Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

February 3, 2012

Shannon Jones, a former judge in Tennessee?s Crockett County who pleaded guilty last fall to federal drug charges, was given the most lenient sentence imaginable ? six months in prison, three years of supervised release, a $100 assessment fee, and $3,300 in restitution to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Jones was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine. Had he been an ordinary citizen as opposed to a member of the local elite, the 41-year-old attorney would most likely spend the rest of his life in a cage.

In Tennessee, possession of more than half a gram of methamphetamine is a Class B felony that can result in a prison term of up to 30 years.

During his January 26 sentencing hearing, Jones described himself as a victim of his addiction who considered it a ?relief? when his activities were discovered.

Of course, if Shannon Jones had been a truck driver, a fry cook, a farmer, or someone not wired in to the political class, he would be treated as a criminal menace to society, rather than someone with an addiction that should be dealt with chiefly through medical intervention.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.