A COSTLY SENTENCE

(ATLANTA) -- A quadriplegic who said he uses marijuana for medical
reasons has been sentenced to seven years in prison -- where he will
cost taxpayers five times more than an average inmate -- after being
accused of selling the drug out of his home.

Louis E. Covar Jr., 51, who uses a wheelchair and can't control his
muscles beneath his shoulders, was convicted of marijuana possession
last March in Augusta. The judge gave him seven years of probation,
telling Covar that if he was to continue using the illegal drug, to
keep it to himself.

The same judge, J. Carlisle Overstreet, revoked the probation and sent
Covar to prison Thursday after police testified that Covar was selling
the drug.

According to the Department of Corrections, the special care Covar
will need will cost $258.33 a day -- or more than $660,000 if he
serves his full seven years. A typical prisoner costs taxpayers $47.63
per day.