First time offender sold pain killers to friend, faces 25 years in jail

[The Minsky Moment]

I dunno, man...by asking the defendant to snitch out 5 other defendants, sounds to me like the State's Attorney can't tell the difference between an Oxy overlord kingpin and an old man selling some surplus out of his Rx.  Doesn't strike me as someone legally trained to deal with cases appropriately.

Don't know how FLA law deals with this, but under some of these mandatory minimum schemes, one of few ways out is to be a cooperator.  So the prosecutor may not be under the delusion that this guy is the Pablo Escobar of pain pills, rather he is trying to help get a reasonable result by pounding this square peg into the only round hole that appears available. 

[The Minsky Moment]

Well, what do you expect when lawyers have made themselves a law unto themselves and set up a ridiculous system?  People are disenfranchised and so they vote for stupid men who offer stupid solutions, like the mandatory minimum.  Nobody trusts a judge, so it seems like a good idea to remove as much discretion from them as possible.

That is why you are doomed to failure.
You still don't grasp that lawyers don't create foolishness, there are just force multipliers for the foolishness that the system and its actors foist upon them.

[CountDeMoney]

Here are the mandatory minimum prison sentences for trafficking offenses in the State of Florida:

Trafficking in Cannabis (Marijuana)
25 lbs. to 9,999 lbs.; or 300 to 1,999 cannabis plants, 3 years prison
2,000 lbs. to 9,999 lbs.; or 2,000 to 9,999 cannabis plants, 7 years prison
10,000 lbs. or more; or 10,000 or more cannabis plants, 15 years prison

Trafficking in Cocaine
28 grams or more, but less than 200 grams, 3 years prison
200 grams or more, but less than 400 grams, 7 years prison
400 grams or more, but less than 150 kilograms, 15 years prison

Trafficking in Hydrocodone (Vicodin)
4 grams or more, but less than 14 grams, 3 years prison
14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, 15 years prison
28 grams or more, but less than 30 kilograms, 25 years prison

Trafficking in LSD
1 gram or more, but less than 5 grams, 3 years prison
5 grams or more, but less than 7 grams, 7 years prison
7 grams or more, 15 years prison

Trafficking in MDMA (Ecstasy)
10 grams or more but less than 200 grams, 3 years prison
200 grams or more, but less than 400 grams, 7 years prison and a $100,000 fine
400 grams or more, 15 years prison

Trafficking in Oxycodone
4 grams or more, but less than 14 grams, 3 years prison
14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, 15 years prison
28 grams or more, but less than 30 kilograms, 25 years prison

[DGuller]

I wonder how prosecutors involved in such cases feel.  Even if your discretion is limited, surely someone with a conscience must feel like shit when being forced to be an executioner of a barely guilty man.  Then again, given how so often prosecutors resist the release of even wrongfully convicted people, maybe delusion and sociopathy is part of the job description.

[The Minsky Moment]

A pack of diseased monkeys could come up with a more logical statutory scheme.

[Darth Wagtaros]

What cases like that highlight is that America hasn't been enlightened yet when it comes to judicial system.

No, what this case highlights is what happens when you remove the independence of the judiciary from criminal law and place it in the hands of the legislature.

Bingo.
Force the law into a state of ignorance about the facts, and idiotic results will follow.

Seems like this makes the facts irrelevant in determining a sentence, rather than making the law ignorant of the facts.

[Razgovory]

A pack of diseased monkeys could come up with a more logical statutory scheme.

No we couldn't!

[Razgovory]

It is odd though that if you are found with fifty pounds of cocaine crammed in your trunk you will get 10 years less then if you are trying to sell a bottle of commonly prescribed main medication.

[grumbler]

First of all, I highly doubt it's common knowledge that you can serve a minimum of 25 years for selling some pills to a friend.  Secondly, the lack of outrage over something that is so clearly a disproportionate punishment is very chilling.  It's like you people lack conscience or something. 

Can't be bothered to feel outraged about half a million dead babies a year, why should this be different?

It's far more than half a million dead babies.  Something like 1/3 to 1/2 of all babies spontaneously abort (often failing to even attach to the uterus).  And people praise the being responsible for murdering all those babies!

[Neil]

Well, what do you expect when lawyers have made themselves a law unto themselves and set up a ridiculous system?  People are disenfranchised and so they vote for stupid men who offer stupid solutions, like the mandatory minimum.  Nobody trusts a judge, so it seems like a good idea to remove as much discretion from them as possible.

That is why you are doomed to failure.
You still don't grasp that lawyers don't create foolishness, there are just force multipliers for the foolishness that the system and its actors foist upon them.

And what you do grasp, but are willfully ignoring out of perfidious loyalty to your guild, is that the lawyers ARE the actors.  How many legislators have a law degree?

[Razgovory]

First of all, I highly doubt it's common knowledge that you can serve a minimum of 25 years for selling some pills to a friend.  Secondly, the lack of outrage over something that is so clearly a disproportionate punishment is very chilling.  It's like you people lack conscience or something. 

Can't be bothered to feel outraged about half a million dead babies a year, why should this be different?

It's far more than half a million dead babies.  Something like 1/3 to 1/2 of all babies spontaneously abort (often failing to even attach to the uterus).  And people praise the being responsible for murdering all those babies!

Thanks Marty.

[grumbler]

Trolling. Why didnt he just give his friend the pills. I mean..come on dude.

Because his friend was offering him $1800, and the guy was a restaurant worker.  Who turns down free money?

Of course, the informant was instructed to pay a ridiculously large amount of money for the drugs, so as to make it easier to convince a jury to convict. He made a profit!!!oneoneone

I hope the people thinking this is no big deal aren't the ones whining about having to pay "so goddamn much in taxes."

[Neil]

Presumably he'll be paroled after a decade or so, at which point he'll have hopefully picked up some tips on how to commit violent crime.

These mandatory minimum sentence structures in Florida follow the same track as life sentences:  you do not gain time for good behavior, or qualify for parole.  It's a mandatory sentencing structure.  25 years = 25 years.

Florida is a failed state.

[Scipio]

I am just going to keep my fucking mouth shut.  But this shit makes me seethe.

[KRonn]

He should have gotten probation at most.

Agreed on that. Reading the article, no prior record, sold some old pain pills. Plus no reason for such a heavy minimum sentence unless maybe he's doing a lot more, long record, etc.!