Series: 4 Of 16

STRAINING THE SYSTEM

Although drug abuse puts a strain on virtually every aspect of civil
society, it probably places no greater burden anywhere than on the justice
system. And, according to local prosecutors, at least one of the major
factors in creating this strain is a lack of resources to punish those who
break drug laws.

"Being a prosecutor is not an easy job, by any means," said Talladega
County District Attorney Steve Giddens. "If all of a sudden every single
illegal drug in the county were to disappear, this still wouldn't be an
easy job. But it would be a lot easier than it is now."

Giddens estimates that about half of the criminal cases set to go to trial
every month are pure drug cases, either possession of marijuana or other
controlled substances, distribution, trafficking, manufacturing and others.

"It's hard to assign an exact number or percentage," Giddens said. "It ebbs
and flows. But I would be absolutely comfortable saying that it's at least
50 percent."

And even that number is deceptively low.

"If you throw in theft of property, burglary and robbery cases where the
defendant needed money to buy drugs, you would probably be looking at about
85 percent of the docket. And forgeries are especially popular with drug
addicts. I'd guess about 90 or 95 percent of the forgery suspects we see
are drug addicts," Giddens said.

St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis agreed. "Out of all of the
felony cases we prosecute, I would guess about 70 to 80 percent are drug
related in some way. Now, a lot of those are going to be property crimes,
addicts stealing to support their habits. But out of all cases here, I'd
guess 20 or 25 percent are actually felony drug cases that don't involve
any other type of crime."

Repeated Problems

A majority of the defendants in Talladega County drug cases are repeat
offenders "in some form or another," Giddens said. "Again, it's difficult
to assign an exact number, since they might, for example, come up on
charges in a methamphetamine case but have a previous conviction for
burglary, or vice versa. That burglary is, more than likely, going to be
motivated by drug addiction."

And that is the biggest reason there are so many repeat offenders.
"Addiction is a very, very powerful problem, whether it's illegal drugs or
alcohol. We have a very high rate of repeat offenders for felony driving
under the influence. It's a parallel we see every day."

Davis agreed, estimating "35 or 40 percent" of drug offenders in St. Clair
County are repeat offenders. "Those numbers are going to be especially high
for people convicted of distribution as opposed to felony possession."

Davis attributes this in part to the profit motive. "Let's face it, dealing
drugs is easy money, and a lot of these people are too lazy or too sorry to
go out and find a real job. They'd rather just sell drugs instead."

Both Davis and Giddens said that, in many instances, the state Department
of Corrections has also contributed to the high recidivism rate by turning
drug-related prisoners loose far earlier than prisoners convicted of other
crimes.

"Our prison system is overcrowded, and drug offenders are simply not
serving out lengthy sentences. It's not a deterrent anymore," Davis said.

"Felony possession convictions normally carry two-or three-year sentences,
and if they are a first offender with a clean record, they have a very good
shot at probation," Davis continued. "Distribution convictions usually
carry five to seven years, with enhancements for being close to a housing
project or a school.

"Now it used to be that you could not probate or parole those enhancements,
but you can now. Basically, the state is just making up the rules as they
go along to deal with the overcrowding issue. We're all under a lot of
pressure.

"But now the Legislature wants us, and wants our judges, to quit being
tough on crime, but the public does not want that. I get notice after
notice of habitual offenders being released early. And when that happens,
they will continue to repeat. They're turning them loose faster than we can
send them back," Davis said.

Case In Point

Giddens specifically cites the case of a group of repeatedly convicted
crack dealers in Talladega County who were eventually sentenced to serve 99
years each in prison.

Giddens said he recently got notice from the state board of Pardons and
Paroles that these same individuals were being considered for early release
after serving less than four years.

"If you can serve a 99-year sentence in less than four years, that, to me,
is no deterrent," Giddens said.

"As frustrating as that is for me as a prosecutor, imagine what that's like
for a police officer," he continued. "You work hard for months, you build a
strong case, and then in no time the guy you put away is waving at you on
the street.

"Look at what 99 years really means. That means not only that this person
is a repeat felon, it means they have absolutely pushed the limits of the
court's patience. It's no deterrent at all. And it's another reason we see
the same faces over and over again."

Growing Problem

Numbers of drug cases have been on the rise for the past three years,
Giddens said.

"Our number of drug cases has been way, way up, due primarily to the
arrival of crystal meth, no doubt about it. People figured out ways to cook
it, and this county happens to have lots of rural areas that are well
suited to running meth labs.

"Not that you really need a rural area anymore when you can drive around
with a lab in the bed of a pickup truck. But abusers have become aware of
how easy this stuff is to make, and that has made it a lot more plentiful,"
Giddens said.

The situation in St. Clair County is similar.

"We had leveled off for a while," Davis said, "but with the influx of
crystal meth, starting about four or five years ago, we've seen the problem
begin to get worse and worse.

"We've also been seeing a big increase in the abuse of prescription pain
killers, which have become a more obvious problem on the street. We're
seeing that a lot of the people dealing in those are actually taking their
own, legitimate prescriptions and reselling them, because they can get a
lot of money for them. Forged prescriptions are also up, but the largest
part is drugs initially purchased with a valid prescription."

Other Options?

The obvious alternative to imprisonment for drug users is treatment, but
Giddens is wary of this option.

"I have to admit I have not seen a great deal of success from sending
people to rehab," he said. "I'm not knocking rehab, of course. That's no
slam on treatment programs. But a user only gets out of a treatment program
what they put into it. Our policy is to allow treatment as an option if the
person wants it. But the success really depends on their intent."

Davis agreed rehab is not appropriate for everyone and some programs are
unlikely to be appropriate for anyone already caught up in the justice system.

"For first-time offenders, I think there might be something to be said for
a serious rehabilitation program, although I'm not in favor of rehab for
dealers," he explained. "The problem is, most of these are short programs,
lasting about 28 days. There is no way you're going to be able to overcome
addiction to crack, methamphetamine or OxyContin in 28 days. You need a
longer program, but then money becomes an issue.

"Most people coming through the legal system don't have the insurance to
cover a long program, which leaves the state system with a huge backlog. I
believe there are currently about 7,000 inmates on the waiting list right now."

Again, Davis also emphasized that some drug offenders don't belong in any
type of rehab.

"A drug dealer on his third conviction absolutely does not need rehab, he
needs some time in prison where he can think about what he does for a
living," he said.