MISTAKE RAISES QUESTIONS ON METH SENTENCING LAWS

LITTLE ROCK - As the state continued its roundup Monday of 32 men
mistakenly paroled on methamphetamine convictions, some legislators
questioned whether Arkansas's treatment of methamphetamine crimes is
overly harsh.

The Department of Correction error, which surfaced last week, revived
a debate over drug sentencing that began in 1999, when legislators
decided to require that methamphetamine manufacturers serve 70 percent
of their sentences.

"We have created a monster here because we have taken away a judge's
right to make sentencing decisions," said Rep. Jan Judy,
D-Fayetteville. The state granted the 32 early releases by misreading
inmate intake forms, said Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the Arkansas
Department of Correction.