Prop 36 Not Applicable to Blacks, Say Activists
By JENNIFER BIHM Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sentinel 9-6-07 A19
A civil rights group said they are bringing into question proposition 36¬a law aimed at sending minor drug offenders to rehab instead of jail- calling it ''biased'' and "unfair toward people of little means, especially African Americans."
The National Association of Equal Justice in America said they are tackling the issue in light of a recent case where a 21-year-old Black male is facing two years in prison for being caught with less than two ounces of marijuana earlier this month. However, they pointed out cases like actress Lindsay Lohan, who was caught with cocaine and sent to rehab, or celebutante Nicole Ritchie, who spent 82 minutes in jail for driving the wrong way on the freeway under the influence.
"NAEJA is not going to stand for that," said founder and president, Royce Esters.
''You mean to tell me you're going to charge tax payers $28,000 to house someone in jail for two ounces of marijuana. He's not a gang member, he's not violent..."
The "he" Ester is referring to is 21year-old Harbor City College student J'mil Viamill who was stopped by officers August 11 while in a car with a cousin and a friend.
''We were trying to tell them we were in a singing group but they were really focused on us being gang members," he said.
A preliminary hearing is set for today at the Long Beach courthouse, where Viamill will learn his fate. Right now, he is doing everything he can to stay out of prison so he can go on with his life, which right now involves finishing business management courses and developing hir fledgling company, Top Notch Entertainment.
"I feel they're really trying to come down on me," he told the Sentinel.
"I know for a fact that people in jail with worse records than I have and more serious crimes ... I only had marijuana, there are people who got caught with [other] dope and they're still getting prop 36. They weren't my color, they were Mexican or White."
The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, also known as Proposition 36, was passed by 61 percent of California voters on November 7, 2000. The vote permanently changed state law to allow first- and second-time nonviolent, simple drug possession offenders the opportunity to receive substance abuse treatment instead of incarceration. Proposition 36 went into effect on July 1,2001, with $120 million for treatment services allocated annually for five years.
"Sitting in the court in Long Beach, I was listening to them offer it seemed like just about everybody who was there for any kind of drugs ... but they're trying to give him two years," said Viamill's mother Juanda Turner.
"I wish I the money to get him a good lawyer. I know he was wrong for having marijuana but it just sickens me how they apply prop 36 and are so lenient with people who are of means and have money and who are not Black. (In court) they were actually offering Black men prop 36 if they would take a strike ... "
Anyone wanting to help with the case can call NAEJA at 310-608-5878
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