Recidivism

A few weeks ago I wrote about a career criminal who received an inordinately light sentence. Today, an update:

Remember my Nov. 22 column about Gregory Scarborough, the drug-addicted serial burglar who was caught, convicted and sentenced by D.C. Superior Court Judge Susan Winfield to 18 years in jail, only to have the sentence suspended and replaced with a 120-day drug treatment program? Last week, Scarborough tested positive for drugs he acquired while in jail and used while in his treatment program. Yesterday Judge Winfield imposed her original sentence of 18 years incarceration

I am reminded of the days when I practiced criminal defense, and I would obtain an astonishing break for a defendant, only to find that within a few weeks or months the defendant had blown it.

A client on a work pass called me to inform me that he had tested positive for marijana only once, but that his probation officer had scheduled a hearing over that probation violation. I obtained the probation officer's report - which showed three positive tests, and indicated that after the second test the officer had told the defendant that one more time would mean going back to jail. When I pointed this out to the defendant, he asserted "But it was only one time after that."

A client who was going to be sentenced to delayed probation on a felony, such that he would not even have a record (for a first adult offense) if he completed 18 months of probation was picked up the night before sentencing with a bag of marijuana. That was between the time I phoned him to tell him the good news about the sentence recommendation, and his actual sentencing the following afternoon. He didn't tell me about it until after the sentencing, at which time he also told me a story, later recanted, that the office who arrested him had planted the marijuana on him.

To most people, getting through a year or two without committing a stupid crime and getting arrested isn't difficult - it's the way they live their lives. And, like the criminal in Colbert's piece, no matter how big the break or how serious the consequences, some simply can't help themselves from screwing up within weeks of getting the biggest breaks of their lives.

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