Oklahoma Woman Sells $30 Worth of Weed, Gets 12 Years In Prison

In January 2010, Dee Starr and her grown children William Lamebull and Patricia Spottedcrow* were arrested in an early morning raid after selling $31 worth of marijuana to undercover police. According to Oklahoma City's KFOR-TV, it was their first felony arrests. Each was held on $100,000 bond. Each pled guilty. Here's what that got them:

William Lamebull faced the least serious charge, possession of marijuana around children. 

He pleaded guilty and got two years probation, no jail time. 

Dee Starr, who was facing more serious charges, two felony counts for dealing drugs and for having drugs in front of children, got 30 years probation, again no jail time.

Patricia Spottedcrow pleaded guilty to her crimes as well. 

She faced the very same two felony charges as her mother, Dee Starr. 

However, Spottedcrow got a 12 year prison sentence, no probation. 

She was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for selling two baggies of marajuana worth about $30.

According to KFOR-TV, Judge Susie Pritchett, who retired a few months after ruining Spottedcrow's life, said the "sentence fit the crime" because "Ms. Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse, nor did she seem to even care about what she was doing to her children." Incidentally, Judge Pritchett does not ruin every drug offender's life. She once heard the case of a police officer's wife who was caught hiding marijuana in her panties. The woman "was asked to apologize to the judge and never served a day in jail," a decision Pritchett defended, arguing, "I treat drug users differently than I treated those who pushed drugs, especially when they sold in front of children."

Mark Clayborne, Spottedcrow's attorney, did not "challenge" his client's pre-sentence investigation report, which Spottedcrow says is rife with inaccuracies. Six months later, Clayborne was convicted of perjury in a different case. Spottedcrow now has a new attorney who will ask for a sentence modification next year. Until then

Patricia Spottedcrow's mother is now raising Patricia's four children. 

They don't have the money to visit her in prison.

One-year-old Ja'zalynn doesn't recognize her mom anymore. 

According to KFOR-TV, which deserves much praise for reporting this out, Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state in the union. 

*Thanks to Elise for pointing out that I had Starr's and Spottedcrow's relationship mixed up. 

Comments

[Jim]

*sigh* I can already see the fight I’m going to have with my friend tonight about this. I can’t help but bring it up, but he is a standard GOP stalwart, and will immediately shout that she knew the law, broke it anyway, and deserves everything that happens to her. I will yell back and him, and 10 min. later he’ll storm off and I’ll go to the bar to sulk. I’m already depressed thinking about it.

[Gibby]

That is so gay.

[Jim]

It is, Gibby, it is. And don’t think I don’t know it.

[Ska]

Will he staunchly defend Obamacare as well? It is the law….

[rather]

later he’ll storm off and I’ll go to the bar to sulk

Why don’t you go to the bar first, meet up with your friend afterward, yell at him, and then tell him why?
Saves you one car trip-gas ain’t cheap

[Fatty Bolger]

Meet him at the bar, and you can also discuss how idiotic it is that you and he can get shitfaced on a legal drug openly bought and sold, while selling a far less dangerous drug gets a woman 12 years in prison.

[Paul]

I will yell back and him, and 10 min. later he’ll storm off and I’ll go to the bar to sulk.

You guys should settle your differences over a joint.

[Chris George]

The joint will make it so there are no more differences.

[Jim]

Oh, he agrees the law is stupid, and should be changed. But as long as it is the law, then it should always be enforced with maximum punishment.

I personally see no moral obligation to obey an unjust law; he does. I don’t really know how to argue against that philosophical standpoint.

[sarcasmic]

No society can exist unless the laws are respected to a certain degree. The safest way to make laws respected is to make them respectable. When law and morality contradict each other, the citizen has the cruel alternative of either losing his moral sense or losing his respect for the law. These two evils are of equal consequence, and it would be difficult for a person to choose between them.
-Bastiat The Law

I only respect the law as far as not getting caught doing something that would land me in jail. But respecting the law because it is the law? Fuck that. I choose morality.

