7 ms·

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the scene, Officer Garcia - I still remember him - knowing my mental state of panic and realization of reality, said to me "You know, when I was your age I did the same thing, and I was forgiven and let go. So what I'm going to do is forgive you and let you go this time. Go home, and don't ever do this again." I drove home at about half the speed limit that night, trying to process what had happened. First time I had experienced such forgiveness and mercy. The aim of my life now is to maximize the amount of good I can do for others. I'll never forget. I could still be in prison. Maybe as an open source computer programmer, but prison nonetheless. It's a big risk to let someone go like that; will they actually repent, or continue causing harm?

qingcharles 3y ago
That man gave you your entire life back. It's not just the time you would have served, but it would have ruined so much of the rest of your life too.
- verisimi 3y ago
  He did give him back his life. But how is it possible that his life was at risk at all? Why a 10 year sentence for taking drugs? The government should simply not have that power.
  - Obscurity4340 3y ago
    Its kind of ironic that most law and order folks would consider this an example or dirty cops being dirty or privilegeor whatever. The fact is, this stuff doesn't really seem to happen anymore unless you're the Prime Ministers wife or something
    - Zetobal 3y ago
      Because it happens more often than not but everyone involved keeps their mouth shut. It's not something you should really plan to get viral on social media... "Look at the cute cop who let me go with a warning after trafficking drugs" XOXO
    - ponector 3y ago
      For me that was an example of lazy cop who don't want to do extra paperwork. It saved one life, but that person could later return to selling drugs and contribute to thousands OD's and many deaths.
      - Obscurity4340 3y ago
        Ya but...I feel like justice can often be had for the price of a stern finger-wagging and understanding that even if you're not booked into the system, you're in the system now and its best you clean up shop and get outta town figuratively speaking ;)
  - MattRix 3y ago
    10 year sentence for selling drugs, not taking them.
  - hereme888 3y ago
    Like the other person said, it was for selling, not taking. Also, I think someone should have the power to keep the public safe, whether government, or a society-sponsored group. The cops were undercover DEA with previous experience going underground in places like Colombia. They had been in rough places. Their focus was mainly hunting the big guys: suppliers. End-chain young people trying to make a quick buck is low yield, and if anything going after them distracts from the root of the problem and alerts the big guys.
    - hoseja 3y ago
      From what I read, MDMA is barely worse than weed or booze.
- sneak 3y ago
  Or, rather, he declined to steal his life away and imprison him for what they obviously both agreed was a bullshit reason. I don’t think declining to be a villain warrants the same response as choosing to be a hero.
- hereme888 3y ago
  Oh yea. Part of me coming to reality was the officer helping me realize that it would have ruined my family, and had quite a criminal record.
skrebbel 3y ago
Offtopic, but minimum sentences are nuts. What's the point of judges and juries etc if we make the law so aggressive that they hardly have a say anymore?
- _heimdall 3y ago
  Juries ultimately have the final say in conviction. Its well within their right to go not guilty for any reason. Judges and lawyers absolutely hate it, but juries aren't there just as a logical check on laws as written and facts as presented. Juries are a check on the legal system and laws themselves.
  - skrebbel 3y ago
    Sure, but saying someone is not guilty when obviously they are but a 10 year prison sentence is way out of proportion for what they did, that’s stupid too right? It means we expect juries to lie, on purpose, to prevent ruining someone’s life. It forces juries to pick between two bad extremes. These kinds of laws remove the opportunity for juries (or judges where I live) to eg say “6 months of community service” when it’s more appropriate.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - singleshot_ 3y ago
    If you look up the terms “no reasonable jury” and “judgment of acquittal,” you can learn more.
    - dragonwriter 3y ago
      Right, judges can overrule any jury verdict, civil or criminal, except a criminal acquittal. But that's not inconsistent with what GP said.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    > Judges and lawyers absolutely hate it, Well, defense lawyers love it, the only thing they hate is not being allowed to mention it to juries.
leobg 3y ago
Kudos to officer Garcia. I don’t know many people who still bring that kind of responsibility to their job. So much easier to just follow the rules. Even among judges I know only very few who have the guts to make an actual judgement, which, after all, requires to say “I” - which seems almost an audacity today.
Fischgericht 3y ago
You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-risk.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-legalised-mdma-to-treat-mental-health-could-europe-do-the-same https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Those are now the countries with the lowest number of drug deaths and drug related crimes in Europe.
- sealeck 3y ago
  In Switzerland the sentencing isn't very tough for possession in small quantities, but you certainly cannot _sell_ MDMA and hope for lenient treatment.
- avbanks 3y ago
  Are you sure it's decriminalized for selling? Selling and consuming are not the same thing.
- HenryBemis 3y ago
  Although I agree with you, imho the point the parent was making was that: a) when you are 16-18-20-22 you don't know sh*t about life - you are still a newbie. It doesn't mean that drug-trafficking is excused but when I look back at my 18yo self, I could have died 100 times between 18 and 22. And I could have 'taken some people with me' while doing so. b) it's in the person. When given a second chance you can either turn your life around (and a Mr. Garcia will never see you again) or you can go back the very next day and maybe a Mr. Garcia will be finding your corpse in a back alley because a trade went sour. As for Preston Thrope - hang in there. It's a long path to salvation - almost endless. As long as you keep your head up high and give the good fight, good things will (probably?) come. I've watched enough of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight shows to know that you got myriad of forces that want to see you fail so keep walking and dreaming!
yayitswei 3y ago
Sounds like the plot of Les Mis!
- TonyStr 3y ago
  Was about to say! Real life Jean Valjean
- qingcharles 3y ago
  Les Mis has a totally different feel when you've been locked up. It touches me even deeper.
a5seo 3y ago
The power of stories like this never fails to humble me. There are countless (less dramatic) incidents like this in every life. Your experience brings them back into focus.
anjel 3y ago
NACAB

qingcharles 3y ago

That man gave you your entire life back. It's not just the time you would have served, but it would have ruined so much of the rest of your life too.

