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01/30/2003: "Dad of 4, 1,249 other drug prisoners see freedom"

Besides release of first-time offenders, repeal of sentencing law will save Michigan $41M.
By Norman Sinclair / The Detroit News

LANSING -- For more than a decade, James DiVietri, his four sons and the rest
of his large, close-knit family could only dream about a date like March 1.

DiVietri, 53, locked away for 11 years, was resigned to serving nearly 10 more
years behind bars for drug possession -- until last month's repeal of Michigan's
tough drug-sentencing law that forced judges to impose long, mandatory
sentences.

On March 1, DiVietri and other first-time, nonviolent drug offenders sentenced
under that law will be freed.

"The first two years, I thought somehow this was not real and I would somehow
get out," DiVietri said. "The last nine years, I couldn't allow myself to think
about freedom. Now for the first time, I can actually let go."

While the impact on offenders and their families is huge, implications for Michigan's
criminal justice system also are enormous. Long-term prison beds will be vacated
at a time when the state's prisons are near capacity. Overworked probation
officers will get relief, and the state will save millions of dollars.

continued @ The Detroit News