Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 18:28:14 EST
From: LVNORML420@aol.com
Subject: NORML Weekly Press Release

NORML Weekly Press Release

1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org

February 17, 2000


              <snip>

Woman With No Arms Or Legs Sentenced To Year In Prison 
Parole Violated After Officers Find Less Than Four Ounces Of Marijuana 

    Kingman, AZ: A severely disabled woman was sentenced last week to a year 
in prison for breaking probation after being found with less than four 
ounces of marijuana. 
    Probation officers found the marijuana along with paraphernalia while 
inspecting Deborah Lynn Quinn's home during a routine visit. Quinn was 
placed on probation last October for selling 3.98 grams of marijuana to a 
police informant. 
    The year-long sentence will cost Arizona taxpayers over $126,000 and 
require two full-time personnel to accommodate Quinn's special needs, 
according to Arizona Department of Corrections officials who criticized 
the court's decision to incarcerate Quinn.
    "I simply cannot understand how a judge can sentence a disabled woman to 
prison who presents absolutely no escape risk, no physical danger to the 
public, and who will be an extremely difficult and expensive person to 
care for, without exploring any alternative sentence measures such as 
intensive probation," said Terry Stewart, Arizona Corrections Director. 
"The plain and simple truth is the Department of Corrections is now faced 
with taking extraordinary measures to accommodate an inmate that probably 
could have been managed in the community at a reduced cost to the 
taxpayers of this state." 
    The Department of Corrections has concluded its only option is to house 
Quinn at an extended care detention ward at a Tucson hospital at a cost 
of over $345 a day (excluding any professional fees that arise). 
    "In two separate voter initiatives, the people of Arizona have made 
clear their objection to incarcerating citizens for minor drug offenses," 
said Tom Dean Esq., NORML Foundation Litigation Director. "The violation 
of the spirit of those measures by this modern day judge Roy Bean is a 
perfect example of the complete disconnect between elected officials and 
the citizens they represent." 
    For more information, please contact Tom Dean Esq., NORML Foundation 
Litigation Director at (202) 483-8751.


    Public Housing Tenants Must Remain Drug-Free Or Face Eviction

    San Francisco, CA: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 this 
past Monday that public housing tenants could be evicted for their 
housemate's off-premise drug use, overturning a 1988 injunction by a U.S. 
District Court judge.
    In 1988 Congress passed a law making public housing tenants responsible 
for any criminal activity engaged in by any member of the tenant's 
household, or a guest or other person under the tenant's control, on or 
near public housing premises. Such criminal activity is cause for 
termination of tenancy. 
    The appeals court ruled that the policy adopted by the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development in 1991 legally aimed at "preventing 
tenants from turning a blind eye to the conduct of a household member or 
guest."
    Dissenting Judge William Fletcher said the regulation "deprives innocent 
people of property that was not involved in any crime and punishes 
innocent people for crimes that they did not commit and could not 
prevent."

    For more information, please contact Scott Colvin, NORML Publications 
Director at (202) 483-5500.

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