`SECOND CHANCES' PUT REASON, COMPASSION BACK INTO DRUG SENTENCING LAWS

GEORGE W. Bush has forgiven himself for any "youthful mistakes" he made in
his past, and according to recent polls, most Americans forgive him too.
Now it's Bush's turn to return the public's forgiveness. He can start by
fixing the criminal justice system he oversees in the state of Texas and,
if he gets the chance, the federal system, which prescribe lengthy
sentences for young drug offenders that are neither tempered by forgiveness
nor made compatible with "second chances."

Even if the lingering question of whether Bush used cocaine or other
illegal drugs is irrelevant, the fact that he did something he now
considers "irresponsible" and "irrelevant" between the ages of 18 and 28 is
utterly relevant. According to Justice Department statistics, 55 percent of
those imprisoned under federal drug possession charges fall within a very
similar age range. Unfortunately for these hundreds of young adults, they
will never have Bush's luxury of saying, "What I did 20 or 30 years ago is
irrelevant."

Brenda Valencia is someone who will never be able to say that. At the age
of 19 she was arrested after she had driven her aunt to Palm Beach, Fla.,
where her aunt sold seven kilos of cocaine to a local man. Brenda didn't
have anything to do with the sale, and prosecutors didn't try to make it
look as if she did.

Relying solely on the testimony of the man who had bought the cocaine, they
charged her with the vague crime of conspiracy. The man told prosecutors
that Brenda had made two statements implying that she knew the cocaine had
been in the trunk. Despite the fact that she had no prior arrests, she
received a mandatory sentence of 12 years and seven months in prison. She
will serve at least 85 percent of her sentence, because parole in the
federal system has been abolished.

The sentencing judge in this case was rendered powerless and voiced the
sentiments of most federal judges. "This case is the perfect example of why
the mandatory minimum sentences are not only absurd but an insult to
justice," he said. "It's absolutely ridiculous to impose this sentence in
this case, considering the degree of participation that this defendant had
in this crime."

So what kind of future awaits Brenda Valencia and the thousands of other
young people just like her who are released after years of incarceration?
Former prisoners say that prison never really leaves you -- that its place
in the soul is permanent. Add the fact that society's attitude toward
ex-felons is less than forgiving and the stage is set for failure.

There are better solutions for dealing with drugs than building more
prisons to warehouse non-violent drug offenders. According to a recent Rand
Corp. study, treatment is eight times more cost-effective than long
sentences in reducing demand for illegal drugs.

In our quest to deter would-be drug users and dealers, we have ruined or
dimmed the prospects of thousands of bright Americans. Most of these
incarcerated young people would have eventually outgrown their risky and
rebellious behavior, and some might have moved on to become, say, president
of the United States. But long mandatory sentences make such dreams impossible.

Now is the perfect opportunity for George W. Bush to embrace the public's
inclination to forgive him for his past. This should embolden him to take a
moral stand against sentencing laws that deny young adults a second chance
at success.

Kyle O'Dowd is general counsel for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a
national organization working to change mandatory sentencing laws. This was
written for the Washington Post.