$31 of pot gave Mom a 10 Year Prison Sentence!

[Kal'Stang]

The two women were arrested for drug distribution and because Spottedcrow's children were in the home, an additional charge of possession of a dangerous substance in the presence of a minor was added.

So it wasn't just the sell of the drugs. It was that there were children around those drugs also.

Pritchett said on first drug offenses, sentences are usually suspended and may require treatment or random drug tests.

Only if there are other more serious circumstances is a first-time drug offender sent to prison, she said.

“When kids are involved, it's different,” Pritchett said.

Then there is this...

The women were each offered plea deals of two years in prison. But because neither had prior convictions and the drug amounts were low, they gambled and entered a guilty plea before a judge with no prior sentencing agreement.
.
.
.

“Never in a million years did I think I'd be here 10 years,” Spottedcrow said of prison.

They were offered...they turned it down and gambled. Never taking into account the other charge of having "dangerous substances around minors".

Now lets look at the last bit of that article...

‘I'm already changed'

Spottedcrow knows she will need to find a new job skill because her work in the health field won't be there because of her incarceration. She would like to open a boutique.

“Even though this seems like the worst thing … I've been blessed along the way,” she said. “It could have been worse. I'm happy my kids are safe and, ultimately, I'm safe. I'm thankful I still have a family.”

In a year, Spottedcrow will have a review and hopes to shorten her time in prison.

“I'm already changed,” she said. “This is a real eye-opener. I'm going to get out of here, be with my kids and live my life.”

Sounds to me like what all happened did its job. Good.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

Pot is for ethnics.

 

[spud_meister]

Pot is for ethnics.

I'm actually glad of my Scottish ethnicity now.

 

[reefedjib]

Pot is for ethnics.

It serves my French Huguenot blood well. Or were you being racist?

 

[Andalublue]

It serves my French Huguenot blood well. Or were you being racist?

It certainly seemed a strnge comment to make on a thread about a Native American being gaoled for drug dealing. Arguably she's the least 'ethnic' a person in the US could be.

 

[Binary_Digit]

Does anybody besides me get irritated when they hear the term "drugs and alcohol"? Uh... you mean "drugs"? As a matter of fact, I've seen people be a slight bit irritated that I would equate alcohol to other drugs as if they were embarrassed of using alcohol if they were similar.

Alcohol is a drug, hello?

 

[Aunt Spiker]

This judge should be disbarred!

How $31 of pot gave mom a 10-year-prison sentence

TAFT — Because of $31 in marijuana sales, Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow is now serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband, and has ended her work in nursing homes. This is part of Oklahoma Watch, an independent and investigative reporting project.



Read more: How $31 of pot gave mom a 10-year-prison sentence | NewsOK.com​

****ty mother AND grandmother of the year award!

Starr handled the transaction and asked her 9-year-old grandson — Spottedcrow's son — for some dollar bills to make change for the $11 sale.

Two weeks later, the same informant returned and bought $20 of marijuana from Spottedcrow.

So -they knew it was illegal.
They did it anyway
She used her SON as a cashier for their illegal transaction.

But I'm suppose to feel bad for her?

Oh *boohoo* those poor children are without their immoral mother who was intent on turning him into a drug-seller at the age of 9.

 

[Binary_Digit]

Simple. They made an illegal substance available.

Circular reasoning: It's illegal because it's illegal.

9 times outta 10 addicts would not have become addicts for various reasons. One being that they don't know how to make it and wouldn't have been curious enough to find out how.

That's not the dealer's fault, any more than it's McDonald's fault that people get fat from eating too many Big Macs.

Another reason to target the sellers is that they would sell the crap to any age group. Including 8-9 year olds if given a half a chance. In other words the sellers actually hurt far more people than the addict would.

And its not an inalienable right for the simple fact that addicts often hurt other members of society.

I was pretty sure that I made two things abundantly clear:

1. Adults are selling drugs to adults.
2. Adults are using drugs and doing nothing afterward except watching MTV on their couch.

You have to add these extra conditions because your case is weak by itself. I have said repeatedly, in this thread and others, that drugs should not be allowed to be sold to minors, and that drug users should be held fully accountable for anything and everything they do while intoxicated.

 

[Binary_Digit]

She used her SON as a cashier for their illegal transaction.

But I'm suppose to feel bad for her?

Oh *boohoo* those poor children are without their immoral mother who was intent on turning him into a drug-seller at the age of 9.

BFD. Once again if she sold a bottle of wine to a friend, nobody would give two ****s about the sale or about the 9-year-old helping her make change. But when it involves marijuana, suddenly now she's the devil. It's ridiculous.

 

[Binary_Digit]

Alcohol is a drug, hello?

Sorry, I think I misread your post and I think we agree.

 

[MKULTRABOY]

If enforcement were 100% effective this country would be an prison industrial state. Meh.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

BFD. Once again if she sold a bottle of wine to a friend, nobody would give two ****s about the sale or about the 9-year-old helping her make change. But when it involves marijuana, suddenly now she's the devil. It's ridiculous.

You can twist it into a 'real life opporunity to learn how to count and manage money" but I don't see it that way. I'd be bothered - child labor, cigarettes, liquor, teaching your child to snag purses from banquette halls - it's all the same BAD PARENTING. So for aiding in the detriment of a minor I think it's a fitting sentence. I have a hard time believe "it was just this one time" - or "two times" - that's just a worn out excuse that numerous people toss out in the hopes of getting pity.

