DESTROYING A LIFE BY 9-YEAR INCARCERATION - WHY?
On Jan. 25 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a 20 year old was sentenced to nine years in prison for selling 8 ecstasy pills to a 16 year-old high school student who subsequently tried to kill herself by overdosing on theese pills. The defendant is said to have had no prior drug convictions, was addicted to narcotics and "had cooperated with police . . . "
What possible good can come of this sentence - and for whom? What will the public get in return for a destroyed life and the many hundreds of thousands of dollars it will cost to lock up the seller for almost a decade? Can anyone believe there will be any "deterrence," any reduction in buying or selling or using illicit substances? Isn't it time to rethink the laws that are applied in situations like this - if not for humanitarian reasons, than strictly from the perspective of what makes sense for the general community?
posted by RGNewman, MD @ 9:27 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
These types of sentences protect noone. As a society it is time we reexamine the benefit of these and other questionable laws which serve no purpose than to alienate those with addictions. These "crimes" should be dealt with professionally by trained therapists. Not with cellmates! A society is judged by how it treats it's weakest members...
Go to blogspot "prisonerofthewarondrugs@blogspot.com is more of the same bs. A not-so-streetwise friend of mine was visited by DA, implicated HERSELF and is getting ready to have to do time!!! I think anyone interested in this subject will find this one especially interesting!
I have to say that 9 years is rather extreme, however, selling anything to a minor is taking a major risk. This sentence would be more of an outrage if it was because it was sold to a consenting adult. Dealers shouldn't be moving product to children. That's just stupid and irresponsible. A 16 year-old doesn't have a clue what they think they're doing and selling to them could put the kid at risk. An adult however -- well they have a personal responsibility to see to their own lives. The appropriate sentence would have been 10 years felony probation or 1 year in jail. After all -- the dealer was selling to a kid and the product was then part of an attempted suicide. It would be no different than selling a pistol. A pistol (like drugs) can be properly and safely used, but in the hands of an unstable child -- dangerous.
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