DOUBLE STANDARDS IN SENTENCING

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:- Where were these 400 concerned citizens of
Barrington who signed a petition regarding dropping school zone charges
against marijuana sellers for the last decade? During that time, dozens of
people with Pittsfield cases have gone to jail for the mandatory two years.
Most of them young, many for marijuana offenses, and some of them
first-timers. Almost all of downtown Pittsfield is within a "school zone"
and the word on the street is that police (who have maps of the zone
boundaries) will wait until a suspect goes inside the zone before busting him.

The Berkshire district attorney's office under former DA Gerald Downing
long took a hard line on school zone prosecutions, and Gerry Downing was a
beloved man, repeatedly re-elected. Now, David Capeless, his former
second-in-command, has been elected in his own right and is merely
continuing the prior "tough on drugs" policies in this regard.

Were those Pittsfield defendants not white enough, not rich enough, not
close by enough for the sushi eaters of Barrington to care about? Didn't
they attend the same anti-Bush rallies?

As a former defense attorney and former member of the Berkshire Bar
Advocates' panel, I certainly have had my objections about the school zone
law and its mandatory minimums. But if the Barrington petition is allowed,
it would just be another case of the privileged suburban kids getting the
breaks and the poor minority community getting the shaft. The DA would have
some explaining to do to community groups in Pittsfield.

And while we're on mandatory minimums, let's overturn the ones having to do
with gun possession, too. Oh wait -- guns you're against?

VINCENT LEE