San Diego woman hoping for pardon after 32 years on the run

She should do her time. Especially since she did the wrong thing in the first place.

It was a drug charge 32 years ago. Let it go. Spend my tax money on something better like a turtle fence than have to put this woman through the court system and the jail.

Live and let die. I completely agree. It was a drug charge. I mean if it were a rape, murder, something along those lines that's one thing. But she has become a good woman with a family. It's a waste of the little money our state has. They are saying they don't have enough room in the prisons as it is. So they let rapists go early, but they think jailing this woman is more important. Come on!

Jenny wrote:

Live and let die. I completely agree. It was a drug charge. I mean if it were a rape, murder, something along those lines that's one thing. But she has become a good woman with a family. It's a waste of the little money our state has. They are saying they don't have enough room in the prisons as it is. So they let rapists go early, but they think jailing this woman is more important. Come on!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Just because she changed her life, does not mean she is not responsible for the criminal activity she was sentenced for. I can't believe that she feels that she should get a pardon! Once again another sign that people don't feel that their actions have consequences.

I hope she gets a pardon. She is not a threat to society and I agree that it is not worth our tax money to put her in prison.

That's a tough one. I can see the point that she has turned her life around but we certainly can't disregard the fact the she escaped from prison.

This criminal is obviusly a disturbed individual with a massive sense of entitlement. How dare she pop up after decades and have the gall to ask for a pardon out of the box. I am glad as can be that she was a model citizen for so long. If she is granted a pardon and/or gets released back to her family immediately, every criminal locked up in Michigan will know that it pays very well to escape and evade capture for as long as possible. She should spend AT LEAST five years back in Prison and be on parole for the remainder of her sentence following her release. She should never be allowed to leave the State until her sentence concludes. Her family can move here and she can do her best to make a positive contribution to Michigan while she is here.

Jenny wrote:

Live and let die. I completely agree. It was a drug charge. I mean if it were a rape, murder, something along those lines that's one thing. But she has become a good woman with a family. It's a waste of the little money our state has. They are saying they don't have enough room in the prisons as it is. So they let rapists go early, but they think jailing this woman is more important. Come on!

I agree with you 100% It's ridiculous to have this woman spend time in a prison on such charges. She may have escaped, which normally adds another 5 years to your sentence, but in this case I think she should have to community service, and pay some hefty fines for the escape. Our prisons are full as it is...believe me, I work in one! There are 7 prisoners per bunk area, eventually it will be 8 prisoners per bunk area. We're crowded as it is! Not all prisons are like this...but most are overcrowded!

I have to disagree that she should receive a pardon.

I would love to agree that oh, her crime wasn't that bad, and it's been so long, and waste our tax dollars...

But, really, when you think about it, why don't we just start letting all "non-serious" crimes go, why waste our tax dollars on any crime that isn't robbery, murder, rape?

I don't think anyone here is going to say that we should start allowing crime to slide just because a particular crime isn't "as bad" as say murder or rape.

I don't think anyone here is going to to say that we should start allowing crime to slide just to save our tax dollers.

I did hear something mentioned that she was not trafficking drugs though... That she says she was using drugs, but not selling.

I heard it said that she only agreed to what she did because she didn't know better and was told that she would get probation.

Maybe she needs to go back to court and have a new trials.... Perhaps, depending on truth of what is being told, she would qualify for a lesser charge.

Put her back in prison.
To pardon her would send a message to criminals that it's OK to try to escape because it will all just go away if you succeed.
If the state lets her off the hook will we see more and more convicts trying to escape? And how many guards will be hurt by criminals trying to escape because they think it will pay off? How many citizens will be hurt by escaped convicts who think all they have to do is escape to make it all go away?

It doesn't matter that she has a family. If she cared about her kids she would have finished her sentence before having any. We shouldn't give a free pass to someone just because they have kids because most convicts have kids, and it would be discriminatory against those who don't.

She should not be pardoned because it also would not be fair to the convicts who served their time and paid their debt to society.

Lock her up.

My pocketbook is telling me to just let her go and not worry about the expenses the state would incure by incarcerating her again. HOWEVER, what type of example would be set? Come to Michigan, were you don't have to pay for your crimes...is that a message we really want to send?

West Michigan Republic wrote:

<quoted text>
I hope you get aids and die

Personal attack/insult reported.

