TDS A close friend gets 10 years in prison for personal heroin possession

[Wayne C]

A friend of mine got caught while he was picking up a personal amount of heroin in Wyoming. He had never been arrested in the state, but he did have quite a few prior's. For Heroin I think it was either his second or third offense. I've never been happy about him being a junkie, he didn't shoot up but he definitely still had a problem. Giving 10 years definitely isn't going to help shit, this kids only 22 years old 8( I wish there was some way I could help him, but sadly there is nothing I can do. He's currently appealing his case but who knows how long it will take and if it will even do any good. Another kid I know (in a different state) robbed a bank while on probation and he's only looking at three years! WTF?!?!

 

[beengerman]

It's just sad the way our system is set up, and this is a prime example

 

[neversickanymore]

Sorry to hear that Wayne.. please be aware that you can usually send him books through a service like amazon and any sort of contact like a visit or regular letters could have a really positive effect. Also this is a prime example of why we need to get into the fight of changing these laws.. it is easy to look up the address or email of you representatives in congress and drop them a line stating that you are in favor of reform of the the current drug laws and why we feel this way. If nothing changes then nothing changes and if we dont push for the change then nothing will change.

 

[mrflowers00]

thats a stiff penalty but he's lucky considering that the 3 strike law doesn't just entail violent crimes anymore it could have been 25 to life at least it sounds like he has had 3 felonies

 

[Wayne C]

I don't think he's been convicted of a felony 3 times, and I know California has the 3 strike law but many states do not. He has been arrested more than a few times but I don't think he was convicted of 2 other felonies...

 

[balcony]

I am very sorry to hear about your friend. This so called *war on drugs* is a war on ourselves. I always say, follow the money trail. Prisons need to fill their quota and sadly drugs are a straight road there. They say it is easier to get heroin in prison than it is out on the street, I truly hope your friend sweats out a cure instead of continuing his addiction, but 10 years is NOT fair. Not even A DAY in prison for drugs is fair. Again, you have my deepest sympathy and I hope your friend can somehow overcome this.

 

[footscrazy]

What a fucked up situation. How does a sentence like that make sense to anyone? This, for sure...:

Also this is a prime example of why we need to get into the fight of changing these laws.. it is easy to look up the address or email of you representatives in congress and drop them a line stating that you are in favor of reform of the the current drug laws and why we feel this way. If nothing changes then nothing changes and if we dont push for the change then nothing will change.

Another pointless casualty of the war on drugs. I'm not familiar with the system in the US, but perhaps with good behaviour he can get out earlier. Situations like this just make me so fucking angry. Can he work on getting some qualifications while he's in there? Even if he does the full ten, his life will not be by any means over when he gets out.

 

[balcony]

What a fucked up situation. How does a sentence like that make sense to anyone? This, for sure...:



Another pointless casualty of the war on drugs. I'm not familiar with the system in the US, but perhaps with good behaviour he can get out earlier. Situations like this just make me so fucking angry. Can he work on getting some qualifications while he's in there? Even if he does the full ten, his life will not be by any means over when he gets out.

Getting a proper job with a prison record in the US is almost impossible

 

[flat-line]

Sad another statistic of "the war on drugs".

One hope is the prison system is starting to run out of steam/$$ they are letting non violent offenders out first in some places.

 

[cj]

What a bunch of bullshit. Just try to be there for the guy write some letters and put some money on his books if possible.

 

[$ublimaze]

I've never been to the states, but that sounds fucking scary as hell. I just watched this documentary, Why We Fight, and even though I have known about the military industrial complex, with its think-tanks, its still shocking as hell to actually see the inner workings of that machine. It seems seriously fucked up there. Its def fucked up here and we have way less people. I don't know much of Canada either, mostly just Ontario which is, I think, the most US like province in Canada. Especially Toronto.

All I know is that is fucking disgusting. The people who set this War On Drugs thing in motion and continue to exploit it are seriously fucked up people.

