April 21, 2010
Contact: Monica Pratt Raffanel, media@famm.org
Cameron Douglas needs treatment, not lengthy prison sentence, says president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums
WASHINGTON, DC – Julie Stewart, founder and president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, responded today to the sentencing of Cameron Douglas. Mr. Douglas, son of Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas, was sentenced Tuesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan to serve five years in federal prison on drug-related charges. The judge also sentenced Mr. Douglas to five years of supervised release. Read more about his sentencing here.
“Cameron Douglas is going to spend the next five years of his life in a prison. It is the same sentence that my brother received for his drug offense. My family and I know how long five years without a loved one feels. That any commentator could label such a penalty “easy” or “light” is simply more evidence of the growing chasm between our common humanity and our government’s routine warehousing of substance abusers,” said Julie Stewart.
Last July, Mr. Douglas was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration for possession of 0.5 pounds of methamphetamine. The quantity of the drug caused the DEA to charge Douglas with intent to distribute, a charge that carries a ten-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. In January 2010, Mr. Douglas pled to conspiracy to distribute drugs and to heroin possession.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization supporting fair and proportionate sentencing laws that allow judicial discretion while maintaining public safety. For more information on FAMM, visit www.famm.org or contact media@famm.org
-30-