Pubdate: Sat, 11 Mar 2006
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Copyright: 2006 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/897
Author: Laurie Sawin
Note: Laurie Sawin is the mother of Kyle Sawin, who was acquitted of 
selling marijuana in a drug-free zone.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?217 (Drug Free Zones)

GIVE KIDS, FAMILIES THEIR LIVES BACK

To the editor:

They've been waiting a year and a half now. Lives on hold. Physically 
ill from the stress and anxiety of waiting.

Attempting to focus on schoolwork and jobs. It's costing a fortune 
too in college and retirement savings.

It's tearing families apart.

Straining marriages and family relations. Parents blaming each other, 
everyone feeling guilty.

Our family knows this pain well. We went through it all last year. I 
am speaking of the marijuana-only, first-time offenders of the now 
infamous Great Barrington Taconic parking lot drug sting. Criminal 
trials in Berkshire County run every other month and these kids are 
on the "call of the list" every time. They will not know, almost 
until the day,  when they will go to trial.

No one in the family makes any plans.

In the last  year and a half these kids have grown up a great deal. 
They've seen and understand the toll this has taken on their families 
physically, emotionally and  financially. Let's put a little 
perspective on what these kids are accused of doing.

Did you know that, in the eyes of the law, anyone selling or even 
giving a single marijuana cigarette to someone else is guilty of 
distribution - making said person a "dealer?" Think back to when you 
were a teenager.

Maybe you never smoked marijuana and split some with a friend, but 
did you ever buy a six-pack of beer or a bottle of booze or wine? Did 
you share it with a friend, split the  cost? Let me count the laws broken.

How about last month when you went out to  dinner and had that extra 
glass of wine? Were you a drunk driver (according to  the letter of 
the law)? For the record, the combined total "take" of 
marijuana  from all the kids, for the entire operation, was less than 
one ounce. Yes, what these kids are accused of doing is illegal.

A first time offender for such small amounts of marijuana would most 
likely be charged with a misdemeanor, receive probation, be required 
to attend counseling, perform community service and be drug-tested 
for a specified period of time. The kid straightens up his or her act 
and they've got a second chance. But add location (school zone) and 
that misdemeanor (all other  circumstances being exactly the same) 
can become a felony, punishable by a  required minimum mandatory two 
years in jail. It's not just the jail term. A  felon is a felon for 
life! These kids would be banned or severely restricted  forever in 
terms of employment, ability to serve our country in the 
military,  ability to obtain a loan or mortgage, accessibility to 
continuing education and more. All for a misdemeanor committed by a teenager.

The real kicker is that the additional felony charge is not mandatory.

It is discretionary on the part of  one person, our district 
attorney. No parent of any of these accused kids has ever argued that 
their kid should not be punished.

However, no parent could stand by and watch while their kid is  made 
a felon for a misdemeanor! All these kids and their families have 
done, are doing, and will continue to "do the time." The taxpayers 
have already spent a fortune on this. Money far better spent on 
prevention and rehab than on courts and prisons. These are 
misdemeanor charges; nonviolent acts; dumb kids. Why is District 
Attorney Capeless trying to make these kids pay for the rest of their 
lives for this, possibly creating in them what his office should be 
trying to prevent? Give them that second chance.

The district attorney is the only one who can bring the felony 
charge, and he is the only one who can take them away. (If you've 
read this newspaper lately, you know that he does this all the time 
for more serious offenses.) Let these kids give back to the community 
instead of costing the community. Throwing them and their lives away 
at this point will serve no one.

LAURIE SAWIN

Note: Laurie Sawin is the mother of Kyle Sawin, who was acquitted of 
selling marijuana in a drug-free zone.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman