Pubdate: Thu, 29 Oct 2015 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Contact: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n597/a03.html Author: Christian M. Capece SENTENCE STRUCTURE FOR DRUGS NEEDS AN EDITOR Regarding Heather Mac Donald's "Obama's Tragic Let 'em Out Fantasy" (op-ed, Oct. 24): Respectfully, Ms. Mac Donald would do well to spend time in a real federal courtroom to observe the ridiculously low amount of drugs that needs to be trafficked for an offender to earn a long prison sentence. Our office, located in a state with the nation's highest rate of drug-overdose deaths, routinely represents drug addicts charged with distributing as few as two or three prescription pain pills to other addicts who happen to be cooperating with local law enforcement agencies. Such defendants are hardly the serious drug traffickers Ms. Mac Donald suggests fill federal prisons. Rarely are cooperating, low-level traffickers used by prosecutors to build a case against their more sophisticated, out-of-state suppliers. Instead more of what you might call "low-hanging fruit" cases are prosecuted with hardly a dent made in the so-called war on drugs. Ms. Mac Donald also writes that "it takes a lot more than marijuana or cocaine use to end up in federal prison." This statement is false. After federal inmates are released from prison, they remain under court supervision for one or more years. During such time drug use alone by the former inmate is considered a supervision violation, which often leads to additional time in prison and continues a mindless cycle of incarceration and release. This is precisely why a bipartisan effort, led by the president, is needed to create additional drug and mental-health treatment resources in our communities. Such resources will give judges more rational alternatives than imposing costly prison sentences in every case and may also help prevent addicts and those struggling with mental-health issues from being charged with crimes in the first place. Christian M. Capece Federal Public Defender Charleston, W.Va. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt