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How a Missouri 'pothead' became poster boy for compassion on drugs
By Patrik Jonsson,
MAY 23, 2015
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has commuted Jeff Mizanskey’s life sentence for marijuana offenses, allowing him a parole hearing – an indication of the public and political shift on draconian drug laws.
ATLANTA — Back in the day, Jeff Mizanskey was a bit of a pothead, at least that’s how the police in Sedalia, Mo., knew him. The third time Mr. Mizanskey got busted for weed – during a 1993 sting at a Super 8 motel – he lost his case at trial and received a mind-boggling punishment: Life in prison, with no chance of getting out.
In a major sign that US governors have joined the larger public in questioning the wisdom of draconian drug laws, Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday commuted Mr. Mizanskey’s sentence, allowing him a parole hearing to plead his case for freedom. He has a good shot of getting out, given that his only foul-ups during his 22 years in prison were putting mail in the wrong slot and having a messy cell floor.
It’s well-documented that the public mood has shifted dramatically on the topic of pot, with well over half of Americans now favoring its legalization. Meanwhile, four states have approved recreational marijuana, and 23 allow medical marijuana. President Obama has pardoned nonviolent drug offenders, and the US Justice Department has vowed to stop prosecuting low-level drug offenders at the federal level.
But that shift in thinking has left governors like Mr. Nixon in a quandary. What happens to nonviolent offenders serving major sentences for crimes around which the law has changed? Most specifically, the tough three-strikes-and-you’re-out law that took parole off the table for Mizanskey has been scaled back by the Missouri legislature.
"It's a very serious amount of time," Mr. Nixon told KMBC in February after agreeing to take a look at Mizanskey’s situation. "If the laws change after someone is sentenced, then you want to give those things a close look.”
The year before Mizanskey was busted for his minor role in a trafficking deal, Pew found that 73 percent of Americans favored the death penalty for “major drug traffickers,” and 57 percent believed police should be able to search houses of “known drug dealers” without a search warrant. Today, only 32 percent of Americans favor mandatory prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Societ...ead-became-poster-boy-for-compassion-on-drugs
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Significant (relative) compassion and reason for a prominent religious source. *tips hat*
By Patrik Jonsson,
MAY 23, 2015
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has commuted Jeff Mizanskey’s life sentence for marijuana offenses, allowing him a parole hearing – an indication of the public and political shift on draconian drug laws.
ATLANTA — Back in the day, Jeff Mizanskey was a bit of a pothead, at least that’s how the police in Sedalia, Mo., knew him. The third time Mr. Mizanskey got busted for weed – during a 1993 sting at a Super 8 motel – he lost his case at trial and received a mind-boggling punishment: Life in prison, with no chance of getting out.
In a major sign that US governors have joined the larger public in questioning the wisdom of draconian drug laws, Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday commuted Mr. Mizanskey’s sentence, allowing him a parole hearing to plead his case for freedom. He has a good shot of getting out, given that his only foul-ups during his 22 years in prison were putting mail in the wrong slot and having a messy cell floor.
It’s well-documented that the public mood has shifted dramatically on the topic of pot, with well over half of Americans now favoring its legalization. Meanwhile, four states have approved recreational marijuana, and 23 allow medical marijuana. President Obama has pardoned nonviolent drug offenders, and the US Justice Department has vowed to stop prosecuting low-level drug offenders at the federal level.
But that shift in thinking has left governors like Mr. Nixon in a quandary. What happens to nonviolent offenders serving major sentences for crimes around which the law has changed? Most specifically, the tough three-strikes-and-you’re-out law that took parole off the table for Mizanskey has been scaled back by the Missouri legislature.
"It's a very serious amount of time," Mr. Nixon told KMBC in February after agreeing to take a look at Mizanskey’s situation. "If the laws change after someone is sentenced, then you want to give those things a close look.”
The year before Mizanskey was busted for his minor role in a trafficking deal, Pew found that 73 percent of Americans favored the death penalty for “major drug traffickers,” and 57 percent believed police should be able to search houses of “known drug dealers” without a search warrant. Today, only 32 percent of Americans favor mandatory prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Societ...ead-became-poster-boy-for-compassion-on-drugs
................................................
Significant (relative) compassion and reason for a prominent religious source. *tips hat*
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