Free Clarence Aaron

The Washington Times ^ | 11-30-04 | Debra Saunders

[JZelle]

The small joys of life when you live freely: walking into your kitchen for that first cup of coffee, driving down a curvy back road with no other cars in sight, choosing what you'll fix yourself for dinner. We take for granted these small freedoms -- yet they are freedoms we should value and recognize. A just society does not yank these rights from a young man for the rest of his life for a petty crime. The United States of America did just that when a federal court in Alabama sentenced Clarence Aaron to life without parole for a first-time non-violent drug conviction. He was 22 years old when he hooked up two dealers for two drug deals; they paid him $1,500. He has been in prison for 11 years, and he will die behind bars unless President Bush commutes his sentence.

[TXBSAFH]

Then lock them up. I have seen to many lives destroyed with illegal drugs. I believe that dealers should get a mandatory live, no parole on the pea farm chopping cotton. Period.

[dead]

He made some very stupid decisions and has paid a very dear price.

So now, the taxpayers have to pay his bills - rent, utilities, education, food, medical, etc. - for the next fifty or sixty years.

It might make a lot more sense to have him apologize to the court and society in general, and let his eleven years served stand as his restitution.

[TXBSAFH]

Lets bring back the prison farm system. In Tx it used to not only pay for itself, but it showed a small profit to the states coffers.

[gunnedah]

You can bet the ranch there is more involved here than what is being printed!

[Mister Baredog]

Sounds like he got smacked down pretty good but he brought it upon himself.

And now he wants a "do-over", HMMMM

[BOBWADE]

He undoubtedly got smacked extra hard because of his lying under oath but that does not remove the fact that he was dealing drugs that kill people and destroy lives. The others took the deal, he did not. He is a liar and a drug dealer. I don't feel sorry for him.

[BOBWADE]

I tend to think of prison as punishment, Rehab is just a feel-good term. The more the system gets soft on criminals, the more emboldened they become. At some point the laws have to be enforced.
I kind of like the thought of putting criminals behind bars, perhaps they need to make the prisoners produce to offset the cost of their incarceration. They could even ship in garbage and let them spend 12 hours a day sifting through to recycle plastics and aluminum. Even the tree-huggers would like that. I think prison is to soft and easy and should be so miserable and unpleasant that people will not be so eager to return. (just my two cents worth)

[BOBWADE]

I failed to mention three important words that will answer many questions, "WE ALL MAKE CHOICES"

[Ignatius J Reilly]

I agree that prison should be unpleasant, that should be a part of rehabing someone. When they come out they should be thinking 'there ain't no way I ever want to go there again.'

Love the recycling idea, for me any manufacturing job that is regularly given to an illegal alien because not enough Americans are willing to do it works

[PAR35]

The story is so intentionally obtuse, it is difficult to figure out what he actually did, but if he sold 9 kilos (20 pounds) of Cocaine for only $1500.00 he is too stupid to be out on the street. Street value of 9 kilos ought to be close to a Million dollars.

The convicted criminal's side of the story can be found here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/cases/aaron.html
(he was the middleman who put the deal together.)

A different prosecutor responds here:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/cases/foster.html
(it was a $200,000 deal).