PRISON MEANS MARKING TIME FOR FAMILY, TOO

Every Tuesday for a year, Annette Schwartz burned up the interstate
between Glendive and Billings for a chance to see her 29-year-old son
at the Yellowstone County jail.

"We'd stand in line outside for an hour and a half to spend 20 minutes
with Justin," she sighed. "You're not guaranteed a visit. But I always
got there early enough to be near the head of the line."

Her eldest son, a former Dawson County High School football captain, a
state champion wrestler, a small business owner and budding engineer,
spent most of the week locked in a 7-foot by 11-foot cell.

"I always thought people in jail were just derelicts," she said. "But
they're just people who made a mistake. The people standing in line
were just like me."

Justin Dean Schwartz was arrested on a federal drug and gun indictment
in July 2001, and he hasn't spent a free moment since. In a sense,
neither has his family.

"It's like losing someone, but he's still here, but you can't see him
or talk to him," his mother said. "It's a devastating thing for the
whole family."

Now seeing him even once a week may become all but impossible for his
parents and his two younger brothers. Justin pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and received a mandatory
minimum five-year sentence. He got another five-years on top of that
for trading marijuana for a hunting rifle.

For now, he's in federal custody in Seattle. The nearest federal
correctional facility is in Yankton, S.D., a 10-hour drive from Glendive.

"Emotionally, I'm trying to stay numb to it right now," Justin said in
a telephone interview from Seattle.

Like members of his family, he admits to anger and bitterness.

"It's 10 years out of my life," he said. "I should be thinking about
settling down and having kids."

Justin never denied that what he did was wrong. He started small in
the drug business and one thing led to another. Although the five-year
mandatory drug sentence rankles some, it's the five-year mandatory for
the gun that riles him and his family. Justin maintains that while the
gun was acquired in a marijuana trade, it was only for hunting. It was
never meant to be used in drug trafficking, he contends.

"He got five-years just for having a hunting rifle," said his brother
Brandon Schwartz, 27. "That just blows me away."

The youngest brother, Tyson, said, "I now have to live the rest of my
life knowing that there are people in the world, in this country
committing crimes such as rape and murder that get off with less of a
sentence than people who get caught with a certain amount of drugs and
a gun that is used for hunting."

Annette maintains the gun charge wouldn't even have been on the table
if Justin had agreed to name names for the government.

"Granted, he shouldn't have had traded drugs for a hunting rifle, but
is that worth five years of his life?" she asked. "Up until
sentencing, I did not believe Justin would be sentenced for that gun."

Since April 15, 2001, when law enforcement officers stopped Justin on
his way home to Glendive for Easter, the whole Schwartz family has
been in a state of shock.

That was the day his mother learned Justin was involved in drugs.
Drugs were not a possibility she had ever considered.

"He was the kid in high school most likely to succeed," she said.
"Everything he did was a success."

Brandon still can't believe it.

"It's hard to put into words what it's done," he said. "That's my
brother I looked up to my whole life. He so talented. He so good at
everything he does. He's a great artist and a wonderful musician."

Brandon's wife, Gina, said the family has struggled to come to terms
with the situation.

"Many tears have been shed and relationships have suffered," she said.
"It is hard to describe the ripple effect something like this has on a
family. It is as though we are all mourning the loss of a loved one.
In some ways, we are. At least for the next 10 years."

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SERIES INDEX:

Hard Time http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n262.a04.html

No 2nd Chances With Drug Crimes http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n250.a11.html

It's The Law http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n258.a02.html

Prison Means Marking Time for Family, Too http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n263.a05.html

Paying the Price http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n265.a04.html

Partners in Crime http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n270.a03.html

Some Caught in Conspiracy Talk to Avoid Long Sentences http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n271.a02.html

Montana Project Tells Students About Drug Penalites http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a02.html

Sometimes, State Charges Can Be a Wake-Up Call http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a03.html

Editorial: U.S. Law Snares State Drug Dealers http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n277.a04.html