Slog
News & ArtsFriday, December 2, 2011
Drugs Prison Letter of the Day
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Since I started working on this story about crack sentencing guidelines, I've been receiving bunches of email, via Corrlinks, from people serving various sentences related to crack-cocaine charges. I thought I'd share a few:
Hello:
I would love to have my story told. I was given a reduction at sentencing in 2006 for my drug addiction, dad started me on drugs at 4 years old. I was denied on the first crack amendment (2008) and am being told i cant get on board for this.
I'm currently at williamsburg FCI. I grew up in key west florida. They say i can't get relief because i am a career offender, even though the majority of my crimes were either for drug possession or drug-induced petty crimes. You should note that some career offenders have gotten reductions even though they say i can't. I fully cooperated with the government every time yet they never helped me receive a reduction. I have been a drug addict all my life documented by letters from my mother, sisters and brother to the court hence the lower sentence i got originally (140 months for 26 grams of crack cocaine).
At a very young age my father introduced me to grass and alcohol and by the age of 9 i was smoking crack, snorting cocaine and from that point i never had a chance/choice it was too late. I'm now told even though my crime started as a drug offense for crack cocaine i cant get a reduction because of crimes i committed over 15 years ago, sounds discriminatory to me. I'm just a drug addict who got caught with a small amont of crack and am being punished like if i was a big time drug dealer, something is wrong with this system. Even worse the positive stuff i've done while in here (and its alot) counts for nothing while others can an are using it for further reductions. I sincerely hope you can use me to rectify/acknowledge this wrong. And yes i can provide documentation. Let me know what you need.
Respectfully, D.
D. is scheduled for release in May of 2020.
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http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appe…
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Unless this is some form of alzheimer's hitting me in the form of phantom Slog posts. My comments may begin getting deranged at a level not Will nor SROTU has yet reached.
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That is pretty weird, though.
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It also makes Brendan look dishonest/disingenuous when he just removes evidence of a letter from a career drug dealer. 500 kilos? Jesus Christ!
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I still had it in my RSS feed. Here you go:
Hello Brendan:
I have sat here in federal prison for many years and during the last few, I have witnessed the crack cocaine offenders receive humble retroactive two-level sentence reductions, not only once, but now twice, and I am happy for those individuals.
However, here I remain for over six more years of my thirty-year prison sentence while not receiving any relief. If I were granted the same considerations for my possession of the less addictive powder cocaine, I too would be on my way home now.
First of all, there was absolutely no weapons or violence associated with my criminal case. What there was, was the government's extravagant story-telling in that I contolled more than a thousand kilograms of ninety-two percent pure cocaine, with a street value of two-hundred to three-hundred million dollars. In spite of the utter foolishness and after a lengthy trial, a jury of my supposed peers found me guilty of both conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Furthermore, I received a two-level sentencing enhancement for perjury, simply because I testified on my own behalf. The enhancement alone accounts for 67 months of my thirty-year sentence.
I have written about my criminal case and current situation numerous times. You will find a brief version posted at: www.november.org/thewall/cases/early-g/e….
After having exhausted all possible avenues for relief in the courts, I then petitioned Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama to grant me executive clemency. And, of course, with no success. However, I will submit my next and last petition for clemncy to President Obama in spring. This time with much more support and reason. Having a release date of May 2018, would cause most people to simply give up hope, but for me it only increases the drive and determination of this 62 year old Chicagoan.
You're not crazy.
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Are you suggesting that not only the internet but SLOG itself is subject to unremarked upon revision? Next thing you'll be telling me is two plus two equals four.
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