[bigbigslacker]

Ask him what he thinks about Rosa Parks. The law is the law….

[TrickyVic]

Jim, perhaps you can think of a case that your friends thinks was wrong, get the discussion on that, then claim they got what they deserved.

[Jim]

Thanks, but I did that. He thinks all drug laws are wrong. But that the solution is to advocate for their repeal. As long as they are not repealed, then no matter how wrong they are, anyone who knowingly violates them should be punished as harshly as possible.

I mean, this guy smokes weed on the weekends. I asked him about his own case, and he readily admits that he deserves to be ass-raped in prison if caught. It’s a risk he knows he’s taking. I really can’t get through to the guy, and I wind up losing my temper and just yelling.

[scape]

I don’t really know how to argue against that philosophical standpoint.

Call the cops. A SWAT raid might change his mind. Does he have a dog?

[Jim]

He doesn’t, but he rents our spare bedroom from us (my wife and I), and we have two dogs, so I’m not looking for the SWAT just now. Esp. since they’d find an interesting variety of substances and firearms which I couldn’t all pin on him. You’re thinking though; I like that.

[yonemoto]

just do it while you’re on vacation and slowly clear out all of your stuff to a storage facility first.

“He doesn’t, but he rents our spare bedroom from us (my wife and I)”

“this guy smokes weed on the weekends.”

Evict him now!

If the SWAT comes looking for him, you and your wife wife will suffer the consequences.

[sarcasmic]

Your friend mistakenly believes that Rule of Law means Following all Legislation.

Rule of Law means that all Legislation must be lawful and follow some higher supreme law, like the Constitution for example. When legislation violates supreme law, then it is invalid. When the government routinely defends unjust legislation and calls it law, as opposed to striking it down as it is duty bound to do, you no longer have Rule of Law.
You have Rule of Man.

See how he reacts to that.

[Jim]

I appreciate it, and I will try that, but I think he’s just a law n’ order statist. As long as the laws have been declared A-OK by SCOTUS, then as far as he’s concerned, that’s the end of that, since that is the system we have set up by which to judge such things (i.e. legislation is valid as long as it’s passed legally; outside of the constitution, which is solely interpreted by SCOTUS, there is no other supreme law). I’ll give it a shot though, thanks sarcasmic.

[scape]

I’ve had a run in with this mentality and it is frustrating. It was a substance abuse counselor who was trying to convince a group of social workers that using any illegal substance was a clear sign of abuse. So anyone smoking marijuana had a substance abuse problem. His basis for abuse rested solely on the law. We thought we had an argument that would show him how flawed his thinking was.

“So a 20-year old in France who has just one glass of wine with every dinner doesn’t have a drinking problem since it’s legal there?”

“No. probably not.”

“And if that 20-year old moved to America and had a glass of wine with dinner, then they do have a problem?”

“Yes.”

We didn’t pay attention to him after that.

[BARBBF]

Maybe if you use illegal drugs, you should become president of the US..instead of being locked up in jail:

WASHINGTON ? Barack Obama admitted using drugs in his autobiography but never revealed if or when he stopped, points out an explosive new book on the Democratic presidential candidate written by the co-author of 2004’s “Unfit for Command,” the Swift Boat expos? that impacted John Kerry’s campaign for the White House.

“I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years,” Obama wrote in “Dreams From My Father,” in a section of the book about his college days. “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.”

In “The Obama Nation,” a new book by Jerome Corsi, a WND staff writer, the author speculates about why Obama disclosed his drug use.

“Why Obama chose to disclose he smoked marijuana and used cocaine at all remains a mystery,” Corsi writes. “Perhaps Obama felt the information would eventually come forward from his school buddies. So, to minimize the damage from this concealed fact, Obama possibly judged self-disclosure was the best route.”

