BECKWITH BACKS SCHOOL-ZONE DRUG LAW

Former Police Officer Circulating Petition In Support Of DA's Stance

GREAT BARRINGTON - John Beckwith, a former Great Barrington police officer
and selectman, is circulating a petition in support of District Attorney
David Capeless' adherence to the school-zone drug law in prosecuting drug
cases. "This is to support the DA, who said in his campaign he'll support
drug laws and that's what he's doing," said Beckwith, who took a strong
stance on law and order issues as a selectman. "This is a way of telling
him he's doing what's right, and keep up the good work. ... This is a way
of letting the DA know there are people who support this."

Beckwith said he has collected dozens, perhaps hundreds, of signatures on a
simple three-line petition, though he declined to release the signatures
and said he hadn't tallied the count.

However, anyone interested in signing can contact him, he said. "We, the
undersigned, support District Attorney David Capeless in his efforts to
combat the illegal sale and use of drugs in Berkshire County, and we
endorse his use of the school zone law as an appropriate way to keep our
children safe from drug dealers," the petition states.

"The idea is to let the DA see that there are people supporting him," said
Beckwith said. "It can get kind of lonely at the top, doing things some
people don't like."

Neither Capeless nor his spokesman, Frederick Lantz, could be reached for
comment yesterday.

Beckwith said yesterday his intent is not to engage in a political
debate wi th Concerned Citizens for Appropriate Justice, a South County
group that has lobbied against Capeless' approach with petitions, public
protests and advertising.

The group has raised pressure on Capeless to use discretion - not a blanket
prosecution approach - in applying school-zone charges that resulted
against some of the young people arrested last September. The charges were
lodged after a summer-long investigation downtown, prompted by complaints
from downtown businesses and residents.

Seven of those charged have no prior records. The citizens' group has asked
Capeless to reconsider the school-zone charges against those seven because,
if convicted, they face a minimum mandatory two-year jail term. However,
Capeless has stood firm in his intent to enforce the school-zone law.
Seventeen people were arrested or charged last September with selling drugs
in a school zone, because they were in the Taconic parking lot in the
town's central business district when their deals took place with an
undercover police officer.

One of those defendants, Ryan Babcock, 20, of Housatonic, who has a prior
record, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges and been sentenced to
prison. Another, 18-year-old Kyle Sawin of Otis, went on trial in July and
his case ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. His
case is scheduled for retrial in September; he is charged with three counts
of selling marijuana and three counts of selling drugs in a school zone. He
has no prior record. The Great Barrington Co-operative Pre-School and the
Searles/ Bryant Middle School are within 1,000 feet of the Taconic lot,
where Sawin allegedly sold marijuana three times.

Said Beckwith, "It's bad enough to sell drugs to begin with, but if you
are, stay the hell away from the school zone. The law is simply what it
says." While the Concerned Citizens group has been most organized and vocal
in its criticism of Capeless, others in town have commented that those
accused of drug dealing should face the full consequences of their
actions. "The law's the law," one Main Street shopkeeper said recently.