Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 09/19/2007 6:44:34 PM PDT by JTN
At first blush it would seem a literal no-brainer that the state Board of Executive Clemency shouldn't have to take but a few moments to realize the defendant pleading for mercy and justice before them has about as much business being in prison as a Soviet era dissident.
But then again, had you told Richard Paey that he would wind up in the big house - in the United States, in the 21st century - doing a 25-year stretch for simply being a very infirm man the idea would have been laughable.
A Salem witch hunt defendant got a fairer shake from the criminal justice system.
That could change Thursday when the clemency board - which consists of Gov. Charlie Crist, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson - takes up Paey's appeal to be released from the Tomoka Correctional Institution.
Paey's surreal trip down Florida's yellow brick road of yahoo crime and punishment began in 1997 when Pasco County sheriff's gumshoes charged Paey with trafficking in oxycodone, possession of hydrocodone and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
My Lil' Friend
Cue the "Scarface" theme.
You might think the sleuths had busted the Pablo Escobar of Pasco County.
Instead, this so-called fiendish drug dealer was in reality a middle-aged lawyer with acute, unrelenting back pain resulting from a car accident who also was dealing with the onset of multiple sclerosis. At the time, he needed leg braces and crutches to get around.
Paey insisted that the medications, obtained with prescriptions from his New Jersey doctor, were for his own use to ease his pain.
At his trial not a shred of evidence was produced to suggest Paey had ever sold or distributed the drugs, and neither was proof submitted to show the defendant had forged prescriptions.
Still, under state statutes making it a felony to possess more than four grams of oxycodone or hydrocodone, Richard Paey was convicted and sent to the hoosegow for a quarter of a century.
Taxpayer Expense
Or put another way, Richard Paey was given a de facto life sentence for being ill.
That's not due process. It's overzealous badges on a prosecutorial high.
Ironically, the 48-year-old Paey's medical condition has worsened in the more than three years he has been in prison. He now has to use a wheelchair and - at taxpayer expense - is receiving greater pain management dosages than he was convicted of obtaining.
In technically upholding Paey's sentence, the 2nd District Court of Appeal also noted he was a prime candidate for clemency. As well, the Florida Parole Commission agreed the case deserved to be fast-tracked to the clemency board for consideration.
Indeed, the idiocy of Richard Paey's legal plight has become something of an international cause celebre. And Crist press spokesman, Anthony DeLuise, said the governor's office has received more than 50 letters "overwhelmingly supporting" clemency for Paey.
By any standard of common sense and common decency Richard Paey is no criminal.
He is a very sick man who at long last deserves Lady Justice to take pains to right a wrong.
Ping
Then put them all inside it, weld the doors shut, and push it off a cliff.
Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Here come the Libertarians. This guy gets the shaft, and it’s an excuse to free every drug dealer in prison.
Nifong is the tip of the corrupt iceberg.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. When there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”
I pushed the wrong buttons?
This quote is getting more true by the day. Very sad.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Was this the same DA who went after RUSH Limbaugh for Dr shopping?
I have a very libertarian view about drugs. Let the fools who think that drug usage is cool kill themselves and the rest of us will be better off.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Ah, not so fast guys! Let him sweat it out for a few more years.
They only put this guy in jail. And they even gave him a trial first, which is a hell of a lot more than Terri Schiavo got from the state of FL before they murdered her! She was guilty of nothing more than being disabled, so this guy should count himself as fortunate IMO.
The guy was a lawyer and can be expected to have been fully cognizant of the law. There was no need for him to have large quantities of the drugs actually in his possession for medical reasons, as he could have just refilled his prescription at the pharmacy when needed.
This one-sided story is leaving things out.
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