Obama wrote that he stopped short of shooting heroin when it was offered to him by a friend.

[Darrell]

Find a less irritating friend?

[melman]

she should get 12 years just for naming her kid “Ja’zalynn”

[alaskanime]

I really think you should find a new friend. Seriously. This guy is a hypocrite, and lazy at that. He smokes weed on the weekends and doesn’t feel the need to advocate for it?

I’m serious as a heart attack here – the next time he opens his mouth, f**king punch him. That’s all. Just knock a few teeth out. Tell him that is what he does to your sensibilities every time he opens his mouth. Then take his weed from him and tell him if he doesn’t want to defend it, he doesn’t deserve it.

[Mad Scientist]

It’s like a Robot Chicken episode around here with all the nut punches lately.

[affenkopf]

“Ms. Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse, nor did she seem to even care about what she was doing to her children.”

So she’s going to prison not for selling weed but for a thought crime.

[Troy]

*sigh*…. Sorry, but I just can’t get any more outraged. After the news of the last couple of weeks, i.e. the SCOTUS weed case, and the Indiana you-can’t-defend-yourself-case, a 13 year old suspended for farting; I just am completely outraged out

[TrickyVic]

“”Sorry, but I just can’t get any more outraged.””

Really? How about this?

http://www.theindychannel.com/…..etail.html

[Troy]

I the 4th amendmebnt wasn’t already dead, yeah, I’d be upset.

[Fist of Etiquette]

One-year-old Ja’zalynn doesn’t recognize her mom anymore.

The children have been saved. Judge Susie can rest easy.

[Clarence Thomas]

“She once heard the case of a police officer’s wife who was caught hiding marijuana in her panties”

That sounds interesting. Tell me more.

[Troy]

Clarence, we all know that you are only interested in what is in the panties of 13 year old girls.

[TrickyVic]

She’s only 13, and she knows how to nasty.

[non]

Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state in the union.

per capita?

[Joshua Corning]

Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state in the union.

It should be pointed out women consistently get lesser sentences then men for every kind of crime under the sun.

The fact that Oklahoma has a more equal incarceration ratio for men and women might actually not be a bad thing.

But yeah 12 years for $30 worth of weed is bullshit.

[SIV]

I’m waiting for feminists to celebrate incarceration parity progress.

[Cyto]

The judge makes it clear that it wasn’t 12 years for $31 worth of weed, it was 12 years for not showing remorse and “what she was doing to the children.”

Evil little bitch; selling weed in front of her kids is harmful. Maybe spending their entire youth in prison will teach her a lesson. (no chance that could harm the kids)

Yeah, I know that was the entire point of Mike’s story, but it makes me feel a little better to say it too. No, actually I don’t feel any better. I’m gonna step away from the reasonblog now….

[Juanita]

If she didn’t want to live in jail, she shouldn’t have been selling these drugs.

[WTF]

If she didn’t want her daughter to be an idiot, she shouldn’t have named her Juanita.

[sloopyinca]

Correct. It’s like, if your mother didn’t want you to ask questions, she wouldn’t have named you WTF, amirite?

[Jim]

OT: Sloopy, I asked around, and since the distributer doesn’t produce it anymore, noplace around here can order any of that beer. The google page you gave me just said, “out of stock”, as does every other page I looked at.

I found some for sale on ebay, but seeing as how beer doesn’t exactly keep like wine, I’m suspicious of purchasing it from people whom I have no idea when they bought it.

[sloopyinca]

That sucks.

Tell you what, I’ve got to go to Paso some time next week on business. If I can get in with the people from Firestone Vineyards (because I heard they had some equipment they were selling), I may be able to score a few bottles of wine and beer. Most of the wineries I deal with like to show off and I can usually score a magnum or two out of every trip down there. If I do, I’ll let you know and we can work something out.*

*No homo.

[Jim]

If I do, I’ll let you know and we can work something out.*

*No homo.

