Yesterday, I had a 20 year old client get sentenced to prison for holding up a convenience store with a BB gun. This kid is addicted to heroin and did whatever he had to do to get his next fix. He stole from friends, family, and complete strangers. Eventually, when his habit turned into a $100/day habit, another druggie told him that robbing convenience stores was a great way to get lots of cash fast. So he took his little brother's BB gun and held up a store.
The troubling part of the case is that every single person who testified at sentencing said this kid was a kind, respectful, and gentle kid before he was in the grips of heroin addiction. Everyone said it. Our witnesses. The state's witnesses. Everyone. Everyone admitted that he changed once he started taking heroin. Everyone acknowledged that he wouldn't have committed the offense if he wasn't on heroin. Everyone.
So what did he get? Did he get SAFP (Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility)? Did he get shock probation? Did he get anything that would allow him to receive treatment for the drug addiction?
Not a chance. The judge gave him 18 years out of a possible 20. The same judge signed off on the co-defendant's deal of probation in exchange for her testimony against my client. The co-defendant who admitted that she cased the store. The co-defendant who drove the getaway car. The co-defendant who admitted spending the haul from the robbery on heroin. Probation. Probation versus 18 years.(Bennett nails it, as usual).
I'd like to console myself by believing there is some rhyme or reason for this. I'd like to be able to convince myself that these sentences aren't just completely arbitrary. I'd like to convince myself that somewhere there is a rationale that explains this whole thing.
But I can't. Not when I've seen the woman who got drunk and killed a kid, get probation and rehab. Not when I've seen the middle-aged guy who touches the little girl get probation and registration. Not when I've seen the young man who fires a gun at another person get probation and anger management classes. And especially not when I saw the co-defendant get probation and SAFP.
My client is no saint. He is a young kid who fell into addiction and no longer cared about anything other than scoring drugs. He no longer cared about himself. He no longer cared about his family. He no longer cared about anyone. It's called addiction. And maybe, in a few years when he gets out of prison, he can get some treatment for his addiction. And while he's there, maybe he can sit right next to the drunk who just killed a kid in an auto accident and is getting rehab as part of his probation.
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