Aren't you bothered AT ALL about this kid's future? What life is he being ushered into with their complete lack of morals? "It's illegal - but we need the money - so it's ok." IS NOT a tolerable excuse for anything. First it's some weed for him - and then what? Like every other poor kid in a drug-dealing part of the city: on the corner selling crack at 15 . .. and it gets worse from there.

How is THAT good or excusable?

And YES that means I think he's better off *without* his mom around to errode them further. Maybe now he'll actually be taught that "for every illegal action there is a life-changing punishment." and "There are other ways to make money rather than hitting it up on a street corner."

If she was THAT WORRIED ABOUT HER KIDS and their livelihood to begin with she should have THOUGHT about that before she did it. I'm not about to let HER LACK of parenting ability somehow turn into anything other than her OWN problem.

She chose to have her son aide in an illegal activity.
That's the barebones of it - you can excuse it and minimize it all you want but that doesn't change that fact.

 

[Ikari]

Oh *boohoo* those poor children are without their immoral mother who was intent on turning him into a drug-seller at the age of 9.

But who does the kid have now then whom is going to be a "good" roll model? No one. So that kid will be in jail in another 5 years or so.

Punishment needs to fit the crime, and in this case it does not.

 

[Ikari]

If enforcement were 100% effective this country would be an prison industrial state. Meh.

We do throw a very high number of our population into prison, relatively speaking.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

But who does the kid have now then whom is going to be a "good" roll model? No one. So that kid will be in jail in another 5 years or so.

Punishment needs to fit the crime, and in this case it does not.

His mother should have cared enough about her children and their futures. Maybe she should have thought "How will it effect my kids if I get caught doing this?"
She was employed - life might have been hard but it was (could have been) a decent life for everyone.

SHE made the choice to ruin their lives with her actions - No one else did that for her. SHE did it.

 

[digsbe]

IN order for locking this woman up to do more harm to society, this woman... as an individual.... would have to be beneficial to society in some way shape or form.

As a mother she is beneficial to society.

So you must support prohibition of alcohol also, right? 4% of deaths worldwide...

No, I don't. We do have laws on the books that regulate alcohol sales and prohibit driving and operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol. I don't support the legalization of marijuana, but I support drastically lowering the sentences for those who violate the laws regarding marijuana.

 

[OscarB63]

As a mother she is beneficial to society.

not necessarily, Aileen Wuornos was a mother too.

 

[VanceMack]

As a mother she is beneficial to society.

No, I don't. We do have laws on the books that regulate alcohol sales and prohibit driving and operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol. I don't support the legalization of marijuana, but I support drastically lowering the sentences for those who violate the laws regarding marijuana.

I dont know thast I would call her being a mother a "benefit to society" or even to her children. Sounds like in or out of jail, the family is a burden on society. Point would be, is she a threat to society and if so does that threat justify society dropping an additional few hundred thousand to protect society from her.

 

[Ikari]

His mother should have cared enough about her children and their futures. Maybe she should have thought "How will it effect my kids if I get caught doing this?"
She was employed - life might have been hard but it was (could have been) a decent life for everyone.

SHE made the choice to ruin their lives with her actions - No one else did that for her. SHE did it.

She certainly should have. But you're sitting there crying "won't someone please think of the children", but the child is still ****ed even with the mother gone. More so because the mother is gone. That just means you'll have to pay for another person (the kid) in prison at some point. Have fun spending all our money on hucking people into prison.

 

[OscarB63]

but the child is still ****ed even with the mother gone. More so because the mother is gone. That just means you'll have to pay for another person (the kid) in prison at some point. Have fun spending all our money on hucking people into prison.

not necessarily. maybe the kid will get lucky, like my two younger boys, and some decent family will adopt him out of the system and teach him not to be a piece of **** criminal like his mother.

 

[Ikari]

not necessarily. maybe the kid will get lucky, like my two younger boys, and some decent family will adopt him out of the system and teach him not to be a piece of **** criminal like his mother.

Yeah, it's possible. But they got to get REAL lucky. The odds are not in their favor. Most likely, we'll be paying for this kid to be in jail too.

 

[OscarB63]

Yeah, it's possible. But they got to get REAL lucky. The odds are not in their favor. Most likely, we'll be paying for this kid to be in jail too.

nah, that's more likely. most likey is a rival drug seller will pop a cap in his ass by the time he hits 13-14.

 

[Ikari]

nah, that's more likely. most likey is a rival drug seller will pop a cap in his ass by the time he hits 13-14.

That is, unfortunately, a very probable outcome as well.

 

[Aunt Spiker]

She certainly should have. But you're sitting there crying "won't someone please think of the children", but the child is still ****ed even with the mother gone. More so because the mother is gone. That just means you'll have to pay for another person (the kid) in prison at some point. Have fun spending all our money on hucking people into prison.

So what's the issue, here?

Parents who break the law should never go to jail because their children might have to be taken care of by someone else (family or foster)?

 

[Caine]

I hope people in this thread know how much $31 dollars of weed is, not much, not much at all. No way worth 10 freaking years in prison.

The dollar value of the amount of marijuna sold is not the reason for the sentence... its the fact that the child was involved in the sale that caused the sentence to be high.

Do I agree with the sentence length even with those aggravating factors involved? No. Its still quite long. But lets not get all focused on the dollar value of the sale and ignore the aggravating factors that created the higher sentence.

I think maybe 4months would have been more sufficient. 10 years is by far too long.
And, in the end... we are all aware that the woman will probably not serve longer than 1-2 years of this sentence at most.