STOP PUNISHING PAIN SUFFERERS

Regarding "Change Florida's Draconian Drug Trafficking Statute" (Other
Views, Sept 26):

Florida legislators all should read Robert Batey's op-ed. He
acknowledged the difficulty in fixing Florida antidrug law. So he
proposed a compromise: Remove legal opiates from the section that
mandates minimum sentences.

Florida antidrug law now mandates minimum sentences for all but the
most trivial offenses. The worst effect of such law is to shift
courtroom power from the judge and jury to the prosecutor, who
preordains the sentence according to the charges he brings. It is
especially dicey if the key evidence is testimony by witnesses under
the thumb of the prosecutor.

Batey's proposal is not a perfect solution but would lessen
prosecutorial abuses against legitimate pain patients and their
doctors. Let judges decide those sentences. Surely every judge in
Florida knows the difference between trafficking and pain treatment.

John Chase, Palm Harbor