Sick man gets 25 years and $500,000 fine for pain killers, page 1

Originally posted by glee
Of course the man shouldn't have to live his life in pain. But I googled him, and I have a big question. He says he couldn't find a doctor in Florida to treat him. I'd like to know why he couldn't. Is it a case of gross neglect on the part of the medicos in his area? Or was something else going on?

Here is a little more on the case:

Richard Paey is a desperately sick man who took desperate measures to ease his pain: Florida police and DEA agents who followed him for months described him wheeling himself into one pharmacy after another and leaving clutching his bags of pain pills. But that didn't matter to prosecutors who tried him as a drug trafficker three times before they could win a conviction that would send him to prison for years.

"It's unfortunate that anybody has to go to prison, but he's got no one to blame but Richard Paey," Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis told the St. Petersburg Times after sentencing. "Even if he possessed one pill illegally, it's a crime. All we wanted to do was get him help and get him treated to ensure that he's not doing anything criminal," he added.

Now why the hell are they wasting our #ing tax dollars folowing a wheelchair bound dying man trying to get something to relieve his pain?

Sure, great way to treat a sick person, 25 years in jail!

Here is the kicker:

Paey and prosecutors wrestled over possible plea bargains as the third trial neared, but Paey ultimately decided to reject a deal that would require him to plead guilty to a crime. He simply didn't believe he was anything other than a victim of a medical system hijacked by the imperatives of the war on drugs.

It was a gamble that almost paid off. One juror, Dwayne Hillis, told the Times he did not want to vote to convict Paey, but relented after he was assured by the jury foreman that Paey would receive probation. "It's my fault," said Hillis, a 42-year-old landscaper from Hudson. "Basically I should have stuck it out."

Hillis was misinformed by the foreman. Paey was convicted of "trafficking" in more than 28 grams -- less than one 100-pill prescription -- of Percocet, a medicine containing 1.5% oxycodone. Under Florida law, he faced a mandatory minimum 25-year prison sentence and $500,000 fine.
www.mimh.edu...

Why not a mis-trial? This is just plain wrong. I have 0% respect for the law when it's enforced like this and child molesters and murderers get out to commit these crimes over and over.