| buey |
| (Old Hand) |
| 07/28/04 06:00 AM |
 Re: A man seeking pain relief gets 25 years...
|
Quote:
I don't understand how the Florida Judiciary can look themselves in the eye after sentencing this man to 25 years for forged Rx's. Yes, he was wrong, how about 3 years probation?
Son of Sam got 25 to life. Mobsters with murders under their belts get sympathy from judges due to lesser medical conditions than MS compounded with his other ailments. The media, don't care if it's left or right, must shame the state of Florida for torturing this man. He's probably not the only one in this situation. Just imagine what poor minorities, with no media attention, enduring serious illness must be suffering for non-violent drug crimes in Florida. I'm assuming Mr. Paey was white, I could be wrong.
If an able bodied person had stolen an Rx pad to deal or support a habit, I can't see them getting more than 1 year in most jurisdictions. Bubba Law (no offense Southerners, I'm just mad) is very different than US Law. And US Law is almost as draconian when it comes to drug crime sentencing.
They offered to plea him out. He refused. He claims he did nothing wrong because he was only trying to treat his pain and no doctor would help him.
You can't blatantly break the law and expect an exception because you feel you have a good reason to break it. He should have taken the plea deal. I think it was house arrest for a period of time, than probation.
Also, there ARE other alternatives. He may have felt desperate, but he and his wife could have done a little research. All it takes is the www. He could have used an OP like the rest of us. He could have gone on Skip Baker's website and found a clinic with a doctor who was opiate "friendly". Yes, it would have entailed some travel, but it sure beats forging scripts and going to prison.
I feel sorry for this guy, but he was pretty foolish.
