My name is Rick Case and I am currently incarcerated at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility here in Indiana. I am not incarcerated for a drug-related charge but I would like to alert people of things that are going on that people do not pay attention to.
Meth, cocaine and other drugs are a major problem here in Indiana today. The Indiana lawmakers have dealing meth and cocaine more than three grams classified as a class A felony, which you would face up to 60 years, the same as murder if convicted. Most people charged will accept a plea agreement so they won't face the maximum penalties. That means if you are charged this will constitute an automatic conviction.
In the last five to 10 years there has been thousands of people incarcerated for drug-related charges and sent to prison here in Indiana. It costs about $30,000 a year to house an inmate for a year. The IDOC has no parole board in place for any type of early release for non-violent offenders. This means the population in prison will just keep growing with inmates with drug problems that could be treated some other way. How will the Indiana taxpayers keep paying for this?
As we all read in newspapers, schools are being closed and funding for schools are limited. I think a lot of us would agree that this problem needs to be fixed and our tax money could be used for better things such as education and treatment for addicts. We must speak up now before this problem becomes greater.
