The "Rush to Judgement" project...

[Junkdrawer]

Rush Limbaugh may be in the select minority of the population that gets to set their own punishment when they break the law.

"Well for the crime of buying tens of thousands of Oxycontin pills without a prescription, I sentence myself to 30 days in this here exclusive Palm Springs rehab"

There's an initiative to get first time drug offenders in Florida the option of treatment:

http://www.drugreform.org/florida/

From what I can see, it's on the ballot for 2004.

Not surprisingly, Jebbie is fighting this, calling it "The Right to Abuse Drugs in Florida"

http://www.mpp.org/FL/news_2249.html

Here's our challenge: could we get the histories of 10-20 Florida 1st time offenders who DIDN'T get to name their own punishment? Anecdotal accounts would be perfect. Perhaps some attorneys who are fighting the mandatory minimum sentences of some of their clients would like to help. Lexus/Nexus perhaps? I hear some of the attorneys in the Palm Beach states attorney office are pissed, perhaps they could help.

Anyway, if we get the info, some of the liberal blogs could run with the story and, who knows, perhaps a Florida paper or two.

Let's get treatment for all first offenders OR make Rush face the music.

[OneBlueSky]

1. what's really amazing about this story . . .

is the quantity of pills involved . . . I take oxycontin daily for chronic pain, and there's no way any one individual could consume the number of pills that they're talking about here . . . either this guy was dealing, or he's dead . . . no other options, imo . . .

[hexola]

3. false to assume he was taking every pill

Remember - Rush said he had been to rehab twice already...so it's quite possible Mrs. Limbaugh has busted Rush at home a few times...and quite possibly flushed his stash...and remember he has a residence in New York...rather than try to travel with lots of pills, he might just maintain two big stashes...that might account for the large numbers...and also Oxy comes in several dosages.

[XanaDUer]

5. That's what I was thinking, too

Friend took oxy and had severe vomiting, it was horrible.

How could Limpbo have this amount, ingest it, and still be alive?

[Junkdrawer]

2. Here's one story...

A Case in Point: The story of Jerry A. Lewis, prisoner of the drug war
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines - A Monumental Mistake

The story of Jerry Lewis is highly typical of the sort of tyranny that develops under the federal sentencing scheme when a prosecutor and a judge decide to double-team a defendant. Jerry Lewis was a first-time, nonviolent offender, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. What follows is the rule in these cases and not an exception.

In 1988 Jerry was approached by a paid government informer under the control of a team of DEA agents. This informant attempted to set people up for drug cases and in this capacity approached Jerry, trying to make a direct drug buy. Jerry told him he wasn't into the drug scene but told him he had once known people who were. Over the course of the next few months the informer kept after Jerry to make a direct deal, but he was repeatedly told that it wasn't possible.

The government agents running the sting operation then switched their tactics and had the snitch question Jerry about the people he knew and if he could set up a meeting. Jerry made the mistake of telling the informer that he would "check around." But nothing happened and the informer came back now and then for a period exceeding two years. At no time did Jerry ever initiate contact. The informer's persistence finally paid off when Jerry told him he once knew a fellow in Florida named Carlos. For three more months the informer plagued Jerry about Carlos, and Jerry ultimately told him that he would call Carlos himself to see if he was still around.

The informant and his "money man" -- a DEA agent acting undercover -- quickly agreed to buy airline tickets to Florida. Jerry was reluctant to go as he was about to have an operation and was wearing a neck brace. When he arrived at the airport, he was immediately arrested. No trip to Florida was ever made; no introductions and no drugs were purchased. At the time of his arrest, Jerry was a family man with two
sons and employed as a machinist and tradesman, a taxpayer.

...

Here is how a person receives a thirty-year sentence for what Jerry did, or more correctly -- what he didn't do. The federal agents controlling the informer stated that IF he would have been introduced to Carlos, and IF Carlos would have been willing, and IF Carlos had any drugs, they would have wanted to buy five kilograms of cocaine.


http://www.journeyforjustice.org/petition/guidelinesentencing.html

[Junkdrawer]

4. Here's a site with a LOT of case histories...

http://www.november.org/thewall/Wall-index.html

[Junkdrawer]

6. A little kick...

:kick: