Barbara Scrivner
Sentence: 30 years
Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
Year sentenced: 1995
Age at sentencing: 29
Projected release date: Mar. 17, 2019
Nature of priors: Barbara’s record stems from her addiction to methamphetamine. She was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance in the second degree in 1987 and 1989 for her relationship with drug dealers. In 1989 and 1991, Barbara stole a pair of sneakers and cigarettes while high on methamphetamine and was charged with 3rd degree theft. In 1991, she was charged with forgery after buying work clothes with a lost card at JC Penny. Barbara pleaded guilty to all the charges.
Throughout her life, Barbara has been the victim of abusive relationships with men. After Barbara’s parents divorced, her mother’s new boyfriend gave her marijuana and the boyfriend’s friend molested her. She was only seven at the time. A string of relationships with abusive men followed and Barbara plunged deeper into drug use.
In 1992, Barbara was desperate. Addicted to methamphetamine since high school, Barbara stayed sober while she was pregnant with her daughter. However, Barbara quit work to care for her daughter and the bills began piling up. After failing to pay her living expenses through pawning goods and welfare, Barbara sought help from her husband, Richard, a heroin addict who was in jail at the time. Richard insisted she sell methamphetamine for his friends—major manufacturers at the time—and she eventually agreed. For a few weeks, the girlfriend of one of the manufacturers delivered the drugs to Barbara. Barbara’s husband told her where to drop them off. When Barbara earned enough to pay her bills, she claims she ended her ties with the conspiracy. Barbara’s husband, however, joined the conspiracy upon his release from prison and became a major distributor.
Later that year, police learned about the conspiracy from a confidential informant. A search of the residence’s of Barbara’s codefendants produced a laboratory, firearms, packaging materials, scales, miscellaneous paperwork, $10,000, and a half-filled drum of nitroethane, along with other chemicals used to make methamphetamine. Only 18 grams of meth were actually discovered. At Barbara’s residence, however, authorities found only paperwork, small Ziploc baggies, scales, miscellaneous drug paraphernalia, and small trace quantities of suspected methamphetamine.
Initially, Barbara was not arrested with the six other participants. It was only after she refused to testify against the conspirators that she was indicted—one full year later—based on the testimony of the leader’s girlfriend, who had delivered drugs to Barbara, and the culpability of Barbara’s husband. The government offered Barbara a plea bargain of 10 years in exchange for her cooperation. Since Barbara knew nothing about the conspiracy beyond her husband’s participation, she instead opted for a jury trial, not realizing the severity of the sentence awaiting her.
The total weight of methamphetamine for Barbara’s sentence was 108.9 kilograms: 93 kilograms extrapolated from the nitroethane in the drum and 15.9 kilograms for what the government estimated that the conspiracy distributed between July and November 1992. Though the government determined Barbara was a minor participant, her prior convictions elevated her sentencing guideline range to 292-365 months. Barbara was sentenced to 360 months, or 30 years, in federal prison.
Barbara’s husband also received a 30-year sentence. The two leaders of the conspiracy were sentenced to life. The leader’s girlfriend who played “a key role in the conspiracy” received a ten-year sentence. Two other participants received eight and five-year sentences.
The severity of Barbara’s sentence would later come into question. In 1998, Barbara’s prosecuting attorney was dismissed. Upon reviewing the old cases, the new prosecutor Frank Noonan offered a deal to Barbara: if she dropped her pending appeal, then he would reduce her sentence to the mandatory 10 years. But it was too late for Barbara to withdraw the appeal. Noonan then offered Barbara a sentence reduction if she could retry her case. Unfortunately for Barbara, all efforts to reopen her case have been dismissed.
Barbara’s veritable life sentence, combined with a lifetime of abuse and addiction, culminated in tragedy when she jumped off a 40-foot prison building. Miraculously, Barbara survived near fatal injuries and can walk again after numerous surgeries. Following her physical recovery, Barbara has committed herself to recovering psychologically. She dealt with and overcame her mental health issues. She graduated from the Residential Drug Abuse Program and was selected to be a program mentor after proving to be “an excellent example for her peers.” Barbara was also chosen to participate in the Choices program, where she speaks to teens about the dangers of drug abuse. Barbara recently graduated with highest honors from courses in psychology/social work and sex and drug counseling and is pursuing a degree in Biblical Studies from Ames Christian University.
Barbara’s daughter is now a teenager. She lives with Barbara’s father and brother in California almost 200 miles from the prison where Barbara is incarcerated. Unless Barbara’s sentence is reduced or the laws change, her daughter will be a grown woman by the time her mother is released.