verisimi 3y ago
He did give him back his life. But how is it possible that his life was at risk at all? Why a 10 year sentence for taking drugs? The government should simply not have that power.
- Obscurity4340 3y ago
  Its kind of ironic that most law and order folks would consider this an example or dirty cops being dirty or privilegeor whatever. The fact is, this stuff doesn't really seem to happen anymore unless you're the Prime Ministers wife or something
  - Zetobal 3y ago
    Because it happens more often than not but everyone involved keeps their mouth shut. It's not something you should really plan to get viral on social media... "Look at the cute cop who let me go with a warning after trafficking drugs" XOXO
  - ponector 3y ago
    For me that was an example of lazy cop who don't want to do extra paperwork. It saved one life, but that person could later return to selling drugs and contribute to thousands OD's and many deaths.
    - Obscurity4340 3y ago
      Ya but...I feel like justice can often be had for the price of a stern finger-wagging and understanding that even if you're not booked into the system, you're in the system now and its best you clean up shop and get outta town figuratively speaking ;)
- MattRix 3y ago
  10 year sentence for selling drugs, not taking them.
- hereme888 3y ago
  Like the other person said, it was for selling, not taking. Also, I think someone should have the power to keep the public safe, whether government, or a society-sponsored group. The cops were undercover DEA with previous experience going underground in places like Colombia. They had been in rough places. Their focus was mainly hunting the big guys: suppliers. End-chain young people trying to make a quick buck is low yield, and if anything going after them distracts from the root of the problem and alerts the big guys.
  - hoseja 3y ago
    From what I read, MDMA is barely worse than weed or booze.
sneak 3y ago
Or, rather, he declined to steal his life away and imprison him for what they obviously both agreed was a bullshit reason. I don’t think declining to be a villain warrants the same response as choosing to be a hero.
hereme888 3y ago
Oh yea. Part of me coming to reality was the officer helping me realize that it would have ruined my family, and had quite a criminal record.

skrebbel 3y ago

Offtopic, but minimum sentences are nuts. What's the point of judges and juries etc if we make the law so aggressive that they hardly have a say anymore?

_heimdall 3y ago
Juries ultimately have the final say in conviction. Its well within their right to go not guilty for any reason. Judges and lawyers absolutely hate it, but juries aren't there just as a logical check on laws as written and facts as presented. Juries are a check on the legal system and laws themselves.
- skrebbel 3y ago
  Sure, but saying someone is not guilty when obviously they are but a 10 year prison sentence is way out of proportion for what they did, that’s stupid too right? It means we expect juries to lie, on purpose, to prevent ruining someone’s life. It forces juries to pick between two bad extremes. These kinds of laws remove the opportunity for juries (or judges where I live) to eg say “6 months of community service” when it’s more appropriate.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- singleshot_ 3y ago
  If you look up the terms “no reasonable jury” and “judgment of acquittal,” you can learn more.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    Right, judges can overrule any jury verdict, civil or criminal, except a criminal acquittal. But that's not inconsistent with what GP said.
- dragonwriter 3y ago
  > Judges and lawyers absolutely hate it, Well, defense lawyers love it, the only thing they hate is not being allowed to mention it to juries.

leobg 3y ago

Kudos to officer Garcia. I don’t know many people who still bring that kind of responsibility to their job. So much easier to just follow the rules. Even among judges I know only very few who have the guts to make an actual judgement, which, after all, requires to say “I” - which seems almost an audacity today.

Fischgericht 3y ago

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-risk.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-legalised-mdma-to-treat-mental-health-could-europe-do-the-same https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Those are now the countries with the lowest number of drug deaths and drug related crimes in Europe.

sealeck 3y ago
In Switzerland the sentencing isn't very tough for possession in small quantities, but you certainly cannot _sell_ MDMA and hope for lenient treatment.
avbanks 3y ago
Are you sure it's decriminalized for selling? Selling and consuming are not the same thing.
HenryBemis 3y ago
Although I agree with you, imho the point the parent was making was that: a) when you are 16-18-20-22 you don't know sh*t about life - you are still a newbie. It doesn't mean that drug-trafficking is excused but when I look back at my 18yo self, I could have died 100 times between 18 and 22. And I could have 'taken some people with me' while doing so. b) it's in the person. When given a second chance you can either turn your life around (and a Mr. Garcia will never see you again) or you can go back the very next day and maybe a Mr. Garcia will be finding your corpse in a back alley because a trade went sour. As for Preston Thrope - hang in there. It's a long path to salvation - almost endless. As long as you keep your head up high and give the good fight, good things will (probably?) come. I've watched enough of John Oliver's Last Week Tonight shows to know that you got myriad of forces that want to see you fail so keep walking and dreaming!

yayitswei 3y ago

Sounds like the plot of Les Mis!

TonyStr 3y ago
Was about to say! Real life Jean Valjean
qingcharles 3y ago
Les Mis has a totally different feel when you've been locked up. It touches me even deeper.

a5seo 3y ago

The power of stories like this never fails to humble me. There are countless (less dramatic) incidents like this in every life. Your experience brings them back into focus.

anjel 3y ago

NACAB