The following
is from the SURJ (http://www.surj.org) action
alert regarding the excellent re-write of Delaware’s antiquated, harsh,
and failing drug laws. Joanna Champney, SURJ Executive Director, and I
participated on the committee that wrote this bill, and I’m very happy
with the result. The bill makes sure that drug addicts aren’t
criminalized, and that drug dealers are subject to harsher sentences. My
personal thanks to Tom Foley for providing amazing leadership on this
effort as well as State Prosecutor Rich Andrews for keeping the
committee moving and helping to resolve some very sticky issues.
However, the whole committee really made this happen: The Police Chiefs
Council, The Public Defender’s Office, Rep. Melanie George, The State
Police, DHSS, Corrections, and others. I’m very excited that my mentor,
the late Ned Carpenter, will have his vision of correcting our unjust
drug laws achieved.
From the
action alert:
The effort to
improve our state’s overly harsh drug laws has
culminated in a comprehensive revision of Title 16 (the drug code).
HB 443 is a collaborative effort toward drug law
reform. The Attorney General’s Office, Public Defender, Law
Enforcement, Department of Correction, and SURJ have been meeting since
April 2009 to draft the revisions. The new proposed drug laws mirror
the more sensible sentencing schemes used in other
states and bring the drug laws into line with the rest of the Delaware
code.
The new drug
code is smarter, simpler, and allows for better consideration of the
unique circumstances of each drug offense. Consistent with the rest of
the criminal code, only drug offenses which are Class B Felonies will
carry amandatory minimum sentence. Some drug crimes
which are currently felonies will be reduced to misdemeanors.
The new
sentencing scheme would simplify and reduce the number of charges for a
single drug case. Prosecutors will no longer be able to heap on
multiple charges that carry separate mandatory minimum sentences.The new
scheme would include a base charge according to a “Tier” system, and aggravating
factors (such as dealing drugs in a school zone or resisting
arrest) could increase the offense level.
The amounts of a drug that trigger a mandatory
minimum drug sentence have been increased substantially. For example,
10 grams of cocaine previously triggered a 2 year mandatory minimum
sentence; the new scheme would require 25 grams of cocaine to trigger
the same sentence. Cases with less than 25 grams could trigger the
minimum 2 year sentence only if certain aggravating circumstances exist.
Changes to school
zone penalties and driver’s license suspensions
are also included. Visit our blog for more info.
Please contact the ten members of the House Judiciary
Committee as well as your local Representative to support the bill!
(You’ll need your 4-digit zip code extension… find it here.) The House Judiciary Committee will hold a
hearing on the bill on June 9 at Legislative Hall in
Dover. Want to attend? Email us for details.
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