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Aug 03, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
In the US, unlike Guyana, there is no mandatory term of imprisonment you face for possession and trafficking of narcotics. What the US has is guideline sentencing. Such a framework offers enormous scope to the judge. A little example should explain it. For possession for the purpose of trafficking, the range of sentence starts from 18 months up. So you can get 18 months or you can get ten years. But there is a process called below guideline sentencing.
Once the prosecutor agrees to below guideline sentencing, you can get probation. It is simple; the law allows the judge to go below the guideline. This is what Rajendra Ramrattan of Guyana benefitted from last Wednesday, July 27, in a New York court. Ramjattan was caught with 550 grams of cocaine at the JFK airport in April of this year. He pleaded guilty and the prosecutor did not object to the defence’s request of below the guideline. Ramrattan will be deported back to Guyana within days, but he may want to die instead of returning here.
Would you believe what that New York judge did to Ramrattan? He was so generous and it is for this reason Ramrattan may dread coming back to Guyana. Remanded in April for the cocaine, the Judge told Ramrattan he would sentence him to time served. From April to July is three months. Such a sentence in Guyana is virtually impossible. Let me say boldly and unambiguously, not one human being that was found guilty of 550 grams of cocaine or less in a Guyana court ever received a sentence of less than three years.
In its Saturday, December 5, 2015 edition, KN reported the case of a woman arrested for one gram of ganja at her home in Sandy Babb Street, Kitty. For more on this, see my article for Monday, December 7 titled, “Eureka! Eureka! Someone discovers a law.” Any Guyanese should scorn their country in the 21st century when it could arrest a woman for possession of one gram of marijuana, while an American Judge awards a sentence of three months for 550 grams of cocaine. Is the White man superior to non-white people? Do White leaders have more commonsense than non-white politicians?
At Leonard Craig’s wedding reception last Sunday, some of us were chatting about the changes to the marijuana laws that will be presented to Parliament in the name of AFC Parliamentarian, Michael Carrington. Carrington sat next to me during the wedding reception and said very little when we asked about the amendment.
The AFC’s Bill should be in Parliament next week. Two persons from the AFC leadership joined in the conversation and said they doubt it will ever come before Parliament. Carrington refused to answer any question, advising us that the issue was a sensitive one for both the APNU and AFC leadership and he may boil in hot water if he says anything and it ends up in my column. My advice to him is if he feels that way, then he should shut his mouth.
So it doesn’t look like we will join most countries in the world and lessen the draconian penalties for as little as five grams of ganja. Interestingly, after we left Leonard Craig’s wedding, we got caught in a humongous traffic jam at Hopetown where pre-emancipation celebrations were going on. I pushed my head out of the car window to ask four policemen why the jam. They said the Prime Minister and other Ministers were meeting the revelers. Michael Carrington and I came out of the car. I had to walk half of a mile to get to the Prime Minister to ask him to intervene to allow the traffic to move. While walking, the scent of marijuana danced over my face. I remember the opening lines of “Hotel California” that went like this; “Cool wind in my hair; warm smell of colitas rising up through the air.”
I was annoyed at the traffic chaos, but the smell of ganja reminded me of the stupidity and tragedy of my country. I am assuming that many young men from Hopetown had to spend the Emancipation Night in a jail cell. Maybe a few of them got arrested for the mere possession of a ganja smoke. They may be on remand by now. I spoke to the Prime Minister and Minister David Patterson, who both apologized for the police action in stopping the traffic. As the vehicle crawled out of Hopetown, my face was out of the window and the cool wind came into my hair and the stink smell of jail time was rising in the air.
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THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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Freddy, I have to disagree with your opening statement on this on,,,, Sentencing depends on if one is being sentencing based on State or Federal Guidelines…..sorry
Those convicted on drug possession charges face a wide gamut of penalties at sentencing, varying from state to state. Penalties for simple possession range from a fine of less than $100 and/or a few days in jail to thousands of dollars and several years in state prison for the same offense. Simple drug possession sentences tend to be the lightest, while intent to distribute drugs or the cultivation/manufacturing of drugs carry much heavier penalties. Prosecutors sometimes offer plea deals to defendants who may be able to help them with a higher-priority investigation, perhaps leading to the arrest of an organized crime leader
Federal lawmakers enacted mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for drug offenses in 1986 in an attempt to target high-level distributors, although they also impact lower-level drug defendants. Most states have adopted a similar approach to drug sentencing. These fixed sentences are based on the type of drug, the weight of the drug and the number of prior convictions
Factors that influence penalties for drug possession — aside from mandatory minimum sentences — include the defendant’s past record, the amount and type of drug.
“My advice to him is if he feels that way, then he should shut his mouth.”
Trap rather than mouth would have been more appropriate .