How does society punish a 32-year-old crime?
Marjorie Cortez
LeFevre has been on the run for 32 years after escaping from prison in Michigan where she was serving a sentence for selling heroin. The married mother of three, who lives in a posh San Diego suburb, was arrested last week following a tip to Michigan Department of Corrections officials in March.
LeFevre, who has used the alias Marie Day, has waived extradition and will be brought to Michigan within a few weeks to serve her 10- to 20-year sentence for selling heroin. LeFevre's attorney told her that Michigan's tough anti-drug views mean she'll probably have to serve several years, although she'd be eligible for parole in five years, according to a Detroit News report.
What is served, really, by forcing LeFevre to return to prison for an offense committed more than three decades ago? If the point of prison is rehabilitation, it would appear LeFevre has escaped the grip of drugs and has lived a productive life. Does the state of Michigan really want to spend $31,325 a year to incarcerate her for an offense that occurred when she was 19 years old?
Or do we view her case differently because she has been living an upscale lifestyle in a home with palm trees and a swimming pool in sunny California? What if she were a single mom working nights as a waitress and still struggling with her substance abuse demons? Or a recent escapee?
LeFevre told the Detroit News that she started using cocaine and heroin after her first boyfriend died while fighting in Vietnam. She also had a rocky relationship with her mother. But Michigan authorities say she was a dealer who sold $2,000 a week in heroin and had several people working for her. LeFevre denies she was a dealer.
This is where I tend to be less charitable. Drug users should be treated differently than dealers, although many of them probably use, too. Unless it can be demonstrated that LeFevre was wrongly convicted, she should pay some price to society. Precisely what price is a subject of debate.
LeFevre committed other offenses during her time on the lam. She used a phony Social Security number for a number of years, which meant she had to leave jobs when employers started to ask questions. Three years ago, the state of California would not renew her driver's license because it could not confirm her Social Security number. In the post-Sept. 11 world, a number of checks were put into place that may have eventually led to the discovery of LeFevre's true identity.
Some argue that LeFevre has paid her debt to society. She lived under the radar and was under constant anxiety over being caught. She could not visit her Michigan relatives on holidays or other special occasions. She missed her mother's funeral but reportedly visited her before she died.
She also trained as a hospice volunteer, gave her time to the local Boys & Girls Clubs and Common Cause, a group that promotes government ethics.
Has she served a sufficient penance?
Worse yet will be attempting to explain her predicament to her husband and children. Her husband, Adam Walsh, said in a statement, "I've known my wife, Marie, for over 23 years, and she is a person of the highest integrity."
If that was the case, why didn't "Marie" turn herself in?
Then, in my mind, extending mercy would be a slam dunk because she would have demonstrated remorse. That would have been an entirely different turn of events than being picked up because law enforcement finally connected the dots.
Marjorie Cortez, who is grateful that she does not have to determine LeFevre's fate, is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at marjorie@desnews.com.
Recent comments
The real question her is:
How can justice be satisfied?<...
Anonymous | May 6, 2008 at 4:05 p.m.
I'm glad she escaped. Serving that long sentence would have...
States can't Afford Jail Space | May 6, 2008 at 2:33 p.m.
Prison time is not a form of rehabilitation, it is a form of punishment...
jake | May 6, 2008 at 2:22 p.m.
