, you failed to pull yourself up by the bootstrap, God didn't smile on you so you must not be a very good person, etc.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»First-time, non-violent d...