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To: Governor Phil Murphy, NJ Assembly Appropriations Committee, NJ Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli, Assemblyman Gary S. Schaer, Assemblyman Adam J. Taliaferro, Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro

REJECT NJ'S Bills A4369 & A4370 Amendments - PROMOTING POLICE PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT

We want the Assembly Committee on Law and Public Safety to rescind their decision to amend Bills A4369 and A4370, providing removal of the provision to eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentencing of 25 years to Life, for the Leader of Drug Trafficking Network statute charge. A statute conceived by the 1986 Comprehensive Drug Reform Act L.1987. The Reform that devastated NJ's African American communities and population by incarcerating the tens of thousands black individuals using racially discriminating laws and mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines.

Why is this important?

On July 20th, 2020, Bills A4369 & A4370 were reviewed by the NJ Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee at a "PUBLIC" hearing, not allowing individuals to provide testimony and not allowing people who had vested interest in these bills attend the hearing. The people of the Public, wanting to attend or testify at the hearing, had to enter their appearance 3 days prior to the hearing. The committee posted notice the morning of the hearing 7/20/20. The Assembly Law & Public Safety committee failed to properly notify the public in fair and timely way, as the Committees permit for all public hearings on Bills.

As such, the Committee reported their biased decision, to pass the Bills A4369 & A4370, with amendments, agreed on before the hearing, referring them for second reading by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The amendments made and approved by the committee at the 7/20/20's hearing, abandon the need to review the unfair sentences given to offenders convicted of the egregious "Leader of a Drug Trafficking Network, 1st Degree" charge. A charge the NJ Police and Prosecutors abuse, at their discretion, to charge defendants in cases of their choosing, to steal favorably desired convictions for themselves. The State uses the statute interchangeably with the Conspiracy to Distribute, Manufacture, Possess CDS statutes, as both statute elements to prove are reasonably the same.

PLEASE REFER TO LINK BELOW TO READ ABOUT CASES , THAT BOTH STATUTES ARE USED (You will find NJ Police Operations that show Defendants' roles of a Leader involving their criminal enterprise, possessing all leader characteristics, charged with 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree Distribution or Conspiracy of Distribution of Narcotics only) HIGHLIGHTING NEW JERSEY'S UTILIZATION OF THE PICK & CHOOSE TACTICS FOR LEADER OF DRUG TRAFFICKING NETWORK CHARGING OF DEFENDANTS.

https://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/pdfs/2017_DCJ_Annual_Report.pdf

Under the statute, a drug-trafficking network need not have any specific configuration or chain of command. Rather, it is to be considered as an organization of persons who are collectively engaged in drug activities.

A person is guilty for the conspiracy of drug activities with another person/persons if, purpose of promoting or facilitating its commission, agrees with, such other person/persons, that they, or one or more of them, will engage in conduct, constituting the crime or attempt to solicit to commit the crime; or Agrees to aid other person or persons in the planning or commission of the crime or of an attempt or solicitation, to commit the crime. A conspiracy to commit the crime of Distribution of Narcotics is a crime in itself separate and distinct.

THESE STATUTES ARE SO IDENTICAL IN NATURE THAT THE PROSECUTION USES THEM INTERCHANGEABLY FOR THE SAME CRIME ACTS COMMITTED, COMMITTED BY DIFFERENT OFFENDERS. HOW IS THIS A FAIR SENTENCING MODEL?

The Leader of a Drug Trafficking Network statute is still the only statute that prescribes a mandatory minimum sentence for a nonviolent drug charge, concerted by NJ's destructive and racially disparaged, Attorney General's Statewide Narcotics Action Plan of 1993. New Jersey in 2020, still remains at the national forefront in drug enforcement, having the highest incarceration rate of black people in the nation, while having the largest prison population in the world. To enforce NJ law with this same approach, violates the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of African Americans and slighted the due process owed to all citizens, by the NJ Justice System.

IN 2007, NJ STATE POLICE DETECTIVE FREDRICK HUNTER AND DAG RUSSELL CURLEY CHARGED MY SONS' FATHER, Gary Maddox, WITH LEADER OF A DRUG TRAFFICKING NETWORK. THEY OFFERED HIM A PLEA OF 36 YEARS w 18 YEARS PAROLE ELIGIBILITY. A very long time for someone who was selling drugs for himself. Not in a team organized and financed by him, according to the Detective and DAG's imagination. Gary plead not guilty taking his chances of going to Trial. Consequentially, Det. Hunter and DAG Curley created the narrative of him as the organizer of his brothers' and nephew's drug dealing that benefited themselves solely, not Gary. They did violate the statute of the Conspiracy and the Distribution of Narcotics individually. They talked to one another and hung out often as young guys do, with locker room talk. The State used their close bond to portray a conspiracy of a drug enterprise and Gary the leader of it. He wasn't even in the possession of any drugs, money, etc. when he was arrested. Realistically he was a crap talking, small time dealer, who thought he was lucky when States's CI aggressively requested large quantities of narcotics. He is now serving LIFE w 30 year parole qualifier, being convicted of "Leader of Drug Trafficking Network". Never No Guns, No Weapons, No Violence. He's served almost 14 years now and has seen rapists, murderers, pedophiles and violent individuals come in after him and leave decades before he can leave due to the disproportionate sentencing supported by the State of New Jersey. The NJ State Legislature is trying to get away with this unfair sentencing, by leaving the "Leader of a Drug Trafficking Network" charge out of Bills A4369 & A4370.

Prosecutors violate the Due Process Clause and their ethical responsibilities when they present an inconsistent factual theory for different cases with the exact same act being committed. Purporting to be, nothing more than the Legislature's intent in creating certain crimes and prescribing the penalties therefor, an identification of the targets at which unfair sentencing is aimed.

The integrity of the judicial system commands that citizens can rest assure that prosecutors are seeking truth and justice; and that when they find truth and justice they cannot seek a different truth and a different justice from the first.

How it will be delivered

Via email addresses, postal addresses and all social media platforms.

125 W State St #2, Trenton, NJ 08608, USA

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Updates

2020-08-21 18:17:09 -0700

100 signatures reached

2020-08-19 16:30:32 -0700

50 signatures reached

2020-08-06 11:26:40 -0700

25 signatures reached

2020-08-01 17:16:21 -0700

10 signatures reached