UNFORTUNATE OR UNREPENTANT?
Re: “Mandatory Madness” by Eric Snider (June 16-22)
As a longtime reader of the Weekly Planet, I read this article with particular interest since I was the prosecutor responsible for the case. I believe your story was very misleading for a number of reasons.
First, it failed to acknowledge in any meaningful way that Richard Paey committed a crime or that he has only himself to blame for his predicament. Police and prosecutors concluded he was guilty. Two disinterested judges ruled the evidence was sufficient to give the case to a jury. And two different juries decided that Mr. Paey was guilty of forging prescriptions to obtain drugs illegally. Mr. Paey is an extremely bright individual and law school graduate who, even while attending the police academy in Pasco County, forged and uttered prescriptions at pharmacies throughout the area. He had previously forged a prescription in New Jersey and received pre-trial diversion long before this crime occurred. He knew very well that what he did was wrong and that he was caught red-handed doing it. Therefore, his puzzling failure to take responsibility for these crimes that he indisputably committed is directly responsible for his situation.
Second, the article failed to make clear that we considered Mr. Paey's unique situation repeatedly and deliberately. We particularly considered that there was a history of pain, no solid evidence of selling pills and his recent onset of multiple sclerosis. These factors, among others, justified the extraordinarily lenient disposition repeatedly offered to Mr. Paey which, if he had accepted it when it was offered, would likely have expired by the time your article was published.
Third, the story advocated the notion that people like Mr. Paey cannot get adequate care for pain. But Mr. Paey selfishly and frequently took advantage of the beneficence of doctors and pharmacists who were just trying to help him. For example, even after he was arrested for these charges Mr. Paey was treated at a reputable pain clinic. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to his doctor and contrary to the clinic rules, Mr. Paey was also seeing another doctor who also prescribed pain medication.
Contrary to the suggestion of your article, Mr. Paey is not a martyr. He is simply a criminal who refused to take responsibility for his crimes. In that sense, his situation is less analogous to Martin Luther King Jr. writing from the Birmingham Jail than to Frank Abagnale Jr. complaining about not being able to open a checking account.
As both a career prosecutor and a person who has suffered from my share of painful injuries and conditions requiring surgery and medication I can say that it is primarily the actions of people like Mr. Paey that make it substantially more difficult for doctors, pharmacists and patients trying to treat pain humanely, responsibly and lawfully; not to mention for police, prosecutors and judges to distinguish between the truly unfortunate and the simply unrepentant.
—Robert Scott Andringa
Key Largo
I've noticed that only rarely (and, I do mean rarely) does an article on drug-related stories ever question, or even mention, that law enforcement and prosecutors routinely select which alleged crimes to investigate and prosecute. They routinely ignore certain ones, and regularly go after others.
It's odd that neither you nor very many others who write about the drug prohibition laws mention how immoral and un-American they are — un-American in the sense that this is supposed to be the land of the free, and that we are supposed to take personal responsibility for our actions and not depend on the government to tell us how to live our lives.
People need to understand even the most basic implications of the way things are: Who benefits from laws, how and how often law enforcement entraps people, etc.
People like you have an obligation not only to recite facts, but also to help the public understand the implications of those facts. Truth is, your article fits within the parameters of acceptable debate — even within the law enforcement/criminal justice system and prison industry complex.
—Buddy Young
Via e-mail
Thank you so much for your article regarding Richard Paey. Being a chronic pain patient myself and knowing several others like us, your story is a very true and scary one. It could have been any one of us wearing Mr. Paey's shoes. The fear is overwhelming and never ends.
I pray that Mr. Paey receives the proper justice he deserves and is released from prison. The justice system has failed this poor man.
—Mary Sheehan
Bradenton
RONALD RAY GUN
Re: “There We Go Again” by Jim Harper, Will Durst and David Corn (June 16-22)
I am in complete agreement with your article on Reagan. The guy was no hero. If they insist on naming something after him, how about renaming the toilet from john to ron. I find it amusing that the actions and policies that the conservatives uphold as Reagan's great successes are the same actions and policies condemned as Reagan's failures.
I wish you would find out more about the new "Tricky Dicky" in the Bush administration. I cannot believe that Veep Dick Cheney's old employer, the Halliburton Co., is being allowed the contract to rebuild Iraq. I admit there is a certain mad-scientist, James Bondian world-villain type of genius to destroying the world in some private vendetta, then being able to profit from rebuilding it. But it just doesn't seem right. Thank God it is an election year.
I love the PLANET!
—Dan Fiske
St. Petersburg
JUST GAY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH
Re: “Mystery Theater” by Mark Leib (June 23-29)
I'm new to the Tampa Bay area and the Weekly Plane. Likewise, I am new to Gypsy Productions. While I'm thrilled to have a gay-owned and -operated "professional" theater in the area, I, too, have found their productions lacking. I agree completely with your review of Community Property. The sophomoric production left me longing to see a high school musical — at least I could tap my toe there.
Since we're in the midst of gay pride, I had a feeling you might be bombarded with folks complaining about your review. Here's one gay man who thinks you got it right.
—Rob Sanders
Via e-mail
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2004.