News (Media Awareness Project) - US AL: Some Decry Mandatory Sentencing |
| Title: | US AL: Some Decry Mandatory Sentencing |
| Published On: | 2002-05-05 |
| Source: | Montgomery Advertiser (AL) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-30 15:49:24 |
SOME DECRY MANDATORY SENTENCING
Theresa Wilson isn't bitter about the five years she spent in prison after
being given a life without parole sentence for a first-time drug offense.
"I'm just disappointed with the judicial system," Wilson said.
Wilson said part of the blame for what happened to her is "get tough on
crime laws" passed by the Legislature that require mandatory sentences for
certain offenses and leave judges with few options.
"There needs to be sentencing alternatives," Wilson said.
Wilson, a mother of two children, was convicted in 1998 of selling a
morphine mixture to an undercover police officer. She received the stiff
sentence because of a 1986 law passed by the Legislature that required the
life sentence because of the amount of the morphine mixture involved in the
sale.
"I think the Legislature had the best of intentions, but when you pass a
law that takes discretion away from the judge, you make a mistake more
likely," said one of Wilson's attorneys, Mark White. He said no actual drug
barons or kingpins were given life without parole sentences under the law
used to sentence Wilson.
Allen Tapley, executive director of the Sentencing Institute, said
mandatory sentencing laws often sound good when being debated in the
Legislature, but turn out to be impractical when judges try to make them work.
"If someone has a large amount of dope, it sounds real good to say you are
going to spank them good. That's how it all gets started," Tapley said.
Attorney General Bill Pryor supports the work of the Sentencing Commission,
which was created by the Legislature to make recommendations on ways to
make sentencing fairer and more balanced across the state. While declining
to talk specifically about Wilson's case, Pryor said sentencing in drug
cases is a key area that needs to be studied by the commission.
"I think the biggest problem we face is drug cases," Pryor said. He
suggested more drug cases be handled by drug courts and other alternative
sentencing programs that offer intensive treatment instead of prison time.
Theresa Wilson isn't bitter about the five years she spent in prison after
being given a life without parole sentence for a first-time drug offense.
"I'm just disappointed with the judicial system," Wilson said.
Wilson said part of the blame for what happened to her is "get tough on
crime laws" passed by the Legislature that require mandatory sentences for
certain offenses and leave judges with few options.
"There needs to be sentencing alternatives," Wilson said.
Wilson, a mother of two children, was convicted in 1998 of selling a
morphine mixture to an undercover police officer. She received the stiff
sentence because of a 1986 law passed by the Legislature that required the
life sentence because of the amount of the morphine mixture involved in the
sale.
"I think the Legislature had the best of intentions, but when you pass a
law that takes discretion away from the judge, you make a mistake more
likely," said one of Wilson's attorneys, Mark White. He said no actual drug
barons or kingpins were given life without parole sentences under the law
used to sentence Wilson.
Allen Tapley, executive director of the Sentencing Institute, said
mandatory sentencing laws often sound good when being debated in the
Legislature, but turn out to be impractical when judges try to make them work.
"If someone has a large amount of dope, it sounds real good to say you are
going to spank them good. That's how it all gets started," Tapley said.
Attorney General Bill Pryor supports the work of the Sentencing Commission,
which was created by the Legislature to make recommendations on ways to
make sentencing fairer and more balanced across the state. While declining
to talk specifically about Wilson's case, Pryor said sentencing in drug
cases is a key area that needs to be studied by the commission.
"I think the biggest problem we face is drug cases," Pryor said. He
suggested more drug cases be handled by drug courts and other alternative
sentencing programs that offer intensive treatment instead of prison time.
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