DAD OF 4, 1,249 OTHER DRUG PRISONERS SEE FREEDOM

Besides Release of First-Time Offenders, Repeal of Sentencing Law Will
Save Michigan $41M.

LANSING -- For more than a decade, James DiVietri, his four sons and
the rest of his large, close-knit family could only dream about a date
like March 1.

DiVietri, 53, locked away for 11 years, was resigned to serving nearly
10 more years behind bars for drug possession -- until last month's
repeal of Michigan's tough drug-sentencing law that forced judges to
impose long, mandatory sentences.

On March 1, DiVietri and other first-time, nonviolent drug offenders
sentenced under that law will be freed.

"The first two years, I thought somehow this was not real and I would
somehow get out," DiVietri said. "The last nine years, I couldn't
allow myself to think about freedom. Now for the first time, I can
actually let go."

While the impact on offenders and their families is huge, implications
for Michigan's criminal justice system also are enormous. Long-term
prison beds will be vacated at a time when the state's prisons are
near capacity. Overworked probation officers will get relief, and the
state will save millions of dollars.

The Legislature last month repealed Michigan's controversial 1973 drug
sentencing law that forced judges to impose long mandatory minimum
sentences based on the quantity of drugs involved in the crime. The
crackdown was aimed at drug kingpins, but also imprisoned were
hundreds of first-time non-violent offenders such as DiVietri. Many
received longer prison terms than violent career criminals.

A majority of those inmates, including DiVietri, will be immediately
ready for parole on that date. As many as 700 of the group of 1,250
could be home by September, with the others released in the near
future, said corrections officials.

They are continuing to examine the files of 7,600 inmates serving drug
sentences to see how many others qualify for release.

The repeal also will affect 6,864 people serving life-time probation.
Those who have served a minimum of five years -- 3,218 offenders --
will have their probation terminated on March 1.

State taxpayers will benefit. The prison system, almost at its
50,000-bed capacity, is threatened by a budget deficit that could
reach $80 million in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The release
of 1,250 drug inmates, each of which cost taxpayers $28,000 annually
to house and feed, will save $35 million.

Terminating the life-time probationers will cut another $6 million, as
officials pegged the cost of supervising each of the 3,218 probationer
at $1,900 annually.

Law Enforcement Gains

Law enforcement will also gain from the releases -- especially in
Wayne County.

In December, The Detroit News in a series of stories documented the
presence of 26,000 fugitive felons roaming the county's streets. With
a newly formed 33-member Detroit-Wayne County fugitive squad now
hunting fugitives, judges will have the option of sending some
fugitives to prison because of the newly vacated bed space.

Wayne County probation officers who have complained that they are
unable to properly supervise the large number of probationers on their
case loads also will get relief. Most of the 3,218 life-time
probationers are from Wayne County and termination of their sentences
will relieve pressure on county officers.

Law Missed Target

Judge Timothy Kenny, co-chief of the Wayne County Circuit Court, said
he welcomed the new law.

"I spent 4 1/2 years prosecuting major narcotics cases before becoming
a judge," Kenny said. "The reality was, however, that the people that
were getting the 20-30 and mandatory life sentences were not drug
kingpins. We were locking up for a life-time individuals with drugs
who were only peripherally involved."

The life-time probation provision went into effect in 1982, Kenny
said.

"That means some people were supervised by probation officers for over
20 years. Now that time and effort to maintain files on those people
can end and probation officers can concentrate on watching more
dangerous people." he said.

Admits Guilt

In 1991, James DiVietri pleaded guilty to possessing 225 to 649 grams
of cocaine and was sentenced to 20-30 years in prison.

At the time of his arrest, he was managing one of his family's
restaurants on the west side of Lansing. The original DiVietri family
restaurant, Emil's Bar and Grille, is a Lansing landmark that the
family says is the oldest continuously operated Italian restaurant in
the state.

DiVietri was arrested in a drug deal and said he pleaded guilty
because he was guilty. He wanted to take pressure off his family and
to get the restaurants off TV news.

"I have no one else to blame but myself. I brought it on myself. "
DiVietri said in a telephone interview.

He said the harsh reality of prison life made him realize he had to
reinvent himself to survive living behind bars every day.

"You have to learn to be an inmate, but at the same time not lose your
identity," DiVietri said.

He decided to spend his time on education. Because he went to work in
the family restaurant when he was 13 and later dropped out of Michigan
State University, DiVietri never earned a degree.

Through correspondence with his former professors at Michigan State,
he was able to earn a bachelor's degree in history, DiVietri said. He
then enrolled in a graduate history program at California State
University and completed a master's degree in 1994.

Change in Drug-Lifer Law

Along the way, DiVietri earned three paralegal certificates, which he
put to good use on his case.

With growing national criticism of the harsh punishment for first time
offenders, the Legislature and the state Supreme Court in 1992 amended
the state's drug-lifer law, changing the mandatory life sentence to 20
years to life. The change also allowed lifers to be eligible for
parole after serving 10 years.

Using those new sentencing guidelines, DiVietri appealed his case and
won a hearing in 1994 before Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Thomas
Eveland.

Eveland resentenced DiVietri to 10-30 years, which would have made him
eligible for parole two years ago. The Michigan Court of Appeals,
however, overruled Eveland and restored DiVietri's original 20- to
30-year sentence.

Over the next several years, DiVietri said he watched in frustration
as some inmates sentenced to life terms gained parole. Despite his
outstanding achievement in prison, he was not eligible.

"The law was a joke. It never detered drug trafficking, not in here.
You can get any kind of drug in prison. If they can't control it in
here then they can't do it on the outside," he said.

Wants to See Boys

His long prison sentence wreaked havoc on his family, DiVietri
said.

His parents had retired to their winter Florida home but sold it and
moved back to Lansing to be able to visit him. His mother took his
imprisonment especially hard and her health deteriorated.

Five years after he entered prison, his wife divorced
him.

"Jimmy kept up his relationship with his boys," said his sister,
Michelle Henning. "He wrote each of them a letter every week that he
sent to dad to give to them."

Last July, he had a bittersweet reunion with his two oldest sons and
the rest of his family.

His mother, Mary, had died, and he was released under guard and in
chains for four hours from the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer
to attend a private funeral.

On Tuesday, he was given his parole papers to sign.

"I can't wait to see my boys and devote my time to them," DiVietri
said

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TAX SAVINGS

The release of 1,250 inmates serving long sentences for drug offenses
and the termination of probation for more than 3,000 others will save
the state as much as $41 million.

Inmates Annual upkeep Savings

1,250 $28,000 $35 million

3,218 $1,900 $6 million

Source--Michigan Department of Corrections