No dice. Go homo or go home!

Seriously though, that’d work for me.

[WTF]

Yes

[Kevin]

If the U.S. didn’t want mothers selling drugs on the street, they shouldn’t have outlawed them.

[OO]

agree. she was selling drug in front of her childern. any1 who does that shood get life sentene

[oreally?]

Oh really? How about when you purchase a beer at a restaurant with the family? Lets convict all waiters and waitresses for distributing drugs in front of children.

[T]

This is why I rarely discuss the war on drugs in meatspace. The utter moral bankruptcy of it makes me frothing, spitting, screaming mad. People will shrug off dead bodies and ruined lives with this casual “oh, well” attitude and it just pisses me off even more.

[Anonymous Coward]

But T, IT’S THE LAW!! It’s right there in black letters and everything! And as we all know, the law is never wrong or unjust in any way!

[sloopyinca]

If you’re gonna quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, at least cite his name.

[Pablo]

I guess OWH would look at the situation and say three generations of imbeciles are enough?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you’re gonna quote Oliver Wendell Holmes, at least cite his name.

If this is the civilization my taxes are paying for, I want my money back.

[Chris George]

Yes, it’s THE LAW. It’s on page 451, 753, 1549, and 13,928 of the General Code. It’s so fucking simple and yet people keep breaking it!

[MrGuy]

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

[alaskanime]

I just show them this: http://law.onecle.com/uscode/18/241.html

Anti-marijuana laws are firmly rooted on racial discrimination and yellow journalism – not to mention good old fashioned lies. Anslinger committed perjury in front of a congressional committee to further his own career.

According to the USC, all these men should have been thrown in jail and their testimony stricken.

[ola]

“Patricia Spottedcrow and her grown children William Lamebull and Dee Starr….”

“Patricia Spottedcrow pleaded guilty to her crimes as well. She faced the very same two felony charges as her mother, Dee Starr.”

Now which is it? Is Dee the daughter of Patricia, or is Dee the mother of Patricia?

I’m so stoned.

[Joshua Corning]

Patricia named her daughter after her mother.

[sloopyinca]

Wasn’t this the riddle from Tin Cup?

[Evelyn Mulwray]

She’s my daughter. She’s my sister. She’s my daughter. She’s my sister. She’s my daughter. She’s my sister.

[Joe Dirt]

Your’re my sister! Your’re my sister! Your’re my sister! Your’re my sister!

[Troy]

When it comes to consanguinity, I’ve always needed a fucking flowchart.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

a fucking flowchart

Literally.

[Anonymous Coward]

because “Ms. Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse, nor did she seem to even care about what she was doing to her children.”

When Grand Inquisitor Pritchett asked Goody Spottedcrow to sign the confession, she did so. When asked to show the proper contrition and kiss the hem of the Inquisitor’s robe, she refused. Therefore, she was sentenced to the gallows.

[Colin]

She should’ve got 12 years for naming her kid “Ja’zalynn.”

No wonder she doesn’t recognize her mom.

[sloopyinca]

I see a stage and a fire pole in this girl’s future.

[silent v]

At least that way, she’ll get to make up a new name.

[silent v]

I was thinking the same thing. Well, maybe not the 12 years part, but this is clearly a bigger crime than a little weed.

[rather]

Ja’zalynn doesn’t recognize her mom anymore. It may be she is just mad at her

[Joe M]

Judge Susie Pritchett… said…“Ms. Spottedcrow I showed no signs of remorse, nor did she I seem to even care about what she I was doing to her Ms. Spottedcrow’s children.”

FIFY

[squishua]

Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse

Remorse for a victimless crime? Did the narcs show remorse for their half of the transaction?

[Judge Susie Idjit]

But she did it in front of the children! The obvious solution is to take their mother away for 12 years. You’re welcome, children. I did it for you.

[WasabiPeas]

I feel safer.

