Prison upheld for drug offenders

Advertiser Staff

First-time drug offenders may be sent to prison instead of a treatment program if they have prior felony convictions, the Hawai'i Supreme Court has ruled.

The court's unanimous ruling affirms a sentence issued in February by Circuit Judge Marie Milks.

In June 2002, then-Gov. Ben Cayetano signed a law to divert nonviolent first-time offenders to drug treatment programs instead of sending them to prison. It was seen as a way to address Hawai'i's burgeoning crystal methamphetamine problem while easing prison crowding.

In December 2002, Faye A. Smith pleaded guilty to one count each of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia. Because she had been convicted in 1998 of forgery and theft, prosecutors sought to have her sentenced as a repeat offender, which would subject her to mandatory minimum sentences of 20 months for the drug possession charge and up to 2 1/2 years for the drug paraphernalia charge.

Smith had been hoping for probation and a chance to enter drug treatment.

Milks found that the new law prescribing treatment for first-time drug abusers was not meant to "trump" the state's repeat offenders law.

Correction: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the Hawai'i Supreme Court's ruling.