Romney Campaign Press Release - "Arkansas' Primary Drug Of Concern"

As Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas, Gov. Huckabee Reduced Sentences For Makers Of The Drug

"It's not our goal to just lock people up. ... It is our goal to unlock their hearts, minds and souls so while they're here they can learn the skills that most of us take for granted." – Gov. Mike Huckabee (Traci Shurley, "Work Starts On Site For Parole Violators," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 8/9/03)

AP: "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill":

The Associated Press: "Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee can find plenty of parallels between his native Arkansas and Iowa when it comes to methamphetamine: Both are small states battling increased use of the drug through stricter laws. But Republican presidential rivals Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson are tagging Huckabee as soft on crime because of a 2005 Arkansas law he signed as governor that gave some meth offenders more credit for good behavior. Instead of serving only 70 percent of their sentences, they'd only have to serve at least half if they behaved." (Andrew DeMillo, "Huckabee Criticized For Meth Bill," The Associated Press, 12/20/07)

Meth Became A Crisis In Arkansas When Huckabee Was Governor:

DEA: In The Last Ten Years, Meth Has Become Arkansas' "Primary Drug Of Concern." "Methamphetamine: In less than ten years, methamphetamine has grown from a problem limited to the Southwest and Pacific regions of the United States to Arkansas' primary drug of concern. The state is encountering locally produced methamphetamine as well as the importation of methamphetamine produced in Mexico. Not only does the state's rural landscape provide an ideal setting for illicit manufacturing, but the wide availability of precursor chemicals also contributes to the ease of manufacturing methamphetamine. Criminal groups are acquiring thousands of cases of pseudoephedrine via wholesalers and use sophisticated schemes to illegally ship, at a considerable profit, pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine producers." (DEA Website, "Arkansas 2007," http://www.usdoj.gov/, Accessed 12/2/07)

At The Same Time, Gov. Huckabee Signed Legislation Reducing Sentences For The Makers Of Meth:

Huckabee Supported A Measure To Reduce Mandatory Minimums For Methamphetamine Makers. "Methamphetamine makers could shorten their mandatory time in prison with good behavior under legislation approved Tuesday by the Arkansas House. The bill, by Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, is part of a legislative package intended to help control the state's burgeoning prison population and is supported by state prison officials, the state prosecutors' association and Gov. Mike Huckabee." (Melissa Nelson, "Arkansas House Approves Bill To Reduce Mandatory Prison Time Of Meth Offenders," The Associated Press, 3/8/05)

The Bill Lowered Mandatory Minimums For Meth Manufacturers From 70 Percent Of A Sentence To Only 50 Percent Of A Sentence. "Senate Bill 387 repeals a 1997 law requiring those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, among other crimes, to serve at least 70 percent of their sentence. Approved by a unanimous vote in the Senate and by a 56-32 vote in the House, SB 387 allows those inmates to serve half of their sentence if they've earned 'good time' for good behavior." (Arkansas House Of Representatives, "Prison Crowding And Saving Teachers' Insurance Plans Gain House Approval," Press Release, http://www.arkansas.gov/, 3/11/05)

- In 2005, Gov. Huckabee Signed The Sentence Reductions Into Law. "Also Monday, Gov. Mike Huckabee signed into law legislation allowing imprisoned methamphetamine abusers serving time under the state's mandatory 70-percent rule to shorten their sentences with good behavior." (Melissa Nelson, "Senate OKs Higher Ed Funding Formulas," The Associated Press, 3/21/05)

Huckabee Was Recently Confronted By His Support For Weaker Sentences:

Huckabee Said He Was Against "Putting People In Unnecessarily Long Sentences When There Really Was No Call For It." STEPHANOPOULOS: "Why did you sign a bill that your local paper called a relief bill for meth manufacturers?" HUCKABEE: "Well, they called it that but it was actually making sure that we had reasonable, responsible policies and prison terms. We were hard on drug offenders and drug dealers. But here's what we also tried to do. To balance being tough on drug dealers, tough on crime, but also being a little bit kinder to the taxpayers and not putting people in unnecessarily long sentences when there really was no call for it. Our prison director, I think said it best. He said, we lock up a lot of people we're mad at not just the people we're afraid of. So, we didn't coddle criminals. But what we did do, in many cases of non-violent drug offenders was create drug courts which created a different pathway so that people who had not committed a violent crime, who were drug users, who didn't have previous offenses, went into rehab and that cost w about $4 a day versus incarceration of some $43 a day." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

Huckabee Admitted He Supported Weakening Penalties For Criminals Caught Running Meth Labs. STEPHANOPOULOS: "I understand not the drug users, but these were drug dealers here." HUCKABEE: "Well, and we didn't make this -- what you have to understand is that the significant difference was some of the penalties for these people could be up to life, and they still had that potential if they continued to manufacture drugs, but it was an adjustment in what had been an overreaching law that had previously passed." (ABC's "This Week," 12/2/07; www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv648uLzKyo)

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette Attacked Lower Sentences For Meth Makers:

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: "Call It The Relief Bill For Meth Manufacturers." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Bill Was Criticized Because It Reduced Sentencing For Meth Manufacturers Sentences, Not Meth Users. "This was a bad idea two years ago when the Department of Correction pressured the Ledge to back away from the 70 percent rule. It still is. Because the rule isn't aimed at the poor souls who wind up in jail only because they've used meth and got caught. The prisoners who would benefit by the Ledge's favor are the dealers-the source of the plague, the ones who cook up the drug and spread it around. These are the folks who prey on addicts lower down the drug chain. These are the manufacturers and merchants of so much misery in Arkansas." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

Although The Bill Cited Overcrowding As Reason For Its Passage, Meth Manufacturers Represented Only A Small Percentage Of The Prison Population. "There's no big economy to be achieved by passing SB 387. That's because these dealers represent only a tiny fraction of the prison population. The big growth in the number of prisoners results from having to jail all those drug addicts who violate their paroles, or the terms of their probations, by falling back into their old habits. Now there's a problem that needs fixing. But the Ledge won't adequately fund probation and parole departments, leaving the drug-addicted poorly supervised-and prime candidates for a return to prison." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Said That It Created A Prison "Revolving Door." "It made no sense two years ago to spin the prisons' revolving door even faster, and it makes no sense today. The Ledge needs to think about all this again, if it thought about any of this the first time, and be given a chance to change its mind." (Editorial, "A Perk For Drug Dealers," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/16/05)