[Mr Whipple]

According to RJ Harris (L-OK),

There has never been a better time than right now for the Libertarian Party to stand up strong in Oklahoma. The OK Democrat Party is in complete disarray. The only major seat it holds is U.S. Congress Second District. The OK DP has no other prominent statewide or federal office holders. The Civil Liberty/Social Liberals in its base are livid at the socialist economic agenda of the DNC and thus their candidates could not win free puppies in the Wal-Mart parking lot at present.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/…..2620515466

[Res Publica Americana]

Am I the only one who’s tearing his hair out in absolute, utter fury at this? This is tyranny at one of its worst points.

[Juice]

I’ll never get over it when someone goes to prison over ditch weed. At least go because of some superstank Humbolt County or BC shit.

[Max Stirner]

Ms. Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse, nor did she seem to even care about what she was doing to her children.

Is this an Albert Camus novel? Why should she show remorse for selling a plant?

[Paul]

Anyone know what the sentence is for selling 100 Oxy’s on the street is? Serious question.

[squishua]

The gas chamber?

[R C Dean]

Oklahoma incarcerates more women than any other state in the union.

Godammit! That should be Texas!

[ChrisO]

Thank goodness the children of Oklahoma won’t be subjected to the horrors of marijuana anymore.

[Amakudari]

“Ms. Spottedcrow showed no signs of remorse, nor did she seem to even care about what she was doing to her children.”

“She was forcing me to make them grow up without her! Can’t you see what a horrible person she is!”

[Res Publica Americana]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related

That’s what we’re getting

[Casual Observer]

Curious minds would like to know, what sentence did the judge give to unapologetic illegal aliens?

Pot laws are ridiculous.

It’s all about Liqour lobby $$ and there is NO way the amount of pot that comes in to this country gets in to this country without people in high places looking the other way.

[JD]

More like the police-industrial complex.

[oreally?]

More like Big Pharma.

[Warty]

We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee

[Oso Politico]

Rhetorical question: Where the fuck does this all end?

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

What, you want a “final solution”?

[Oso Politico]

I am afraid the final solution, for our masters, is absolute subjection.

[Andrew S.]

You mean we’re not there already?

[Oso Politico]

As long as we are permitted to make squeaky noises on H&R I guess not yet…

[Angry Voter]

If she had waterboarded some people to death and then cluster bombed some children she’s be a hero!

If she cheated some teachers out of their pensions then she could play golf with the president.

Aren’t you proud to live in a civilized country?

[WhereIsTheSanity]

Democrats should be on top of this, but they aren’t. Why is it that the only two people who seem to speak loud about this at the moment are Gary Johnson and Ron Paul?

[Wind Rider]

All of you are really missing the big picture here. Without bringing along a decade of utter fucking morons that the state has given weapons to, and kept track as they did probably some of the dumbest fucking things that can be done in a ‘dynamic entry’ scenario, then how the fuck would this great nation have been able to pull off the nearly flawless swoop in on Bin Ladin, taking him down faster than Welsh Corgi during a no-knock raid? Huh? Just how, ya buncha Einsteins, would we have been able to do it if we hadn’t practiced on ourselves first?

[Fozzy]

Wow! Waterboarding people to death? Cheating teachers out of their pensions..I was going to talk about the horrendous decision, but if smoking pot makes people this logically crippled.. Screw em!

[sorry to be an Okie]

The really sad part about this is it will cost the state/tax payers $300,000.00 to lock this lady up for 12 years, and this is not taking into consideration the cost of taking care of her family. The problem is we are locking up people we are mad at along with the ones we are afraid of, this is going to break us as a state/nation.

[Stel2112]

This is madness. Murderers, rapists, and violent criminals sometimes get less time than this marijuana seller. Regardless of how stupid she may be, selling marijuana is something that honestly should result in little jail time IF ANY. It is past time to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana just as we did with alcohol which is a much more dangerous drug.

