Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jun 2011
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2011 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: Randy Schultz, for The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

KICK THE LOCK-'EM-UP HABIT

As an op-ed article on the opposite page notes, this is the 40th 
anniversary of America's "War on Drugs." This year, Florida began a 
strategic retreat from decades of failed drug-related criminal 
justice policies, and that retreat should continue even faster next year.

In the late 1980s, Florida overreacted to the arrival of crack 
cocaine by instituting mandatory sentences that did little to 
distinguish addicts from traffickers. Prisons swelled, and the 
Department of Corrections began releasing inmates so the state would 
remain in compliance with court-ordered limits on prison populations. 
The system for deciding who to release, however, was spotty. One man 
who had served barely half his sentence killed two police officers. 
So next came the rule that all inmates must serve 85 percent of their sentence.

The bill for such rigidity hit in 2009, when the Legislature heard 
that without a change in policy Florida might need 19 new prisons, 
each costing $100 million to build and $25 million to run. Thus began 
the move to change who goes to prison, how long they stay and how 
prison prepares them for release. As part of that movement, Sen. 
Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Ari Porth, D-Coral 
Springs, filed a bill this year that would have ended minimum 
mandatory sentences for drug offenders. Not surprisingly, it failed.

"It's a big, hairy issue," Sen. Bogdanoff said, channeling former 
Gov. Jeb Bush. "People don't want to look 'soft on crime.' " But the 
bill intended only to leave sentencing "to the discretion of the 
judge." One big problem is that Florida bases sentencing on how much 
the drugs weigh. Someone with just seven Vicodin, Sen. Bogdanoff 
said, could get three years in prison. At one point during this 
year's session, the debate got down to whether to exclude 
acetaminophen from the narcotic hydrocodone when weighing the Vicodin.

Down with the bill went a reform long pushed by 4th District Court of 
Appeal Judge Melanie May that would target inmates for help after 
they were released. Rep. Porth, a Broward County prosecutor, wonders 
whether he and Sen. Bogdanoff aimed too high the first time. "Our 
bill was all-encompassing," he said, and may not have distinguished 
enough between drug users and drug sellers.

Still, other legislation increased the use of drug courts, which 
divert addicts from prison if they qualify, and made it easier for 
ex-felons to hold certain jobs without having to go through the long 
process of having full civil rights restored. Also, it became clearer 
this year that getting smarter on crime is not just a bipartisan 
issue but one that has support from business groups.

Nationally, the debate goes on about "legalizing" or 
"decriminalizing" drugs. In Florida, the debate should be about only 
how fast the state can repair the damage from decades of misguided 
criminal justice policies.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom