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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 10:09 AM Apr 2013

A Heartbreaking Drug Sentence of Staggering Idiocy

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/a-heartbreaking-drug-sentence-of-staggering-idiocy/274607/


John Horner, a 46-year-old fast food restaurant worker, lost his eye in a 2000 accident and was prescribed painkillers. Years later, he met and befriended a guy who seemed to be in pain himself. His new friend asked if he could buy some of Horner's pain pills. Naturally, the friend was a police informant. Prosecutors in Central Florida say Horner was ultimately paid $1,800 for pills. "My public defender told me, 'They got you dead to rights,'" he said. "So I thought, 'OK, I guess there's no need taking this to trial.'" His story is recounted in a BBC News Service magazine story about the problematic use of informants by United States law enforcement agencies.

That's an important subject, and the article tackles it well.

But let's focus here on the anecdote about Horner, because it gets at the utter madness of the War on Drugs. For the sake of argument, let's presume he's guilty of selling $1,800 of pain pills prescribed to him for an injury. Forget that he was arguably entrapped. Just look at the crime in isolation.

What sort of punishment should it carry?

40 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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A Heartbreaking Drug Sentence of Staggering Idiocy (Original Post) xchrom Apr 2013 OP
he should get a slap on the wrist, not 25 years. dionysus Apr 2013 #1
Could this happen in another country? any other country??? Stuart G Apr 2013 #4
i'm sure its against the law in most countries.. but the scope of the punishment is absurd. dionysus Apr 2013 #5
I'm sure they would kill him in Saudi Arabia or whip him in Singapore AngryAmish Apr 2013 #13
The profit and and a fine? What did Rush's supplier get? freshwest Apr 2013 #2
"What did Rush's supplier get?" KansDem Apr 2013 #28
Yeah, I mixed it up. The fraud was on Rush's part, really, wasn't it... freshwest Apr 2013 #36
You gotta read this...he gets 25 years in jail...??lunacy..Florida/??..nt Stuart G Apr 2013 #3
Gotta keep those jails full somehow. nt bemildred Apr 2013 #6
$$$ nt xchrom Apr 2013 #7
For-profit prison gets another customer. MindPilot Apr 2013 #8
Kudos gvstn Apr 2013 #11
I also believe every elected official at least once every term MindPilot Apr 2013 #14
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #9
How compassionate of you. MindPilot Apr 2013 #12
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #15
And exactly who was harmed? MindPilot Apr 2013 #16
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #26
So you have no problem incarcerating people for what _might_ happen? MindPilot Apr 2013 #32
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #34
Then you must hate War Criminals and Economic Criminals and Torturers. But sabrina 1 Apr 2013 #18
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #24
What utter idiocy. EOTE Apr 2013 #19
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #22
Easier than putting some thought into it, I suppose. EOTE Apr 2013 #23
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #27
Apparently I do. This is the second response that you've made. EOTE Apr 2013 #29
You could have saved some keystrokes by leaving off "harming others" cthulu2016 Apr 2013 #20
This message was self-deleted by its author seaglass Apr 2013 #21
It is Florida! gvstn Apr 2013 #10
What an incredibly sad story. EOTE Apr 2013 #25
That grandmother is the craziest one of the bunch. gvstn Apr 2013 #31
Our drug war is utterly fucked. EOTE Apr 2013 #33
He should get the same punishment our War Criminals, Torturers and Wall St. sabrina 1 Apr 2013 #17
wanna be even more outraged by this sentence dsc Apr 2013 #30
The lesson is clear. MindPilot Apr 2013 #35
And you posted this in a thread about Florida's drug laws because...? Comrade Grumpy Apr 2013 #37
6 years for molestation dsc Apr 2013 #38
Kind of a stark revelation, huh? MindPilot Apr 2013 #40
But if you are Rush Limbaugh... progressoid Apr 2013 #39

dionysus

(26,467 posts)
1. he should get a slap on the wrist, not 25 years.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 10:14 AM
Apr 2013

never ever sell you meds.. especially to a stranger...

dionysus

(26,467 posts)
5. i'm sure its against the law in most countries.. but the scope of the punishment is absurd.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 10:26 AM
Apr 2013

he was stupid to sell his meds.. but he was also entrapped it seems.

 

AngryAmish

(25,704 posts)
13. I'm sure they would kill him in Saudi Arabia or whip him in Singapore
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:00 PM
Apr 2013

I;m not sure that we are much better.

KansDem

(28,498 posts)
28. "What did Rush's supplier get?"
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:10 PM
Apr 2013

Which one do you mean? The Oxycontin supplier or the Viagra supplier?

Oxycontin (and "other" painkillers)--

Rush Limbaugh and prosecutors in the long-running prescription fraud case against him have reached a deal calling for the only charge against the conservative commentator to be dropped without a guilty plea if he continues treatment, his attorney said Friday.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-1561324.html


Viagra--

Rush Limbaugh could see a deal with prosecutors in a long-running prescription fraud case collapse after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his bag at Palm Beach International Airport. The prescription was not in his name.

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-1753947.html



freshwest

(53,661 posts)
36. Yeah, I mixed it up. The fraud was on Rush's part, really, wasn't it...
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 04:40 PM
Apr 2013

Still no jail time for the BFI. I hope someone will intervene in this case and Voldemort pardon him.

What this guy did wrong was to defraud his own doctor, like Rush did asking for more than he needed - getting an overstock enough to sell to someone, although piggie Rush kept his all for himself, no doubt.

For some reason he was suspected and set up by someone. That he couldn't perform what they wanted him to do efficiently, is in no way his fault as he made the effort. It may show that he had friends who were doing the same thing. Ironically this is in the same state with a governor who escaped conviction defrauding the medical care industry millions, and so likely no pardon coming.

He broke the law carelessly and took money for it - but it's not worth 25 years of his life and the hardship on his family - if that is his family in the picture, although it's not clear.

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
8. For-profit prison gets another customer.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 11:00 AM
Apr 2013

Another formerly productive worker now consumes tax funds instead of producing them. The family left behind will likely be forced onto public assistance. Another voter is purged from the rolls, and another cluster of family and friends will develop a visceral mistrust of government and law enforcement.


I think every elected official should have to spend a week in a SuperMax as a prerequisite to taking office. Then they will be able to make informed decisions.



gvstn

(2,805 posts)
11. Kudos
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 11:10 AM
Apr 2013
I think every elected official should have to spend a week in a SuperMax as a prerequisite to taking office. Then they will be able to make informed decisions.



Brilliant! I love this idea!
 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
14. I also believe every elected official at least once every term
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:05 PM
Apr 2013

Should serve 2 weeks with a military unit. I don't mean visiting and hanging out in some colonel's office, I mean putting on a uniform and being on a ship or in a tank unit.

Response to xchrom (Original post)

Response to MindPilot (Reply #12)

Response to MindPilot (Reply #16)

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
32. So you have no problem incarcerating people for what _might_ happen?
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:29 PM
Apr 2013

Or blaming them for the ignorant and punitive legislation produced by ignorant and punitive legislators just as long as the sentence is shorter than 25 years. Do I have that about right?

Response to MindPilot (Reply #32)

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
18. Then you must hate War Criminals and Economic Criminals and Torturers. But
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:26 PM
Apr 2013

we don't punish them at all. We give them medals. Fair is fair, when there is no rule of law for some of the people, there should be none for all of the people.

He did nothing wrong by our standards of what is a crime and what is not. I didn't seen where anyone was harmed in this case, btw. Except the Big Drug Corporations who lost a thousand bucks they could have made selling them themselves.

Response to sabrina 1 (Reply #18)

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
19. What utter idiocy.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:36 PM
Apr 2013

And he harmed others how? He harmed others just like his doctor "harmed" him by prescribing the meds in the first place. You don't have compassion and I really wouldn't expect you to. Just not your thing, apparently.

Response to EOTE (Reply #19)

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
23. Easier than putting some thought into it, I suppose.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 02:57 PM
Apr 2013

*Making note of another entirely thoughtless response from you.

Response to EOTE (Reply #23)

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
29. Apparently I do. This is the second response that you've made.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:12 PM
Apr 2013

The first one being saying that you're not going to respond to me. So, apparently your ability to understand words is only matched by your capacity for compassion. Congratulations.

And I'd just like to get this straight here, you can slam a dude going to prison for 25 years for helping a dude claiming to be in pain, but I cross the line when I point out just how idiotic that slam is. Got it, chief.

