Pubdate: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2007 The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/submissionform.htm Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Richard+Paey Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain) CRIST AND CABINET AS JURY AND JUDGE It's normal to feel compassion for people so overcome by chronic pain from health problems that they break laws to obtain large quantities of the medicine they need, then, incredibly, are branded drug traffickers and sentenced to prison for at least 25 years. But in pardoning Richard Paey of Hudson last week, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet let their compassion trump the state's rule of law. Instead of just commuting Paey's sentence - which would have been fair considering he spent 3 1/2 years in prison for illegally obtaining large quantities of prescription drugs he needs to make it through the day - the state's top officials fully pardoned him, erasing the 15 charges a jury convicted him of. Even Paey and his lawyers knew a pardon was a stretch - they didn't request one. Crist and the Cabinet overlooked, or severely down-played, how Paey obtained pain medication in the case - by fraud, according to the jury - - as well as the Second District Court of Appeal's affirmation of his convictions and sentence and the state Supreme Court's rejection of the resulting appeal. This was not a case of Paey being wrongly convicted based on perjury, prosecutorial misconduct, mistaken identity or other wrongful acts. The national focus on this case has, rightfully, been on Paey's overly harsh sentence for a drug trafficking conviction, which state laws unfairly allow when people possess a certain amount of controlled substances. In Paey's case, he had more than 33 grams of oxycodone for personal use. No evidence was given showing Paey sold the drugs because the trafficking law doesn't require it. In addition, his punishment of a mandatory 25-year prison sentence was equally unjust, illustrating another flaw in minimum mandatory sentencing laws. The law needs to be amended. But this is the job of the Legislature, not the state's chief executive officer and his Cabinet in their roles as the board of clemency. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake