THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 8, 1995 TAG: 9502080022
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
On a technicality, two alleged leaders of a major Portsmouth heroin ring had their sentences slashed last week from life without parole to 17 years. Last month, two other alleged members of that ring had their sentences slashed because of the same technicality. Three other alleged members will receive either new trials or new sentencing hearings, again because of that technicality.
One's inclination is to be angry that drug dealers' sentences were reduced on a technicality, but consider the facts.
In a boneheaded move, Gary Weathers, a key prosecution witness and a drug wholesaler who had supplied the Portsmouth gang, was allowed, while in custody, to have sex in federal offices with his wife several times and a girlfriend at least once. Then - and this was the technicality - prosecutors or federal investigators failed to inform defense attorneys about the sexual visits, which were in exchange for Weathers' cooperation.
Also for his cooperation, Weathers had a 25-year sentence reduced by 11 years. That information was properly presented to defense attorneys and used in the trials.
Had defense attorneys known of the sexual visits prior to the trials, they obviously would have shared that information repeatedly with jurors - during opening statements, cross-examinations, closing statements. It surely would have crossed jurors' minds that men have lied for and about sex since time immemorial and that a man who cheats on his wife, even while in custody, has a credibility problem the size of President Clinton's.
So defense attorneys were kept in the dark. Light was shone on the matter last October, when Marvin A. Pointer, an alleged ring member convicted largely as a result of Weathers' testimony, filed an appeal of his conviction and life sentence. Pointer noted that his lawyer had not been informed of favors Weathers received.
Pointer and the other three defendants whose sentences have been reduced could have received new trials - but they would have risked being convicted again and receiving new stiff penalties. Instead they settled for reduced sentences. For Fernando C. Blow and Garry Copeland, whose sentences were reduced last week, the difference between life without parole and 17 years must be the difference between life and no life. Pointer's sentence was reduced from life to 12 1/2 years. The sentence for the fourth alleged member, Tyrone Staton, was cut from 30 to 12 years.
In the prosecution's defense, it should be noted that drug-case witnesses generally are people from inside the drug culture - not ministers or nuns. So deal-making is crucial to many prosecutions. Still, it is procedurally erroneous and illegal and dumb to keep from defense attorneys any favors done for witnesses. Jurors cannot properly weigh a witness's credibility without knowing the deal the witness struck for his or her testimony.
A Justice Department investigation is continuing, as well it should.
U.S. Judge Robert Doumar told Blow and Copeland last week, when their sentences were reduced, ``This is a very unusual procedure. It doesn't happen every day, and I hope it doesn't happen again.''
So do we. by CNB