Response to cthulu2016 (Reply #20)

gvstn

(2,805 posts)
10. It is Florida!
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 11:07 AM
Apr 2013

Absolutely crazy! They have "pain clinics" all around their border that dispense pain pills to anyone that walks in the door. It is the weekend destination for people from other states that are addicted to pain pills. People go to several pain clinics and get hundreds of pills and no one questions for the doctors or pharmaceutical companies. But a person who gives/sells(even at minimal cost) a few pills to a friend goes away for years. Disgusting.

I think back to the Haleigh Cummings missing kid case. They wanted to put pressure on her family members and so they set them all up on drug charges. These were all uneducated persons living in poverty with no chance to defend themselves. Whether or not they knew anything about Haleigh's disappearance they all ended up in jail for at least 15 years for selling a few pills that they had just bought somewhere else. Totally out of proportion to the crime.

The state of Florida using $100,000s of taxpayer dollars to keep a few addicts in prison for decades rather than figuring out a way to help people who rely on prescription pain-killers. Terrible injustice.

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
25. What an incredibly sad story.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:02 PM
Apr 2013

I can't believe the grandmother wasn't sickened by the verdict. We don't have anything approaching true justice in this country.

gvstn

(2,805 posts)
31. That grandmother is the craziest one of the bunch.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:24 PM
Apr 2013

The story really is sad. I think 5 people (all under 24 years old) from her family ended up in prison for drug charges.
And just to be clear their drug dealing was getting a bottle of 100 oxycotin and sharing them with each other and maybe selling 10 pills to some guy at the 7-eleven. That is not deserving of a 25 year sentence. I just don't understand how legislators can possibly think enacting these types of laws is justice.

EOTE

(13,409 posts)
33. Our drug war is utterly fucked.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:33 PM
Apr 2013

It is well past the point of simply being a failure. Being a failure would entail there still being drugs on the street in spite of efforts for there not to be. Rather, our drug war incarcerates large portions of the population and ensures that children will be without their parents. It's sickening and it is responsible for far, far FAR more harm than any good that it does. We have pharmaceutical companies poisoning us with reckless abandon and they get away with zero consequences, even when they curry favor with the FDA (or perhaps because of that). However, if you're a regular guy and you sell a few pills, our "justice" system will make sure you pay for it for the rest of your life. It's like we're living "Les Miserables" in real time and our entire prison industrial complex is Javert. I'm utterly sickened.

dsc

(52,130 posts)
30. wanna be even more outraged by this sentence
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:24 PM
Apr 2013
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022603953

Wearing only his underwear, last year Father Angel Armando Perez chased a 12 year-old Oregon boy down the street after pulling the sleeping child's pants down to take a cell phone photo. Yesterday Perez was sentenced to six years in prison.

The Rev. Angel Armando Perez, 47, pleaded guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to charges of first-degree sexual abuse, driving intoxicated and furnishing alcohol to a minor. Accusations of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and tampering with evidence were dismissed. He will serve six years and three months in prison for the sexual abuse charge, the mandatory minimum for that Measure 11 crime. He will serve the penalty for the other charges concurrently. Marion County Circuit Judge Courtland Geyer also ordered Perez to register as a sex offender. The boy told investigators that he was awakened by an apparent flash from a camera. He found his shorts and underwear at his knees and Perez next to him on an air mattress. The priest had the boy's genitals in one hand and a cell phone in the other, court documents said.

Perez claimed that he was so drunk that he has no memory of the incident. The victim's parents had given Perez permission for the boy to sleep at his house before a camping trip. The Archdiocese of Portland paid Perez' legal fees and says it has not yet decided on whether to fire him. Seriously. That's what the above-linked article fucking says. (Tipped by JMG reader Dale)

http://www.joemygod.blogspot.com/2013/04/oregon-catholic-priest-sentenced-to-six.html#disqus_thread

end of quote
 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
35. The lesson is clear.
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 03:41 PM
Apr 2013

If you want child porn, create it yourself. You will do less time than if you download it.

dsc

(52,130 posts)
38. 6 years for molestation
Wed Apr 3, 2013, 04:45 PM
Apr 2013

vs 25 for drugs. He got four times the sentence for selling pain pills than a priest got for molesting a child.

 

MindPilot

(12,693 posts)
40. Kind of a stark revelation, huh?
Thu Apr 4, 2013, 08:17 AM
Apr 2013

That in the end the law considers society to have suffered a significantly greater harm from someone who helped--albeit ultimately erroneously--another person who was in pain, than from someone who used their position of authority to have sex with children.

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