A man found with three pounds of marijuana in his trunk on a local highway was sentenced to a 15-month community sentence - the same punishment he was handed 10 years earlier for essentially the same crime.
The distinctions in this case are 10-years ago Alykhan Ahmed was found with cocaine, a drug that draws harsher sentences due to the terrible affects it can have for users and society.
However, the sentence Ahmed received the first time did not deter him from again taking on the role of a drug mule when he got behind the wheel with a large brick of marijuana in his trunk.
Ahmed, an admitted marijuana user, told his probation officer he believed the drug should be legalized. The judge said she couldn’t take Ahmed’s personal opinion about the law into consideration, but it seems that a person who says the crime they committed should be legal is not showing remorse for their actions.
It is also likely that Ahmed stood to profit for driving these drugs to their destination, similarly to when he was found with cocaine 10 years ago. Despite being caught, convicted and punished in 2002, the payoff proved to be more palatable to Ahmed this time around.
There is a sentencing principle that calls for stiffer sentences for repeat offenders. However, judges can take other factors into consideration, like in this case, where the drug of choice is considered less serious. The amount of time that has passed between the crimes is also considered.
The judge in this case noted that this ‘jump principle’, is more of a guideline, than a rule of law.
However, when the sentence did not act as a deterrent to an offender the first time, why re-apply the same punishment?
Ahmed will be spending the first five months of his sentence at home or at work under house arrest and then will have five months under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and will have no restrictions on his freedom during the last five months. His lawyer argued these community sentences are hard for accused because people’s friends and family are aware they are of their restricted freedom. Most people spend most their time at work or at home? It would grab far more notice if someone disappeared to jail.
And most importantly it would most likely grab the attention of the offender. Community sentences can work for some, but if you’ve already proven it doesn’t mean much to you then there shouldn’t be a second chance.
