Pubdate: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC) Copyright: 2003 Evening Post Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.charleston.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567 Authors: Phillip Caston, And Kathy Stevens Of The Post And Courier Staff '3 STRIKES' SENTENCE FOR DRUG DEALER COUNTY'S 1ST A Charleston County Jury Made History Tuesday, And It Will Cost A Convicted Drug Dealer The Rest Of His Life. The jury sentenced Derrin Dejuan C. Delesline, 27, of Mount Pleasant to life in prison without the possibility of parole for trying to sell 1.22 grams of crack cocaine within a half-mile of a school, according to the Charleston County solicitor's office. The steep penalty was triggered by South Carolina's "three strikes" law, and prosecutors said it's the first time someone has received life without parole for a drug charge in the history of Charleston County. "This is a good day for the town of Mount Pleasant because we got one of its worst criminals behind bars," said Frank Hunt, spokesman for the 9th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. Delesline has several prior convictions dating to 1993 and ranging from charges of drug possession to assault and battery, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. Delesline has six drug convictions and four other pending drug charges, Hunt said. He has served a total of about three years behind bars, according to SLED. "Every time he got out (of prison), he went right back into drug dealing," said Capt. Stan Gragg of the Mount Pleasant Police Department. Delesline was convicted of selling crack cocaine to a police informant in December 2001 near Chesterbrook Academy on Two Island Court in Mount Pleasant. Delesline's sentence sends a message to other drug dealers in Mount Pleasant, said Ed Knisley, 9th Circuit assistant solicitor. "It's a tough sentence, but anyone who continues to violate drug laws should pay the price," said Knisley. Delesline's attorney, Jim Smiley, said his client didn't deserve such a harsh punishment. "It's the law, but I think the law is inappropriate," Smiley said. "A man in his 20s will never see the light of day over a gram of crack." Delesline broke down in tears when his sentence was announced, Smiley and Hunt said. "It seems to me there has to be another way," Smiley said, "when people who commit murder are looked at in the same way" as a drug dealer. Delesline will appeal the verdict, Smiley said. The three-strikes law, which was adopted in South Carolina in 1995, administers life terms to people convicted of a third felony. California led the nation in 1994 with its three strikes law that put felons convicted of a third offense -- regardless of the third offense -- behind bars for life. Other states soon passed similar laws to discourage criminals. South Carolina introduced legislation in 1995 and one-upped California with its two-strikes law that jails for life those convicted of two "most serious offenses," including murder, homicide by child abuse and rape. The mandatory life sentence applies to all crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 1996, according to the Code of Laws of South Carolina. The law was amended to include repeat offenders like Delesline who are convicted of any combination of "most serious or serious" crimes including drug distribution, arson and embezzlement of public funds. The decision to invoke a life sentence for three-time losers is up to the solicitor. At last count in 1997, 24 states had three-strikes laws, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. These days, most states have some form of legislation although only a few enforce it. California is the most likely to enforce its law, followed by Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada, according to the National Center for State Courts, a Virginia-based nonprofit that provides research and education for the nation's state courts. By mid-1998, South Carolina jurors had sent 825 people to prison for life under the three-strikes or two-strikes law. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom