A timely reminder that the war on drugs, and even the war on marijuana, is not anywhere close to over

Just last night I flagged here a new article by Michael Vitiello about the "war on drugs" and extreme sentences for drug crimes.  And this morning I saw this news article from Kansas this past week that provides a reminder that the US drug war as operationalized through extreme sentences even for marijuana offenses remains a very current reality for far too many.  The piece is headlined "Man serving 7.5 years on marijuana case says Kansas’ sentencing laws aren’t just," and here are excerpts:

A man sentenced to more than seven years in prison on a marijuana case wants Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to consider his request for clemency and to see the state change its drug penalty laws.  Donte Westmoreland, 25, had no prior convictions when he was found guilty of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute in May 2017 in Riley County. Judge John Bosch sentenced him to 92 months....

Kansas has a sentencing range guideline intended to promote uniformity in penalties. Bosch gave Westmoreland the lower end of the range.  But Christopher Joseph, Westmoreland’s attorney during sentencing and his appeal, said many judges across the state depart from the guidelines for marijuana cases, instead handing down probation....

According to a motion filed in the case, probation was given in 95% of the marijuana distribution cases in Kansas involving defendants with low criminal history scores.

On March 8, 2016, police observed two vehicles traveling in close proximity to each other. Officers testified that they believed a Hyundai was an escort vehicle for a Lexus. Westmoreland, of Stockton, California, was a passenger in the Hyundai, which was stopped for an obstructed license plate and searched in Geary County.  A small amount of marijuana was found in the trunk, according to court documents.  The Hyundai was released and it continued to an apartment complex in Riley County, where the Lexus met them about 20 minutes later. Officers followed them to the apartment of Jacob Gadwood, where they searched the Lexus and found packages of drugs.

Westmoreland and the driver of the Hyundai were arrested. Three other co-defendants who fled the scene were later taken into custody. Gadwood agreed to become an informant for prosecutors and testified that Westmoreland came to his apartment to sell marijuana. The five defendants in the case faced varying charges related to possessing and distributing marijuana, court records showed.  Sentences ranged from time served to Westmoreland’s 92 months, which was the longest.

In a statement to The Star, Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson said Westmoreland went to Manhattan to sell large amounts of marijuana with three others in two vehicles, one of which was a decoy.  “These were sophisticated dealers of narcotics,” Wilkerson said. “One of the vehicles was a Lexus.  92 months was a fair sentence under the circumstances.”

In Kansas, a defendant could serve a longer sentence for marijuana crimes than violent crimes such as voluntary manslaughter. “The current Kansas law and penalties for marijuana are unjust,” Joseph said. “The law is so out of sync with reality at this point.”

Lauren Bonds, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said Kansas is being closed in on.  Recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado in 2014.  Missouri and Oklahoma have passed medicinal marijuana laws and Nebraska has taken steps to decriminalize the drug....

Kansas Sen. Richard Wilborn, R-McPherson, chairs the Judiciary Committee and said sentencing guidelines is one of the topics “in the forefront.” He said he would take any recommendations from the Criminal Justice Reform Commission seriously, but that legislation has to be proportional with other illegal substances and not target a single issue.

Westmoreland said he supports reforms that address racial and sentencing disparities.  Twenty-eight percent of the Kansas Department of Corrections’ population is Black. According to the U.S. Census, Black people make up 6.1% of the state.

Earlier this year, Westmoreland submitted a clemency application to Gov. Laura Kelly’s office. The request included letters of support from Lansing Warden Shannon Meyer, Sen. Randall Hardy, R-Salina, and Rep. John Alcala, D-Topeka....  Kelly’s office is in the process of reviewing the clemency request, spokeswoman Lauren Fitzgerald said.

I fully understand why many advocates for criminal justice reform who are eager to end mass incarceration are now quick to stress that we need to address unduly long sentences for violent crimes.  But I see these kinds of extreme drug sentencing cases and continue to stress that we still need to make a whole lot more progress on reform for so many non-violent crimes, too, while also recognizing that it will be hard to get a place like Kansas to be less harsh in response to violent crimes if state law still provides that "a defendant could serve a longer sentence for marijuana crimes than violent crimes such as voluntary manslaughter."

Moreover, severe drug war attitudes are ultimately more enduring and perhaps even more problematic than even severe drug war laws.  That the prosecutor here is still eager to assert that such a long sentence for mere distribution of marijuana "was a fair sentence under the circumstances" showcases that many drug warriors are seemingly not inclined to rethink even the most severe weapons used to wage this unwinnable and damaging war.