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Ten Percent of all Infants Born in Iowa Have Meth Exposure -- Mike Huckabee's Solution? Early Release for Meth Dealers
Huckabee: Tough Anti-Meth Laws are "Overreaching" and "Unnecessarily Long"

Contact: Press Office, 571-730-1010; www.Fred08.com

MC LEAN, Va., Dec. 2 /Standard Newswire/ -- Despite the fact that one-in-ten Iowa infants are born with meth exposure, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee today called tough anti-meth laws "overreaching" and defended his support for a 2005 Arkansas bill that provided early jail release for meth dealers by reducing their mandatory jail time by 50 percent.  The comments were made this morning on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. 

Here are a few Iowa facts Gov. Huckabee should consider before he coddles any more meth dealers: 

·         Meth is the third-highest abused drug in Iowa behind alcohol and marijuana.

·         Over the past six years, 7,500 cases of child abuse due to meth labs were reported in Iowa.

·         From 2004 to 2006, Iowa prisoners were incarcerated for meth-related crimes more than twice as much as criminals guilty of cocaine-based and marijuana-based crime combined.

·         In 2006, 13.6% of Iowa adults in treatment cited Meth as the primary reason for their problems.

·         One of 10 infants in Iowa is born with meth exposure.

·         Eighty-five percent of babies in Iowa foster care come in with meth exposure.

·         In 2006, nearly half (46.7%) of abused Iowa children came from parents who use meth.

 

                Sources: http://www.drug-rehabs.org/con.php?cid=1307&state=Iowa;                 http://www.state.ia.us/government/odcp/docs/2007_Meth_Report_2-1-07.pdf

 

The situation was no better in Arkansas where the state ranked 10th in the nation in treating methamphetamine users in 2006.  In fact, according to the Arkansas State Police, meth-related costs eat up nearly one-third of every tax dollar spent in 2003.

 

What was Huckabee's solution to this problem?

 

·         In 2005, Huckabee once again led the charge to allow early release for those convicted of meth manufacturing or the intent to manufacture meth.  "Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee plans to ask the legislature to reform sentencing laws to ease penalties for drug possession and to send more meth users into treatment than to jail.  The proposal would end the requirement that offenders serve at least 70 percent of their sentences.  The changes would have the effect of reducing the average sentence for meth possession by five years.. .One of every 20 state inmates in Arkansas is serving time for a meth-related crime." ("Arkansas Plans Sentencing Reforms," Corrections Digest, 1/21/05)

 

·         At the same time most states were increasing penalties, under Huckabee, Arkansas looked for ways to let criminals out early. "Arkansas is running counter to other states in regard to meth crimes by exempting users from the law that requires offenders to serve at least 70 percent of their sentences." ("Arkansas Advances Broad Prison Reforms," Corrections Digest, 3/4/05)

 

·         Benton County Daily Record editorialized against passage of legislation to weaken sentencing for meth-manufacturing convictions saying that meth manufacturers should "be guaranteed a lengthy stay behind bars." "And everyone knows it, which makes the existence of Senate Bill 120, which would reduce the mandatory penalties for some meth-related crimes, as perplexing as any legislation we've seen come before state lawmakers in some time.  These meth-related offenses are lumped in with rape, first-degree murder, aggrav ated robbery and a short list of other crimes deemed serious enough that those committing them be guaranteed a lengthy stay behind bars.  We believe given the problems for which meth is directly and indirectly responsible in our communities that this is the right message to send those producing it. And appropriate sentencing." (Arkansas Editorial Roundup, "Bentonville County Daily Record," AP, 2/9/05)

 

·         Arkansas Democrat-Gazette titled the legislation the "Meth Makers Relief Act of 2005" and called on Huckabee to veto the measure. "The prisoners who would benefit by the Ledge's favor are the dealers-the source of the plague, the ones who cook up the drug and spread it around. These are the folks who prey on addicts lower down the drug chain. These are the manufacturers and merchants of so much misery in Arkansas...This bill not only cuts the time to be served to half the original sentence, it also allows prisoners to e arn up to 12 days a month off their sentences for good behavior." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

 

·         However, Huckabee signed into law the legislation to reduce the minimum mandatory sentence for those convicted of meth manufacturing or the intent to manufacture meth.  "State lawmakers weighed in on the growing problem [of prison backlog] this spring when they passed legislation that can reduce prison time for methamphetamine offenders, who previously had to serve 70 percent of their sentences. Act 1034, signed into law in March, reduced the mandatory time for methamphetamine-related convictions to 50 percent for inmates who be have well in prison." (Charlie Frago, "Drug Cases Give Whites A Lock On Prison Majority," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (NW AR Edition), 7/9/05)

 

·         Republican State Rep. Hutchinson argued against the legislation saying it "sends a terrible message to our communities." Rep. Timothy Hutchinson, R-Lowell and a former prosecutor, told House members reducing the sentences of methamphetamine manufacturers would do little to reduce the prison population...Hutchinson said truth-in-sentencing laws, which require that juries be told of possible sentence reductions, would prompt them to give higher sentences.  'Prosecutors can do math, jurors can do math, judges can do math,' he said. 'This bill in my opinion doesn't reduce prison overcrowding, doesn't help with inmate control and it weakens our existing laws. It sends a terrible message to our community at a time when methamphetamine is destroying our communities and destroying lives.'" (Melissa Nelson, "Arkansas House Approves Bill To Reduce Mandatory Prison Time Of Meth Offenders," AP, 3/9/05)