Betsey Wright, a former chief of staff for then Governor Bill Clinton has recently been arrested and charged with attempting to smuggle a box cutter, a pocket knife, tweezers and tattoo needles into Arkansas death row. In all, she faces 51 felony charges.
Ms Wright not only broke the law, she was rather stupid, it seems. With 51 felony charges, she’s sure to serve jail time. There are those who’ll say she asked for it. Perhaps, but isn’t there a better way? Shouldn’t the law make a distinction between a contract murderer and Ms. Wright? Her contraband was confiscated, the potential harm averted. Even if it hadn’t, what was it to be used for? Given the restraints of death row, could these tools really have led to an escape? But that’s not even the point. The point is that people like Betsy Wright shouldn’t be sentenced like common criminals. Could they not perform community service of some kind? Could they not be made to serve society in some way instead of being incarcerated at taxpayers’ expenses?
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