In jail for a non-crime

[CBL4]

Allysan Isaac, 24, was held nearly a year in work release for something that a judge said Tuesday was not even illegal.
"You were incarcerated for a case that was not a crime," said Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn, who presided over the case.

Flynn, the prosecutor and Isaac's defense attorney were unaware last year that the offense she was charged with was not a violation of the law.

No one had noticed that a prescription drug found in Isaac's possession, an anti-anxiety medication called Buspirone, is not a controlled substance.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4242013,00.html

It's good to know that prosecutor and defense attorneys are on the ball.

BTW, I said "in jail" because the sentence also included a 90 jail sentence.

CBL

 

[KingMerv00]

I smell a wrongful arrest suit.

 

[Santa666]

Wow, the police said it is a controlled substance, so there, it's a crime. Don't worry about doing research, or investigating at all. The police said a crime was committed, why bother with sentencing, just burn the witch. The below quote is just great and from her first defense attorney at that.

The defense attorney who represented Isaac in the first case was also baffled. "I don't have an answer," assistant public defender John Burkey said. "Nobody caught it. The police were saying it was a controlled substance."

He doesn't have an answer. Well of course not, he is a bufoon. You know you are having attorney problems when your own lawyer just takes the police's word for it.

"They said what you did was wrong, so you might as well plead guilty"

That guy is certainly on his way to the top.


Santa

 

[CBL4]

It should be a crime to arrest or prosecute someone for a non-crime.

CBL

 

[Jon_in_london]

Put the whole stoopid bunch in jail for 3 months. That should teach 'em.

 

[bob_kark]

What I don't get is that she had a perscription for the drug. Woudn't she have brought that up to the police, her attorney, and I dunno, maybe the Judge? I've never heard of anyone being arrested for taking their own perscription.

 

[Psi Baba]

No one had noticed that a prescription drug found in Isaac's possession, an anti-anxiety medication called Buspirone, is not a controlled substance.

So apparently anything you have on you is considered to be a controlled substance unless proven otherwise. Great. Better get rid of those Altoids. I agree with CGL4 there is something seriously wrong when law enforcement, lawyers, and the judge don't even know what's legal what isn't.

 

[Beerina]

The article is light on the details, but if she had a prescription for it, I don't see why it was a problem. Unless it was medical marijuana or something, it was legal.

And if she didn't have her bottle with her, or lost it, why didn't her original defense attourney go to her doctor and check it out? And why didn't the attourney, the prosecutor, or the judge ever bother to look up if that drug was a controlled substance?

If there was a bottle, what's the problem? If there wasn't a bottle, they had to go ID the drug, then go look if it's on the controlled list. Then go prove she didn't have a prescription.

Yeah, I think jail time for the prosecutor is warranted, and in proportion to the length of sentence she served. This is different from a jury arriving at an incorrect conclusion, and is more along the lines of a prosecutor or police officer faking evidence (which should be punished by the max of some minimum jail time or the time the person did or would likely have served.)

 

[CBL4]

Originally posted by Beerina
The article is light on the details, but if she had a prescription for it, I don't see why it was a problem.

I would assume she borrowed someone else's prescription. It's a pretty common occurrence for various pain killers.

CBL

 

[bob_kark]

I would assume she borrowed someone else's prescription. It's a pretty common occurrence for various pain killers.

CBL

I would agree with you, but the article states:

Isaac pleaded guilty last year to possession of Buspirone, which she had obtained through a prescription.

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a news organization made a mistake.

 

[CBL4]

Originally posted by bob kark
I would agree with you, but the article states:
...
Of course, it wouldn't be the first time a news organization made a mistake.

I did not catch that part. I would have three guesses then:
1) Reporting error.
2) She got the prescription on false pretenses.
3) She shared the prescription with someone else but it was tried as possession perhaps via a plea bargain. I think this is the most likely.

CBL

 

[bob_kark]

3) She shared the prescription with someone else but it was tried as possession perhaps via a plea bargain. I think this is the most likely.

CBL

Heh, well you might be right, the article stated:

Isaac pleaded guilty last year to possession of Buspirone...

In work release, she was receiving another prescription drug, Clonazepam, which is a controlled substance. Another inmate talked her into sharing a tablet.

So Isaac pleaded guilty to distributing Clonazepam and appeared before Flynn Tuesday for sentencing.

She was obviously doing this with a different drug. I would hope they would have reported that in the story if that were the case. However, these days, news reports like to focus on the big story, not those pesky boring details.