Despite the belligerent attitude on marijuana prohibition, the TRILLIONS spent, the loss of life of those involved on both sides, our ‘free’ nation’s excessively tough marijuana laws, the world’s highest incarceration rates, and the “reefer madness” propaganda, usage in the U.S. has only increased or stayed the same while rates in countries with very liberal policies tend to be the same or lower than our own. End this failed war on a plant who MANY in our ‘free’ society not only believe in its medical benefits and relative safety, but also their right to use it recreationally.

We’ve all heard the “reefer madness” style propaganda from prohibitionists, why not hear about some of the other side to be fair? Read “Marijuana Myths Marijuana Facts: A Review Of The Scientific Evidence ” by Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D. and John P. Morgan, M.D.

“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” -Abraham Lincoln

“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this.” -Albert Einstein, “My First Impression of the U.S.A.”, 1921

LEAP – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition – http://www.leap.cc/
DPA – Drug Policy Alliance – http://www.drugpolicy.org/

Also check out:
NORML – National Orginization to Reform Marijuana Laws – norml dot org
MPP – the Marijuana Policy Project – mpp dot org

(sorry, limited to two links)

[Mike in Texas]

$30? Really?? I’m assuming that the authorities have obliterated all thefts, murders, etc before they went after $30 worth of week. They have made themselves laughingstocks.

[dandi]

Is obliterating all major crimes a prerequisite for enforcing all other laws you might consider “minor?”

It’s entirely possible that the cops can multitask.

[Lollie Dot Com]

Every minute they waste on piddly pot busts is another minute that could be better spent weeding the crank/ice/meth cancer out of our communities. Unless of course it’s that miracle community in America that isn’t being decimated by that crap.

[dandi]

The article reports the $30 worth of weed sold in the buy-bust. It doesn’t mention the total amount that was in their possession. That would be relevant, I think.

[Discerning Gentleman]

Anyone named Spottedcrow, or Lakeisha, should do 12 years for the name.

[ultravioletrae]

ummm, you seriously do not mind making racist commentary like this? really?

[scooter]

Detention is a business. The only nation in the world with such a prison farm economy. It’s a shame this punishment happens when things like corporate damage get no jail time for doing it to children.

[RigidPrinciples]

Typically, in war, both sides go on the offensive.

[Nolan]

That is why marijuana should AT LEAST be decriminalized across the country. These kinds of lawsuits ruin our country!

[Lollie Dot Com]

There should be an 8×10 glossy of Dee Starr in every dictionary to illustrate the words and phrases: unfair, unjust, and “are you fking kidding me???” And there should be a photo of Judge Susie Pritchett to illustrate the words, idiot, overkill and again “are you fking kidding me???”

Someone in power needs to go correct that insanity before Dee Starr gets a good lawyer to sue the state of Oklahoma for breach of humanity. And while they’re at it, FIRE Susie. Twelve years!!!! What a monster!

[ultravioletrae]

yes, thanks for saying so. and i can’t help but noticing that names of the “offenders” are strong ethnic names. is it possible their “real crime” is that they aren’t white?

[Stephanie]

This is a hate crime that a judge committed against a Native American, plain and simple. Selling $30.00 worth of marijuana on a first offense does NOT warrant 12 years in jail, and had she been white, it would not even be considered. Her sentence was malicious. And if she was so concerned about the children, she would not be sending their mother away for so long. Showing no remorse is not a reason to give someone 12 years. How was she supposed to show remorse? It was $30.00 worth of weed! Was she supposed to throw herself on the ground and plead for forgiveness? This is one of the worst cases of abuse of power I have ever heard of. I believe she should be granted a new trial. This is absolutely disgusting. There are people out there committing real crimes. Marijuana is practically legal now. This woman’s real crime was being Native American. And this woman who sentenced her, wanted to hurt her as much as possible because she knew she would be retiring soon. I think the judge should be arrested for unlawful confinement, and hate crimes with malicious intent.