December 8, 2006

The U.S. 2nd District Court of Appeal reluctantly upheld a 25-year drug sentence against a man in a wheelchair but urged Florida's governor to commute the sentence, the St. Petersburg Times reported Dec. 7.

Richard Paey was charged with drug trafficking for illegally obtaining more than 1,200 pain pills using false prescriptions; Paey has multiple sclerosis and suffers chronic pain from a car accident, and said he got the drugs for his personal use.

But Florida law triggers a mandatory drug-trafficking penalty in cases where individuals possess more than an ounce of illicit drugs, regardless of intent.

The appeals court voted 2-1 to uphold the sentence. "Mr. Paey's argument about his sentences does not fall on deaf ears, but it falls on the wrong ears," wrote Judge Douglas Wallace for the majority.

Outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush is not expected to commute Paey's sentence before he leaves office, but lawyers are hoping that Governor-elect Charlie Crist will. The case also may be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2006/court-upholds-drug-sentence.html