SENTENCING SANITY MAY MAKE A RETURN

Those who recognize that Michigan's approach to drug crime has been a
well-meaning failure will have at least two opportunities this year to set
the state on a new course:

* A proposed amendment to the state constitution would reserve draconian
mandatory sentences for major drug traffickers, establish a commission to
draw up new sentencing guidelines for most drug offenses and prescribe
treatment instead of jail time for many nonviolent drug users.

* Two bills being considered by the state House of Representatives would
give judges the same discretion in sentencing drug offenders they exercise
in sentencing violent criminals.

The proposed amendment, whose backers expect to place it before voters this
November, would dramatically reorder Michigan's drug-fighting priorities in
a single, bold stroke. But even those who endorse the initiative's broad
objectives are uncertain whether its detailed prescriptions should be set in
constitutional concrete.

The House legislation, on the other hand, should be a no-brainer -- and
there are some encouraging signs that lawmakers from both parties are
rallying to its support.

Serious Disparity

Most people convicted of serious crimes in Michigan are sentenced under
guidelines that strike a balance between consistency in sentencing and
individual factors such as the defendant's criminal history, role in the
crime, use of a weapon and potential for rehabilitation.

In most drug crimes, by contrast, an offender's punishment hinges
exclusively on the amount of drugs involved. The so-called 650 Lifer Law,
adopted by state lawmakers in 1978, mandated life imprisonment without
parole for anyone involved in the distribution of 650 grams (or about 1 1/2
pounds) of any substance containing cocaine, and harsh mandatory minimums
for lesser amounts.

The theory was that the quantity of drugs found in any offender's possession
would correspond roughly with his or her position in the drug distribution
food chain. But big-time drug dealers have largely avoided prosecution under
the new law, even as their mules and addicted customers were tossed in
prison for terms longer than those handed out to murderers, rapists and
other violent criminals.

Smarter Reforms Loom

In 1998, state lawmakers amended the 650 Lifer Law to make some prisoners
eligible for parole after 15 years.

Now, two bills sponsored by state Rep. Bill McConico, D-Detroit, could take
Michigan another couple of baby steps toward sentencing sanity.

Besides allowing judges sentencing drug offenders to consider the same
factors they weigh in passing other criminal sentences, McConico's
legislation would relax the requirement that those convicted of multiple
drug charges be sentenced consecutively, rather than concurrently, as most
violent offenders can be.

The cosponsorship of two Republicans with strong anticrime credentials --
White Lake Township Rep. Mike Kowall and Rep. Larry Julian, a former state
trooper from Lennon -- suggests that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle
are ready to abandon posturing in favor of smart reforms that make the best
use of limited prison space and tax dollars.

All over Michigan, voters are realizing that imprisoning addicts and
low-level drug dealers indefinitely has made a bigger dent in their wallets
than in drug abuse.

Legislators should not be afraid to acknowledge the same truth.