Although drug abuse puts a strain on virtually every aspect of civil society, it probably places no greater burden anywhere than on the justice system.And, according to local prosecutors, at least one of the major factors in creating this strain is a lack of resources to punish those who break drug laws.
“Being a prosecutor is not an easy job, by any means,” said Talladega County District Attorney Steve Giddens. “If all of a sudden every single illegal drug in the county were to disappear, this still wouldn’t be an easy job. But it would be a lot easier than it is now.”
Giddens estimates that about half of the criminal cases set to go to trial every month are pure drug cases, either possession of marijuana or other controlled substances, distribution, trafficking, manufacturing and others.
“It’s hard to assign an exact number or percentage,” Giddens said. “It ebbs and flows. But I would be absolutely comfortable saying that it’s at least 50 percent.”
And even that number is deceptively low.
“If you throw in theft of property, burglary and robbery cases where the defendant needed money to buy drugs, you would probably be looking at about 85 percent of the docket. And forgeries are especially popular with drug addicts. I’d guess about 90 or 95 percent of the forgery suspects we see are drug addicts,” Giddens said.
St. Clair County District Attorney Van Davis agreed. “Out of all of the felony cases we prosecute, I would guess about 70 to 80 percent are drug related in some way. Now, a lot of those are going to be property crimes, addicts stealing to support their habits. But out of all cases here, I’d guess 20 or 25 percent are actually felony drug cases that don’t involve any other type of crime.”
Repeated problems
A majority of the defendants in Talladega County drug cases are repeat offenders “in some form or another,” Giddens said. “Again, it’s difficult to assign an exact number, since they might, for example, come up on charges in a methamphetamine case but have a previous conviction for burglary, or vice versa. That burglary is, more than likely, going to be motivated by drug addiction.”
And that is the biggest reason there are so many repeat offenders.
“Addiction is a very, very powerful problem, whether it’s illegal drugs or alcohol. We have a very high rate of repeat offenders for felony driving under the influence. It’s a parallel we see every day.”
Davis agreed, estimating “35 or 40 percent” of drug offenders in St. Clair County are repeat offenders. “Those numbers are going to be especially high for people convicted of distribution as opposed to felony possession.”
Davis attributes this in part to the profit motive. “Let’s face it, dealing drugs is easy money, and a lot of these people are too lazy or too sorry to go out and find a real job. They’d rather just sell drugs instead.”
Both Davis and Giddens said that, in many instances, the state Department of Corrections has also contributed to the high recidivism rate by turning drug-related prisoners loose far earlier than prisoners convicted of other crimes.
“Our prison system is overcrowded, and drug offenders are simply not serving out lengthy sentences. It’s not a deterrent anymore,” Davis said.
“Felony possession convictions normally carry two- or three-year sentences, and if they are a first offender with a clean record, they have a very good shot at probation,” Davis continued. “Distribution convictions usually carry five to seven years, with enhancements for being close to a housing project or a school.
“Now it used to be that you could not probate or parole those enhancements, but you can now. Basically, the state is just making up the rules as they go along to deal with the overcrowding issue. We’re all under a lot of pressure.
“But now the Legislature wants us, and wants our judges, to quit being tough on crime, but the public does not want that. I get notice after notice of habitual offenders being released early. And when that happens, they will continue to repeat. They’re turning them loose faster than we can send them back,” Davis said.
Case in point
Giddens specifically cites the case of a group of repeatedly convicted crack dealers in Talladega County who were eventually sentenced to serve 99 years each in prison.
Giddens said he recently got notice from the state board of Pardons and Paroles that these same individuals were being considered for early release after serving less than four years.
“If you can serve a 99-year sentence in less than four years, that, to me, is no deterrent,” Giddens said.
“As frustrating as that is for me as a prosecutor, imagine what that’s like for a police officer,” he continued. “You work hard for months, you build a strong case, and then in no time the guy you put away is waving at you on the street.
“Look at what 99 years really means. That means not only that this person is a repeat felon, it means they have absolutely pushed the limits of the court’s patience. It’s no deterrent at all. And it’s another reason we see the same faces over and over again.”
Growing problem
Numbers of drug cases have been on the rise for the past three years, Giddens said.
“Our number of drug cases has been way, way up, due primarily to the arrival of crystal meth, no doubt about it. People figured out ways to cook it, and this county happens to have lots of rural areas that are well suited to running meth labs.
“Not that you really need a rural area anymore when you can drive around with a lab in the bed of a pickup truck. But abusers have become aware of how easy this stuff is to make, and that has made it a lot more plentiful,” Giddens said.
The situation in St. Clair County is similar.
“We had leveled off for a while,” Davis said, “but with the influx of crystal meth, starting about four or five years ago, we’ve seen the problem begin to get worse and worse.
“We’ve also been seeing a big increase in the abuse of prescription pain killers, which have become a more obvious problem on the street. We’re seeing that a lot of the people dealing in those are actually taking their own, legitimate prescriptions and reselling them, because they can get a lot of money for them. Forged prescriptions are also up, but the largest part is drugs initially purchased with a valid prescription.”
Other options?
The obvious alternative to imprisonment for drug users is treatment, but Giddens is wary of this option.
“I have to admit I have not seen a great deal of success from sending people to rehab,” he said. “I’m not knocking rehab, of course. That’s no slam on treatment programs. But a user only gets out of a treatment program what they put into it. Our policy is to allow treatment as an option if the person wants it. But the success really depends on their intent.”
Davis agreed rehab is not appropriate for everyone and some programs are unlikely to be appropriate for anyone already caught up in the justice system.
“For first-time offenders, I think there might be something to be said for a serious rehabilitation program, although I’m not in favor of rehab for dealers,” he explained. “The problem is, most of these are short programs, lasting about 28 days. There is no way you’re going to be able to overcome addiction to crack, methamphetamine or OxyContin in 28 days. You need a longer program, but then money becomes an issue.
“Most people coming through the legal system don’t have the insurance to cover a long program, which leaves the state system with a huge backlog. I believe there are currently about 7,000 inmates on the waiting list right now.”
Again, Davis also emphasized that some drug offenders don’t belong in any type of rehab.
“A drug dealer on his third conviction absolutely does not need rehab, he needs some time in prison where he can think about what he does for a living,” he said.