Is that the best you can do? When your argument comes from the weak and liberal, you resort to the personal attack rather than something intelligent. I guess you don't think that criminals deserve punishment. Her escape, evasion, procreation and positive contributions are meaningless if she has not received the punishment due as a result of being a HEROIN DEALER. Don't you wonder if she ever considered that some of the children she sold herion to might be like her children...Except hooked on smack?

Arctic49519 wrote:

Put her back in prison.
To pardon her would send a message to criminals that it's OK to try to escape because it will all just go away if you succeed.
If the state lets her off the hook will we see more and more convicts trying to escape? And how many guards will be hurt by criminals trying to escape because they think it will pay off? How many citizens will be hurt by escaped convicts who think all they have to do is escape to make it all go away?
It doesn't matter that she has a family. If she cared about her kids she would have finished her sentence before having any. We shouldn't give a free pass to someone just because they have kids because most convicts have kids, and it would be discriminatory against those who don't.
She should not be pardoned because it also would not be fair to the convicts who served their time and paid their debt to society.
Lock her up.

Yep.

I will admit consderation of moving to parole mostly because of her age and that she is unlikely to offend again, but I would have no problem with her doing the entire 10 before parole. After all, kids or no kids she was a worthless heroin dealer getting kids hooked when she was caught.

Put her back with her family. Why tear the family apart and punish them. This was 32 years ago. It's not like she escaped a week ago from a murder charge or even a week go from a drug charge.

If she was still in the drug scene and raised kids who are drug addicts would be one thing but to have spent 32 years in an exemplary life style and raised great kids is another.

Let her continue to raise her kids. With the news out, it's going to be hard enough now just going back and putting the family back together. Imagine what the kids are putting up with at school.

Drop it. Let her go.

Our criminal justice system is set up in a way that requires one to repay a debt to society for breaking the law. She is a convicted drug dealer, and heroin is a much more serious drug in the eyes of the law than common marijuana. She was convicted of a crime, and our legal system demanded that she pay a debt to society. She was put into a low security setting - some would say that it would have been "easy time" rather than being tossed into maximum security or something. But she took it upon herself to run and avoid responsibility.

Actions have consequences - she has to pay her debt, there can be no other way in a civilized society. I see both sides, I really do. But she simply must accept responsibility for her actions and pay her debt. She is a convicted drug dealer, she committed a felony by escaping, and she completely misrepresented herself to her husband, children, neighbors, in-laws, friends, etc. Really, the victims are her husband and children - ESPECIALLY those children. She is a felon and a fraud...sorry to say that but it's true. Maybe it's best for her to pay her debt now rather than have to pay it later when she meets the big guy? That's worth pondering...

What difference does it make if she escaped for 32 hours or 32 years? The passage of time makes no difference. She still didn't serve her sentence. Ask the other people who escaped from prison, were recaught, and sent back to serve their time, with additional escape caharges added on.

I guess many of you think it's OK to break the law and go unpunished. If that's the case let everyone go who has escaped and been recaught out of prison.

Wendy -- Do you work at ITF? Or up at Carson? Just curious.
Wendy can confirm this if she'd like. If this woman comes back to prison on an Escape charge, she will most likely end up at a security Level 4 facility which would cost the stated upwards of $30K per year. That's money better spent on more worthy causes, like funding a good part of the salary of a DHS worker who can look into allegations of child abuse or neglect. I say punish her, but let's get creative about it. Instead of sentencing her to something that will cost us money, the courts should find a way to let her contribute to the community in a meaningful and significant way - for a few years. We have to start thinking outside the box.
As far as sending the message to other prisoners that escaping is okay, I have to say that I don't think that would be a real problem. Most prisoners are very aware right now that there is a lot of pressure to reduce the prison population and cut costs. Most of those paroles will likely come out of Level 1 prisons, which happen to be the only security level that prison work crews are drawn from. Work crews are the most likely way for a prisoner to escape: case in point - that guy in St. Louis who walked off today.(Very strange coincidence, because it doesn't happen often at all.) So, prisoners that would actually have a viable way to escape are probably not going to be willing to risk it right now.
I'm 100% for accountability for one's actions. But, incarceration is not the only way to achieve justice in this case.

I can't believe they are trying to get her pardoned she broke the law and did it twice( escaping prison) she should be punished If gov. granholm pardons her then there is something seriously wrong with the justice system. especially when there are innocent people in prison and this woman could go free just because she was a good housewife and mother she broke the law that is all that should matter

Slap her with a hefty fine, let her mortgage her $2 million house, 5 yrs community service and the State of MI should get a portion of the $ she will make on the book/movie deal that I'm sure is in the making----! Back to jail? No way...