Robservations: The drug deal that wasn’t
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But policies are made to be broken, and now seems like as good a time as any.
Former Vol Jamal Lewis is getting railroaded, plain and simple.
Lewis, currently a standout with the Baltimore Ravens, is fighting federal drug charges: Not for selling, not for possession; but for “conspiracy to possess.”
Lewis pled innocent Thursday to charges he attempted to help a childhood friend buy cocaine four years ago. No cocaine was ever bought, none was ever possessed. But Lewis’ accusers claim he discussed — on a phone call he received from a police informant and later in a restaurant — the idea that he might pony up the dough for some drugs, that his friend would then have allegedly sold.
The charges come as part of a larger sting operation, which so far has resulted in some 30 arrests. But remember: No cocaine ever passed through Lewis’ hands, or his friend’s, from the entire deal. That’s the sticking point in this case.
According to federal prosecutors, Lewis responded “Yeah” when approached by their informant with the idea of buying drugs. He later is accused of discussing the deal in a second meeting. That all adds up to “conspiring to possess with intent to distribute.” If convicted on the conspiracy count, according to federal attorneys cited by the Associated Press, Lewis could face 10 years to life in prison.
But, and this point can’t be stressed enough, no drugs were bought. The deal never went down.
Have you ever said to a group of friends you’d “have to rob a bank” to afford something you wanted to purchase? Have you ever been in a store, and thought to yourself how, if not for your own moral standards, you could easily grab some item near the door and make a break for it? Apparently, that’s conspiring to commit a crime. No crime may have been committed, but discussing it, thinking about it, can land you in the clink.
All this leads one to wonder if there would be a case against a “conspirator” who didn’t make over $7 million a year. That’s a hefty paycheck to levy some federal fines against, don’t you think?
• In other news…
NASCAR, that all-American sport, has decided it needs to clean up its act.
Specifically, it’s attempting to clean up its language.
NASCAR president Mike Helton, prior to last week’s race, made a plea to his drivers to stop cursing in interviews, among other settings.
In an AP story describing the situation, Helton “cited the Super Bowl halftime show in which singer Janet Jackson exposed her breast as an example of increased scrutiny on actions and language.”
Now if Sterling Marlin rips open his fire suit on national TV, that’s one thing. But if Little E says a race was “pretty d–n close toward the end,” is that going to ruin our nation’s youth?
Of course not.
The NASCAR powers-that-be are also stressing keeping language clean on team radios, which can be heard by anyone fanatic enough to bring a scanner to the track or log on to pay sites on the Internet.
That’s asking a bit too much.
Not cussing to NBC’s cameras is one thing. But if you’re doing 160 miles per hour, and the guy in front of you just started spinning like a top through turn 3, I’ll forgive you if you let a bad word slip just before the wreck.