ABOLISH MANDATORY DRUG SENTENCES

I am writing to ask for support of H.R. 1978, which would abolish mandatory
minimum sentences for simple drug possession, distribution, manufacturing
and importation of drugs.

Mandatory sentencing laws don't work. These laws limit the facts that
judges may consider to weight and type of drug and prior convictions and
prevent them from considering the defendant's role in the offense or
prospects for rehabilitation. As a result, 55 percent of federal drug
offenders are low-level offenders and another 33 percent mid- level drug
offenders. Nearly 90 percent of the federal drug offenders are non-violent.

H.R. 1978 would eliminate mandatory sentences, but it would not eliminate
punishment. Drug offenders would be sentenced under the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines, which allows judges to consider all the facts of the case. Thus
we would move nearer to the ideal sentence: one that fits the crime.

I am not going to lead you to think that I know about the law and that I am
able to cite case after case, because I don't. However, I do know the
mandatory sentencing that our federal government imposes is wrong. I can
tell you about case after case where people have ended up spending most of
their lives in federal prisons. I can tell you about a 19-year-old lady who
became entangled in a methamphetamine conspiracy that cost her 19 years of
her life (she was a first-time offender). I can tell you about a
19-year-old man, arrested on one count of possession with intent to
distribute crack cocaine. He was offered a plea agreement and in exchange
it would be recommended to the court that he be sentenced to 15 years. He
turned down the plea because he did not feel he was guilty of one of the
charges. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 19 years and seven months
(he was a first-time offender).

I have done hours of research and can tell you about many more cases, but I
want to tell you about the case of my brother.

My brother and I grew up in a happy middle-class Christian home. Our father
was a lay-preacher. My brother has always been a respected member of our
community. He has always been there for families when a member of their
family died. He has bush-hogged fields and piled brush for a lady in our
community that had no one to help her, and he never charged her a dime. I
can tell you of many more things that he has done.

My brother has always been in a great deal of pain because a car hit him on
a bike when he was 13 years old. Unable to deal with the pain, he started
taking drugs for personal use. In August 2001, he was arrested in a
methamphetamine lab.

He was only there to buy (which is wrong), but when the police came in, he
had been handed a bottle to wash so he was also charged with conspiracy. He
also had a registered pistol in his pocket. My brother was given no other
option but to plead guilty, which meant even though he wasn't making the
drug, that was part of the plea. Other than one speeding ticket, he has
never been in any trouble in his life. He was sentenced to eight years nine
months.

My brother has a wonderful wife who loves him, a 10-year-old daughter and a
14-year-old son. This whole thing has been like a death in our family. We
have all had a hard time dealing with it.

The mandatory sentencing law the federal government has is not a fair law.
This law has taken the lives of many American citizens that deserve just
one more chance. Many of these people need help - not prison. I saw one
45-year-old man sentenced to 15 years and nine months and he sat there
crying before being sentenced, asking the judge to get him help because he
couldn't do it alone. The judge had no compassion.

Please, support the H.R. 1978, make sure this mandatory sentencing law is
changed.

Cathy Humber
3993 Humber Road
Dora