Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 20:52:12 -0700
From: jhatch@alis-2.azleg.state.az.us (Jeff Hatch-Miller)
Subject: RE: Arizona pays $126,000 to jail armless woman for $20 marijuana
To: smithd@aztec.asu.edu ("'smithd@aztec.asu.edu'")


She was selling drugs.  But due to the cost involved, and her condition, she
should be placed on house arrest.  There is equipment which can monitor her
location.  Whoever supplied her with drugs should be apprehended.

Rep. Jeff Hatch-Miller
602-542-5051 

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-----Original Message-----
From: smithd@aztec.asu.edu [mailto:smithd@aztec.asu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 5:51 PM
To: jhatch@azleg.state.az.us; jflake@azleg.state.az.us;
jbrown@azleg.state.az.us; hclark@azleg.state.az.us;
callen@azleg.state.az.us; bburns@azleg.state.az.us;
rvoss@azleg.state.az.us; rrios@azleg.state.az.us;
rkyle@azleg.state.az.us; prios@azleg.state.az.us
Subject: Arizona pays $126,000 to jail armless woman for $20 marijuana
violation


Arizona pays $126,000 to jail armless 
woman for $20 marijuana violation


        WASHINGTON, DC -- A decision by Arizona prosecutors to put a
woman with no arms and only one leg in prison for a year for a minor
marijuana violation -- at a cost to taxpayers of $126,000 -- shows how
pitiless and immoral the War on Drugs has become, the Libertarian
Party said today.

        "Arizona prosecutors aren't content with inflicting cruel and
unusual punishment on handicapped people; they apparently prefer their
punishment to be ridiculously expensive, too," said Steve Dasbach, the
party's national director.

        "When you consider that for the cost of locking up one
handicapped woman who sold $20 of marijuana, Arizona could have put
four murderers in a maximum security prison for a year, you have to
wonder who's committing the real crime."

        This week, Deborah Lynn Quinn was placed in a "secure" medical
unit by the Arizona Corrections Department. Her crime: Selling $20 of
marijuana (four grams) to a police informant -- and then being caught
with a small amount of marijuana in her home after being placed on
probation.

        Because she was born with no arms and only a partial left leg,
Quinn, 39, can't be sent to a regular prison. So, the state will pay
$126,000 -- or $345 a day -- to keep her imprisoned in a special
medical unit.

        By comparison, it costs the Arizona state government only $90 a
day to keep a violent felon in a maximum security prison, and only
$45-$50 a day to keep a typical inmate behind bars.

        While the details and cost of Quinn's sentence may be unusual,
her plight is all too common, said Dasbach.

        "Deborah Lynn Quinn is attracting attention because she is
handicapped, and because her situation is so tragic," he said. "But
keep in mind: She was just one of 682,885 Americans arrested in 1998 on
marijuana-related charges. And every one of those 682,885 Americans
faced criminal charges, possible time in jail, lost employment, and
shattered lives. The War on Drugs has handicapped their future as
surely as the lack of arms and a leg has handicapped Deborah Lynn
Quinn."

        Even worse, said Dasbach, is the fact that more people were
arrested nationwide that year for marijuana charges (682,885) than were
arrested for murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault combined
(676,020), according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report.

        "Every one of those marijuana arrests meant less police time,
less money, less court time, and fewer jail cells available to protect
us from violent criminals," he said. "Does that make sense? And,
likewise, does it really make sense for Arizona to spend $126,000 to
keep a tragically handicapped woman behind bars for a year?"

        In fact, the price tag for Quinn is so outrageous that at least
one Corrections officer is lobbying for a reduced or alternative
sentence. However, Mohave County Chief Deputy Attorney Jace Zack said
the punishment was appropriate because "drug dealers [are] dangerous
people."

        But not as dangerous as crusading anti-drug zealots who don't
care about compassion, decency, or common sense when waging their
failed War on Drugs, said Dasbach.

        "Deborah Lynn Quinn may have no arms," he said. "But the people
who put her in prison have no heart."

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The Libertarian Party
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Washington DC 20037                   fax: 202-333-0072

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