INMATE TAKES CASE TO STATE SUPREME COURT FOR REVIEW

Richard Paey, the man who uses a wheelchair and was sentenced as a
drug trafficker for illegally obtaining the pain medication he needs,
hasn't given up on the courts just yet.

The Pasco man, who is serving a 25-year sentence, has asked the
Florida Supreme Court to review his case.

Among the issues Paey's lawyer, John Flannery, wants the court to
decide is: Does the trafficking statute Paey was sentenced under in
2004 apply to patients obtaining drugs for their own treatment?

Paey's conviction and sentence were upheld in December by the 2nd
District Court of Appeal, which told him to ask for clemency.

That request is before Gov. Charlie Crist now.

A 1985 car accident left Paey in chronic pain, and he was arrested in
1997 after using fake prescriptions to buy more than 1,200 painkillers.