DRUG DEALER GETS LIFE SENTENCE

Judge Orders Jail Time After Fourth Felony

A three-time convicted drug dealer from Cumming served only a fraction of
his state prison sentences.

But on Tuesday, Stephen J. Graham's life of crime ended with a life
sentence in federal court.

U.S. District Judge Richard Story imposed the mandatory sentence after
Graham's fourth felony drug conviction and first federal conviction.

Graham was arrested May 11, 2000, after a high-speed chase through Fulton
and Forsyth counties ended when his car struck a tree. Forsyth police found
seven pounds of methamphetamine, with a wholesale value of $77,000, and a
stash of marijuana in his burning vehicle.

He had three previous state drug convictions in 1988, 1989 and 1996.

Graham, 33, stood stone-faced in a red prison jumpsuit as he was sentenced
on charges of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute
that grew out of his 2000 arrest.

"I'd like to be able to offer something . . . to look forward to at some
point down the road, but it's hard to do that within a system that doesn't
provide parole," Story told Graham.

"It is the judgment of the court that you be in prison for the rest of your
life on each count."

Graham's attorneys have 10 days to appeal.

His parents, Ray and Merleen Graham, said Graham deserves a lighter
sentence. "He's a good son," sobbed his mother. "He's probably more of a
Christian than some people," his father said.