Less stringent

State eases harsh life imprisonment drug law

For 20 years, the state of Michigan has had one of the most severe anti-drug laws in the country. The "drug lifer law," as it is known, has long been criticized for its ineffectiveness, and the Michigan Legislature has done well in substantially weakening the law recently.

The drug lifer law came into effect in 1978 as a means of punishing drug kingpins. The law called for anyone convicted of possessing 650 grams or more of cocaine or heroin, with intent to deliver, to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. No exceptions.

This kind of mandatory minimum sentencing restricts judges from using the discretion residents of the state charge their justices with. Laws such as the drug lifer law do not take into account the circumstances of the offense. Judges need to be able to make their decisions based on the evidence they hear.

And circumstances were predominantly at issue with the drug lifer law. While designed to punish drug lords, the overwhelming majority of people sentenced under the law were very low-ranking members of the drug trade. Most were simple couriers - known as "mules" - transporting the drugs. Few large-scale distributors of illegal narcotics were ever sentenced under the law.

As a further illustration of the law's general ineffectiveness, only about 220 people were convicted under the law in the years it has been on the books.

The new revision suggested by the House makes convicts serving life sentences under the law eligible for parole after 15 years in prison. The Senate passed a somewhat similar bill that makes parole a bit harder to attain.

That both houses agree the law needs changing is encouraging. Even better, the vote was a rather overwhelming, bipartisan 77-26. Now the two houses must work out a compromise.

The Senate would do well to accept the House's bill. Since it is clear that many of those in prison under the law should not serve a life sentence, making parole difficult to achieve does not make sense. Many of those in jail now deserve a second chance to live a productive life in society. Certainly those in the drug trade should not go unpunished, but first-time offenders and other small-scale lawbreakers should not be made to rot in prison all of their days. The prison system exists under the philosophy that it can reform criminals and return them to society. The drug lifer law stands in contrast to this idea.

Some convicts serving a sentence under the drug lifer law will be eligible for parole as soon as both houses settle on a compromise. This will free up jail space for other, more dangerous criminals. During a time when jail space is in short supply, the drug lifer law only adds further complications to an overburdened system.

Common sense needs to dictate the efforts made to combat the flow of drugs. Throwing away the lives of everyone caught with a certain amount of certain types of drugs simply is not logical. By adopting the House bill, the state can once again allow the justice system to exercise the discretion expected of it.

07-06-98