Excessive Sentences

LIFE SENTENCE "My son Jimmy was given a life sentence for possessing two ounces of medical marijuana to treat his pain and muscle spasms. As a religious woman, I am heartbroken that organized religion is silent on the need to stop this cruel war. Would you please help us?" -- Thelma Montgomery-Farris, Sentinel, Oklahoma

SHOT DEAD BY POLICE On March 16, Patrick Dorismond was approached by an undercover New York City police officer attempting to buy some marijuana. Dorismond, a law-abiding citizen, expressed his resentment at being mistaken for a drug dealer, which then caused a scuffle. Moments later, the officer's back-up arrived and shot Dorismond dead.

1.5 million people are arrested every year for drug-law violations -- 75% for possession (not sale or manufacture). 600,000 of these arrests are for possessing marijuana for personal use. African-Americans comprise nearly 60% of the people in state prisons for drug felonies. Due largely to the War on Drugs, one in three Black men between the ages of 20 and 29 is in prison, on probation, or on parole -- even though their drug usage rates are the same as other Americans'. Indeed, 14% of the nation's Black men have lost their right to vote due to felony convictions! A majority of women in federal prison are there for drug law violations; 70% are first-time offenders. Many are incarcerated on "conspiracy" charges, such as taking phone messages for a live-in boyfriend who sells drugs. More than 75% of female prisoners are mothers of small children; many will be raped or otherwise abused by male prison guards. Nearly 40% of the AIDS cases reported in the United States have been linked to illicit drug injection. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services determined that needle-exchange programs reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug use -- yet the federal government refuses to fund these programs.

Civil liberties violations are a routine part of drug-law enforcement; e.g., drug dogs, urine tests, phone taps, paid confidential informants, entrapment, curbside garbage searches, military helicopters, infrared heat detectors, no-knock warrants, and stop-and-frisk searches of minorities and young people. Mandatory minimum prison sentences have removed the discretion that judges have over sentencing, resulting in excessive sentences for first-time, nonviolent drug offenders. Property forfeiture laws allow police to take someone's property even without a criminal conviction! The War on Drugs costs taxpayers more than $40 billion per year -- two-thirds of which is spent on enforcement, court and prison expenses, while only one-third is spent on education and treatment. Tens of millions of Americans -- including children and adolescents -- still use or abuse illegal drugs. Indeed, nearly 90% of high school seniors consider marijuana "easy" to obtain ... even easier than beer. The War on Drugs has failed to accomplish its stated goal of a "drug-free America." In fact, teen drug use increased throughout the 1990s.

http://www.uudpr.org/casualties.htm