The joke about it is They Are Total Fucking Junkies For Power. Which is like waaayyyyyy more destructive to society than drugs. Banks and Corporations are obviously fucking the world up more than drugs. Yet they live in palaces.

So ya. I'm so sorry for your friend. Heroin is an illness that needs compassion not to be treated like scum of the earth. OMFG it makes me so mad.

 

[neversickanymore]

The joke about it is They Are Total Fucking Junkies For Power..

QFT but this joke isnt funny at all

 

[Cornishman]

Wtf? 10 years? For possession?

Wow.

 

[bagochina]

Fucking Wyoming, sounds like some bullshit up there. I've been arrested for poss of a controlled substance maybe 5 or 6 times, never once did it enter my mind that I would get jail time. Makes me so thankful I am not wasting my life away with heroin.

Did he have a lawyer?
What did he do to piss off the judge?

 

[neversickanymore]

wyoming's bad china

 

[Wayne C]

Fucking Wyoming, sounds like some bullshit up there. I've been arrested for poss of a controlled substance maybe 5 or 6 times, never once did it enter my mind that I would get jail time. Makes me so thankful I am not wasting my life away with heroin.

Did he have a lawyer?
What did he do to piss off the judge?

He had a lawyer, I'm just not sure if the lawyer was out of state or not. I think his list of priors is what pissed the judge off, that or he was just having a bad day. He did also take it to trial, sometimes that will make a judge mad for wasting time.

Some of these low populated states have really harsh fucked up laws it's ridiculous. That sentence is just an outrage! I'm still pretty bummed about it, I only heard this awful news a few days ago.

 

[missmeyet?]

I don't think he's been convicted of a felony 3 times, and I know California has the 3 strike law but many states do not. He has been arrested more than a few times but I don't think he was convicted of 2 other felonies...

Almost half the states in the US have a three strikes law (around 22 or 23 of them do have it).

 

[Wayne C]

Really? Wow, ok I didn't realize. That's so messed up, the three strike law definitely shouldn't apply to drugs.

 

[lalapanda]

10 years?!?!?!

What state are you in?
I know REPEATED offenders of that, like legit my ex went to jail for the same charge 10+ times and with a gun, and a felon and is roaming free.... what the shit

 

[BlueHues]

I currently live in Nebraska, I'm on the Eastern side of the state bordering Iowa in a major city, but NE borders Wyoming and CO on the Western side of the state. It's amazing how much of a difference what side of the line you're on can make in regards to drug laws...

I've always wanted to go to Yellowstone, way up in the NW corner, but I've been through Wyoming a bunch of times and I've never gotten a warm fuzzy feeling from that place! It really does have bad vibes...I can't explain it, but a lot of those desolate states up there, the people have this angry, mistrustful cowboy, gun testosterone thing going on that's not too fun, and the cops are complete dicks!

I'm taking a trip next week out to the west Coast with my girlfriend, and just looking at Wyoming gave me a sense of foreboding...I don't even wanna go through there on I-80, I might just dip down and go through CO instead, especially after reading this!

It's amazing, I'm from the East Coast and I've spent a lot of time on the West Coast and in the south. The south has a reputation for being racist and conservative, but in a lot of places it's actually really kind of laid back and cool. The true Christian conservative douche-bags reside here, in the Midwest!

You have these people who have never even really seen a "criminal" in their whole lives with this pissy, self-righteous "lock everybody up for ever" mentality, and they're just assholes! The governors and legislators in these states have been getting elected on these "get tough on crime" campaigns for decades and that's how you end up with these outrageous prison sentences....You'll do a year for a single joint in Utah!

They just lump all "criminals" together, and being a violent criminal and being a drug-user aren't the same thing at all. Anyone with half a brain would realize that, right? But all it takes in a lot of these places is a few high profile cases of some whacko tweaked out of his mind on crystal breaking into a house and killing a family, and all of the sudden they're passing state law to send anyone that gets caught with anything to prison for years and years, as if that's somehow gonna deter the truly criminal insane!