The good ole boy network is alive and well and working in South Carolina. A prime example of how this system works could be found this week in the Metro Section of The Greenville News. A former prosecutor in Pickens County, who had been arrested in 2003 and charged with growing marijuana in his home, had his license to practice law reinstated by the South Carolina Supreme Court. At this point in the story, I feel compelled to tell you that the former Chief Justice of the SC Supreme Court's name is "Bubba" Ness. That detail seemed appropriate to share. Robert Lee Newton Jr. not only had his law license restored, he also managed to have a marijuana distribution charge dropped, as well as a marijuana manufacturing charge. Mr. Newton maintained the pot that he was growing was for his own use, I guess the fact that he was growing an illegal substance while working as a county prosecutor was a minor detail he managed to overlook. I don't have time to research the conviction and incarceration rate for average people in South Carolina who are charged with manufacturing and distributing marijuana but I'm thinking it's fairly high and most don't avoid jail time.

Mr. Newton's stroke of good fortune can be contrasted with the headline in that same day's Metro Section of The Greenville News. The headline read; "Woman gets 10 years in baby's death." Ironically this story also takes place in Pickens County. Thirty eight year old Jennifer Lee Arrowood pleaded guilty to unlawful conduct toward her child. Ms. Arrowood admitted smoking crack during her pregnancy, including on the day she delivered her child. The baby boy died of a placenta abruption. Ms. Arrowood was originally charged with homicide by child abuse, that charge was reduced to unlawful conduct when medical examiners couldn't testify beyond a reasonable doubt that the baby's death was a direct result of the mother's drug use. In addition to her 10 years in prison, Ms. Arrowood must complete addiction treatment during her incarceration. This may be rather challenging since there are just 132 drug treatment beds available in all of South Carolina for female substance abusers. More than 23,000 people in South Carolina are currently incarcerated. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2003 South Carolina had the 6th highest incarceration rate in the nation; there are 551 state inmates per 100,000 residents. Keep in mind this is only accounting for state inmates, not those convicted of federal offenses and housed in federal prisons.

South Carolina's Corrections Department policy for prisoners who are addicted to alcohol and or drugs is as follows. The inmates are screened upon admission and if they are found to be substance abusers, they are flagged for treatment. However, in-patient treatment is not available to them until 6 months before their scheduled release. Participation and availability of programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are strictly voluntary and only offered by volunteers, not paid for by the state. There are two facilities offering drug treatment for women in the state and two for men. There are a total of 528 beds for male inmates. Twelve percent of all male inmates in South Carolina prisons are identified as chemically dependant, nine percent of females are judged to be addicted to drugs and or alcohol. The number one reason by far that people are imprisoned in South Carolina is for dangerous drugs.

It cost South Carolina tax payers $281.5 million last year to run the prison system at a per inmate cost of just over $12,000 per year. It costs $40 million to build a 500-bed maximum security prison, $60 million to construct a 1,2000-bed medium security institution. South Carolina has long led the nation in their harsh and punitive treatment of drug addicted mothers. The thought of offering these women treatment and diverting them from prison if they are successful is not a popular idea here. Meanwhile we continue to spend millions of dollars building new prisons and filling them up with poor, chemically dependent people who lack the resources to hire a good attorney or pay for drug treatment. People like Mr. Newton will never spend a day behind bars, thanks to the good ole boy system that lives and thrives in South Carolina.