BARENAKED TRUTH

Fame Buys a Free Pass While Others Bear Brunt of Harsh Laws

To the Editor:

A celebrity is arrested and charged with fourth-degree criminal
possession of a controlled substance, a Class C felony. If you pick
up People magazine, watch "E.T." or have friends who follow celebrity
gossip, you know how this story is going to end. Steven Page will,
according to the band's Web site, be "heading into the studio later
this year to record a new album."

Many people will remain oblivious to the fact that his money and fame
helped him escape some of the harshest drug laws in the United
States. New York still operates under the old Rockefeller rules,
which ultimately take discretion out of judges' hands and mandate
harsh penalties.

As someone who knows a person who was affected by these laws, I find
it disconcerting when money and fame allow you to get a free pass. I
find it even more distressing when I see someone who isn't a threat
to society, has no prior felony drug offenses and no indication of
being a significant player in the drug game, locked up and put on
probation for two-plus years once released.

While I make no excuses for anyone, I don't see any justification for
what has become of laws that were originally intended to lock up
kingpins. As a criminal justice major, I am disappointed.

Money and fame shouldn't be the only way past a flawed process.
Something needs to change.

Michael Dunham

Syracuse