Arizona pays $126,000 to jail armless
woman for $20 marijuana violation

        WASHINGTON, DC -- A decision by Arizona prosecutors to put a
woman with no arms and only one leg in prison for a year for a minor
marijuana violation -- at a cost to taxpayers of $126,000 -- shows how
pitiless and immoral the War on Drugs has become, the Libertarian Party
said today.
         "Arizona prosecutors aren't content with inflicting cruel and
> unusual punishment on handicapped people; they apparently prefer their
> punishment to be ridiculously expensive, too," said Steve Dasbach, the
> party's national director.
>
>         "When you consider that for the cost of locking up one
> handicapped woman who sold $20 of marijuana, Arizona could have put
> four murderers in a maximum security prison for a year, you have to
> wonder who's committing the real crime."
>
>         This week, Deborah Lynn Quinn was placed in a "secure" medical
> unit by the Arizona Corrections Department. Her crime: Selling $20 of
> marijuana (four grams) to a police informant -- and then being caught
> with a small amount of marijuana in her home after being placed on
> probation.
>
>         Because she was born with no arms and only a partial left leg,
> Quinn, 39, can't be sent to a regular prison. So, the state will pay
> $126,000 -- or $345 a day -- to keep her imprisoned in a special
> medical unit.
>
>         By comparison, it costs the Arizona state government only $90 a
> day to keep a violent felon in a maximum security prison, and only
> $45-$50 a day to keep a typical inmate behind bars.
>
>         While the details and cost of Quinn's sentence may be unusual,
> her plight is all too common, said Dasbach.
>
>         "Deborah Lynn Quinn is attracting attention because she is
> handicapped, and because her situation is so tragic," he said. "But
> keep in mind: She was just one of 682,885 Americans arrested in 1998 on
> marijuana-related charges. And every one of those 682,885 Americans
> faced criminal charges, possible time in jail, lost employment, and
> shattered lives. The War on Drugs has handicapped their future as
> surely as the lack of arms and a leg has handicapped Deborah Lynn
> Quinn."
>
>         Even worse, said Dasbach, is the fact that more people were
> arrested nationwide that year for marijuana charges (682,885) than were
> arrested for murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault combined
> (676,020), according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report.
>
>         "Every one of those marijuana arrests meant less police time,
> less money, less court time, and fewer jail cells available to protect
> us from violent criminals," he said. "Does that make sense? And,
> likewise, does it really make sense for Arizona to spend $126,000 to
> keep a tragically handicapped woman behind bars for a year?"
>
>         In fact, the price tag for Quinn is so outrageous that at least
> one Corrections officer is lobbying for a reduced or alternative
> sentence. However, Mohave County Chief Deputy Attorney Jace Zack said
> the punishment was appropriate because "drug dealers [are] dangerous
> people."
>
>         But not as dangerous as crusading anti-drug zealots who don't
> care about compassion, decency, or common sense when waging their
> failed War on Drugs, said Dasbach.
>
>         "Deborah Lynn Quinn may have no arms," he said. "But the people
> who put her in prison have no heart."
>