Jordan Kushner writes:
Barbara's summary of the effects of the proposed changes in drug laws are inaccurate. Someone would not have to possess 250 grams or sell 50 grams of cocaine(described by Barbara as $50,000/$10,000 worth of crack - the accuracy of Barb's figures which is questionble) to go to jail. These would just be the amounts that would lead to a presumptive prison sentence of 86 months (more than 7 years in prison). Someone with less drugs would still face 4 years in prison. Substantially less drugs would likely lead to a sentence of some time in jail (less than one year) plus probation. Anyone violating probation for any of these offenses would face time in prison.
More significant is the huge disconnect between the undisputed problems related to drugs in inner cities and Barbara's insistence on sending people to prison for as long as possible. Where is the evidence of a relationship between the problem and the "solution." The current sentencing laws have been on the books for at least 15 years. For larger level drug dealing, the federal government has been sending people to prison for 10, 20, 30 years or life for the past 20 years. Apparently none of these outrageous sentences have alleviated Barbara's complaints about drugs in her neighborhood. Time has proven that the knee-jerk reaction of locking up inner-city youngsters and drug addicts and throwing away the key is ineffective (not to mention unjust). Is it not time to try something different?
The main reason that the legislative changes have any chance is that the prisons are on the verge of overcrowding. A very high percentage of these innmates are non-violent drug offenders. It costs $20,000 per year to incarcerate people. That money could easily cover treatment, education and job training for each drug offender. All much more effective solutions than warehousing people in cages.
Barbara's comment AND UNDERSTANDING that a motivating factor for lesser sentences being the concern with suburban methamphetamine dealers doing hard prison time like inner-city drug dealers really gets to the racist heart of the matter. The "war on drugs" is really a war on people of color. Most people incarcerated for drugs are Black, Latino, or Native American. As soon as while people start going to prison in large numbers, there is pressure to lighten the sentences.
Dennis Plante responds:
I feel strongly enough about this issue to risk receiving a warning from David, because it's my 3rd post today.
I just finished a rather extended conversation with Rep. Ellison (one of the bills authors), regarding the intention of this bill. I agree wholeheartedly that it's time to try a new approach. However, the very real fears and concerns of people living in impacted neighborhoods need to be heard and considered.
The proposed bill offers no guarantee that adequate funds (even those funds that are realized in the form of cost-savings because you're not incarcerating as many low-level offenders) will be ear-marked for rehabilitation and job-training. In fact, in light of the political "mood" right now in our state, I doubt very much that even a fraction of the savings realized from having less offenders "locked-up" in our penal system would even reach the substituted rehabilitation efforts.
As such, I feel the proposed bill, at this point in time anyway, is a good start in opening-up the dialogue necessary to bring about constructive change, but it doesn't have the necessary legs under it to support what it's trying to accomplish.
The long and the short of it - the intentions of this bill (and they are admirable) will fail miserably, unless the funding is made available at the state level to adequately treat, rehabilitate and train life skills to those that we're now incarcerating.
I'm not at all convinced our current state administration will do that.
Dennis Plante Jordan
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