Marion County will no longer prosecute simple marijuana possession

[HoughMade]

If Marion County will keep electing Andre Carson, why wouldn't they legalize pot?

Exactly...

...and when is the next prosecutor election? Sounds like Mears is starting his campaign now.

 

[hoosierdoc]

How about 12yo simple possession?

 

[KMaC]

Having a policy is one thing. Announcing it to the worlds is grandstanding for some political purpose....when is the next election for prosecutor?

That was my initial thought. Newly appointed Democrat temporary prosecutor will soon be running his first election. You have no campaign organization or funds. What announcement might get some free attention?

 

[HoughMade]

That was my initial thought. Newly appointed Democrat temporary prosecutor will soon be running his first election. You have no campaign organization or funds. What announcement might get some free attention?

Yep.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Yeah, whatever. I'll stop multi-tasking, at let you full-time posters take over.

Back to (pot and alcohol free) work.

Eld, sorry, I thought Hill said something considering his own political troubles/civil litigation, would not be surprised if he weighed in.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

That was my initial thought. Newly appointed Democrat temporary prosecutor will soon be running his first election. You have no campaign organization or funds. What announcement might get some free attention?

I called a couple of friends in the business (after I stopped skipping around the conference table like a school girl) and they had the same thought.

Hogsett and Carson have their own horse to back and this surrender on weed creates some buzz around Mears.

 

[femurphy77]

If you haven't seen it you should track it down and watch it. And remember it was brought to us by a moral society.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Curtis Hill DID have something to say (not sure why the Media always talks to our AG over criminal stuff but yet here we are): https://www.wthr.com/article/marion-county-will-no-longer-prosecute-simple-marijuana-cases

 

[KMaC]

If Marion County will keep electing Andre Carson, why wouldn't they legalize pot?

Race has something to do with both issues. Marijuana accounts for 52% of all drug arrests and blacks are 3.73 time more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites. https://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers
Announcing a no prosecution for possession policy in a county with 50% black population can't hurt your election chances.

 

[Trigger Time]

Race has something to do with both issues. Marijuana accounts for 52% of all drug arrests and blacks are 3.73 time more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites. https://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers
Announcing a no prosecution for possession policy in a county with 50% black population can't hurt your election chances.

Blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites period as a percentage. Its not just a marijuana issue. Its a cultural absent daddy issue.
Im not willing to concede this was done for simply votes. I really hope our acting chief LEO in the capital county has more integrity than that.

 

[HoughMade]

Blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites period as a percentage. Its not just a marijuana issue. Its a cultural absent daddy issue.
Im not willing to concede this was done for simply votes. I really hope our acting chief LEO in the capital county has more integrity than that.

Believing it's the right thing and it getting votes in a given demographic aren't mutually exclusive.

...but there's only one reason to call a press conference and make a big announcement- publicity.

What I am curious about is a few things.

How many simple possession cases were being prosecuted?

How often was simple possession the only charge in a given prosecution?

Does this do anything to the ability of police to arrest for possession...and what other information/charges may arise from that stop/arrest? I mean, it's still a crime.

Related- did PC for simple possession lead to more important discoveries on any sort of regular basis?

 

[KellyinAvon]

So do I need to update my marijuana related lingo? On the Fox 59 story, that Mears guy looks like he just burned a J before the press conference. Do the kids still say burned a J?

 

[Ziggidy]

Since when can prosecutors legislate law?

 

[bwframe]

Should we be looking for magazine restrictions next in Marion County?

 

[jsharmon7]

I’m not seeing it as a huge deal. It’s still illegal and you could still get arrested, just not officially charged. I’d also be willing to wager there were very few people being sent to jail for a stand-alone charge of having a personal use amount of MJ on them.

 

[bwframe]

Didn't catch the reference, but Hammer and Nigel were reporting that 3-400 people will be let out of jail on this.

 

[HoughMade]

Didn't catch the reference, but Hammer and Nigel were reporting that 3-400 people will be let out of jail on this.

Wait...what? A county prosecutor can decide what not to prosecute, but he doesn't get to decide to release people who have been convicted.

...if they are talking about pretrial detainees....that a lot of simple possession cases with no other charges....which seems implausible.

The Marion County Jail has 2,500 people in it at any given time. Statewide, it looks like 56% of jail detainees are pretrial, so assuming this for Marion County, that would be around 1,400 pretrial detainees....and out of all of the possible charges, I have a hard time believing simple possession of MJ alone makes up over 20%.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Based on watching Live PD, you don't get to keep the weed. Serious question, how do people with <1 ounce of MJ come to interact with the Police usually? Traffic stop and it's like the scene from Up in Smoke?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Since when can prosecutors legislate law?

Every. Single. Day.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Wait...what? A county prosecutor can decide what not to prosecute, but he doesn't get to decide to release people who have been convicted.

...if they are talking about pretrial detainees....that a lot of simple possession cases with no other charges....which seems implausible.

The Marion County Jail has 2,500 people in it at any given time. Statewide, it looks like 56% of jail detainees are pretrial, so assuming this for Marion County, that would be around 1,400 pretrial detainees....and out of all of the possible charges, I have a hard time believing simple possession of MJ alone makes up over 20%.

Marion County jails are enormous. Even beyond Lake County. I have no problems believing that there are 300 people with pending pot cases. I have seen the files at the Marion County Public Defender. It is beyond my country mouse comprehension.