Trump Commutes His First Drug Convict

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I’m fine with this. A life sentence for a first time nonviolent drug offender is excessive
I am sick of my tax dollars being wasted to incarcerate people like this for life…vs people who commit actual acts of homicide who get out in just a few years.
 
Allie1 said:
I’m fine with this. A life sentence for a first time nonviolent drug offender is excessive
I am sick of my tax dollars being wasted to incarcerate people like this for life…vs people who commit actual acts of homicide who get out in just a few years.
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“Johnson was convicted on cocaine conspiracy charges and money laundering. At the time of sentencing, AP reported that U.S. federal judge Julia Gibbons said Johnson was “the quintessential entrepreneur” of a drug ring that dealt in tons of cocaine.”

I certainly believe in second chances, and a person could change substantially during 20 years in confinement. However, let’s be honest about the seriousness of her crime. Her activities would have hurt a lot of people for financial gain.
 
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Yes HCTC your additional news link provided more information about this case that was not included in the original one I read. I agree her crimes are definitely more aggregious then what was posted on CNN.
 
Allie1 said:
Yes HCTC your additional news link provided more information about this case that was not included in the original one I read. I agree her crimes are definitely more aggregious then what was posted on CNN.
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Going to be interesting to see how Brietbart and Fox spin this to make Trump look like a Saint.
 
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Your link added no depth to understanding her crime, except a quote from the judge that she was entrepreneurial, I assume at the money laundering aspect. Nothing indicates she was a power player in this drug ring. 20 yrs time served isn’t a slap on the hand for her first offense.
 
I approve of President Trump commuting Ms. Johnson’s sentence wholeheartedly.

A life sentence for a first-time, non-violent offense seems excessive to me. I realize that she did more than get caught with a bag of weed for personal use, but still, the punishment did not appear to fit the crime.
 
I wonder how this will go over with Black voters? Bet Obama is kicking himself for turning her down three times.

Sounds like the DA used her as a scapegoat
Alice Marie Johnson, 63, was arrested alongside 15 others on drug charges in 1993. Ten of her co-defendants testified against her and received sentences from no jail time to ten years.

She says that she never brokered any deals or handled drugs, but was responsible for relaying coded messages over the phone.

Mrs Johnson was jailed in 1997 on money laundering and drug conspiracy charges.r first offence, she was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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Yeah non violent only means she wasn’t convicted of a violent crime. If she was dealing in cocaine then lots of violence was done thanks to her work.
Theo520 said:
She says that she never brokered any deals or handled drugs, but was responsible for relaying coded messages over the phone.
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Right, she says. It might be true or might not be.
 
exnihilo said:
Right, she says. It might be true or might not be.
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Very true. It’s just that no article I read added any credence to her being the brains of the operation.
A life sentence without the opportunity of parole is harsh.
It’s also very harsh in comparison to the sentences of the other defendants, some of whom did handle the drugs.
 
Ms. Johnson may indeed be an appropriate person to pardon. However one has to wonder why just her? There are over 90,000 inmates in federal prison right now on drug offenses. Is Ms. Johnson the only one worthy of a pardon? One has to think that there would be several hundred more that are in the same boat as her. It begins to make sense, though when we consider who advocated for her cause: Kim Kardashian. Celebrities like Trump pay attention to other celebrities. It is called celebrity justice. It would be nice if he would also pay as much attention to his own justice department, which traditionally recommends people for pardons. Or maybe it is this: Maybe Trump is sending a message to Paul Manafort through these pardons: “Look, buddy, there is no reason to take a deal from Mueller and tell on me. If you get convicted of anything, I will pardon you. See, I know how to do it. I’ve had some practice!”
 
Theo520 said:
It’s just that no article I read added any credence to her being the brains of the operation.
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“At the time of sentencing, AP reported that U.S. federal judge Julia Gibbons said Johnson was ‘the quintessential entrepreneur’ of a drug ring that dealt in tons of cocaine.”

I think that I will give credence to the characterization by the U.S. federal judge of Johnson’s crime rather than your unfounded opinion.

That said, I do not oppose a second chance for someone who has been a model inmate during 20 years in confinement. However, I will not pretend that conducting a business that involved the sale of “tons of cocaine” does not merit 20 years confinement. Furthermore, I believe that there is some risk that she will re-offend.
 
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She was an obvious PR move that also seemed to have merit.
I’m open to sentencing reform but many of those other 90k have much more serious rap sheets, virtually none are in for just being caught with a personal stash.

This has been debated multiple times on the forum with evidence supplied

We’ll need to see if Trump does champion sentencing reform.
 
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HCTC said:
the quintessential entrepreneur’ of a drug ring that dealt in tons of cocaine .”

I think that I will give credence to the characterization by the U.S. federal judge of Johnson’s crime rather than your unfounded opinion.
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Focus on your comprehension of what was said.
It implies she was creative at her part, not that she was in charge of the drug ring.
 
@Theo520

quin·tes·sen·tial
ˌkwin(t)əˈsen(t)SHəl/
adjective
1 representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

en·tre·pre·neur
ˌäntrəprəˈnər/
noun
1 a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.
 
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Theo520 said:
She was an obvious PR move that also seemed to have merit.
I’m open to sentencing reform but many of those other 90k have much more serious rap sheets
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That’s why I hypothesized that only a few hundred of the 90K were in her boat.
, virtually none are in for just being caught with a personal stash.
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Neither was Ms. Johnson.
 
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There is no indication she was the ring leader, supported by a lack of prior convictions.

Can you supply the full quote in context, or are you going to run with the proof texted version? I don’t know if the judge was talking about the whole gang, or just how she handled money laundering. Give us the context of your quote.

I’m willing to acknowledge she was the brains of the whole operation, if you can support it.

Do you know what ‘proof-texted’ means?
 
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Theo520 said:
I’m open to sentencing reform but many of those other 90k have much more serious rap sheets, virtually none are in for just being caught with a personal stash.
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Federal drug sentences can be harsh. But very often people who end up in federal court have been committed all sorts of awful crimes without being sentenced reasonably by the state courts. As you point out the federal charge isn’t often the whole story.
 
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