I have traversed the legal system with my son for the last 8 years. It began when he was 18 and was arrested for possession of 1, yes ONE, Klonapin tablet. Literally, he was facing SEVEN years in prison for this single pill. I was stunned. There are murderers and rapists who don't get as much time.
He pleaded guilty and chose a First Offender program and his probation would be for SEVEN years. Even the most minor re-arrest could send him to prison, not just for the remaining time he had left, but for the full time originally given. He's done well, but last month, he failed a random drug test at probation for smoking pot. A drug test that happened AFTER he was told he would only be drug tested for the first two years of his probation. It's been nearly six years since he was in trouble.
For smoking some pot you would have thought he had committed the crime of the century. No lie; we had to hire an attorney and sweat bullets and beg and plead and get character witnesses to come on my son's behalf because he was facing SEVEN years in state prison.
God was only our side because he was given 58 days in the prison work camp. He still faces about 20 more months of probation.
What kind of country is this where people who harm no one are treated like hardcore criminals. My son has never hurt anyone in his life. He's never robbed anyone, never stolen from anyone, he works every day. I just don't understand the aggressiveness and heavy-handed attitude of our legal system. It actually frightens me because I know once you are in that system, that don't want let you go. They set up the system so that people can fail. That's why the recidivism rate in America is so high. They do nothing to help anyone...no drug intervention, no support groups, NOTHING. They just throw people in jail.
I'm amazed when I look at the jail docket in our county. There are 2500 inmates in a huge state-of-the-art county jail. We most certainly do not have 2500 murderers, robbers and rapists in our country. Take out the petty law breakers and there wouldn't be enough "criminals" left to fill up one wing of the place, much less this big building.
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