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Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling

12 Aug 02 - 11:59 PM (#764181)
Subject: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: GUEST

Texas folk singer Tish Hinojosa was arrested and charged with drug smuggling in Laredo, Texas on Tuesday (Aug. 6). The 46-year-old Hinojosa was charged with trying to smuggle 30 pills of Rohypnol into Texas from Mexico. According to police, she said that the pills were hers and that she had asked her companion Jason Miles Phillips, 25, to hide them in a case in his boot. Phillips was also charged. She reportedly told police that she thought the pills were Ecstasy, rather than Rohypnol, often referred to as a date-rape drug. Hinojosa and Phillips were each released on $25,000 bail. The federal misdemeanor charge could carry a punishment of up to 20 years in prison.


13 Aug 02 - 12:44 AM (#764193)
Subject: RE: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Genie

Up to 20 years for a misdemeanor??

Funny thing, but rohypnol, which can be and often is used to harm others, is legally prescribable by MDs, while marijuana, which doesn't harm anyone except possibly the user, is not.

Anyway, I hope Tish beats the rap. I seriously doubt she intended to use it as a "date rape" drug.

Genie


13 Aug 02 - 07:45 PM (#764779)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: JedMarum

say it isn't so Tish!


13 Aug 02 - 08:04 PM (#764789)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: McGrath of Harlow

Twenty years for a misdemeanour? And that's under federal law, meaning the United States as such, not just a local administration?


13 Aug 02 - 08:44 PM (#764819)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: GUEST

"under federal law, meaning the United States as such, not just a local administration?"

I'm surprised that McGrath of Harlow would not realize that smuggling illegal drugs, across the international border from Mexico into the United is a federal offence.

On her website, Tish Hinojosa has issued a statement that she regrets her involvement in this incident.

Tish Hinojosa is a mother of two children and the wife of a lawyer. You'd think that she'd know a whole lot better than to smuggle Rohypnol, the date rape drug, even if she thought it was Ecstasy.


13 Aug 02 - 08:54 PM (#764826)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: JedMarum

I gotta feeling there's an explanation - not an excuse, but an expanation. I am sorry for her troubles and I hope she can manage through it well - but I am disappointed.


13 Aug 02 - 09:01 PM (#764830)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: GUEST

An explanation Jed? She said she thought she was actually smuggling Ecstasy.

How about STUPIDITY!

I've seen Tish Hinojosa perform and she seemed like a pretty smart woman.

What the hell was she thinking?


13 Aug 02 - 09:11 PM (#764834)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: McGrath of Harlow

I know what federal means. The surprise I was expressing was that it's the judicial system of the USA as such that sees a 20 years sentence as appropriate for something it defines as a misdemeanour.


13 Aug 02 - 09:22 PM (#764842)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Little Hawk

Odd. It's not what I would have expected of Tish. Funny how people can have "everything" (by appearances), including intelligence, and still do really dumb and unnecessary things.

I like her music very much.

- LH


13 Aug 02 - 09:24 PM (#764844)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Jeri

Tish Hinojosa's website is here.


13 Aug 02 - 09:38 PM (#764857)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Celtic Soul

It's too bad that, along with fame, money, or power, common sense does not also come.

And I personally don't care who the offender may be. They break the law, they should deal with the same consequences that John or Jane Q. Public would have to deal with. I dislike situational justice.


13 Aug 02 - 10:00 PM (#764876)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Midchuck

C. S., if everyone in the U. S. who broke the drug laws were caught, tried, and sentenced to prison, there would literally not be enough people left on the outside to act as correctional officers, much less grow the food to feed the inmates, and provide the other services that the inmates would require.

I'm not here to argue in favor of drug use (although I don't understand why ethanol, nicotine and caffein get different treatment). But I'll argue in favor of a system of laws that can be uniformly enforced, anytime.

Peter.


13 Aug 02 - 10:05 PM (#764880)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Little Hawk

Celtic - Yes and no. I have no objection to anyone carrying drugs anywhere...if it's for their own personal use. I have objections to people marketing dangerous drugs to other people.

No government IMO has any business coming down on a person for merely having a drug in their personal possession or for using it in private...but they do have plenty of business coming down on them for using it and then committing an antisocial act as a result...be it drunken driving, rape, assault or whatever. That's the way I've always looked at it.

The same basic logic applies to guns, baseball bats, and carving knives. Don't prosecute the item, prosecute the behaviour.

Many people are entirely capable of using drugs without being antisocial, and they should be left alone...

In any case, alcohol remains the most dangerous drug of all, and it certainly causes the greatest number of violent deaths, mostly on the road...but it's legal, glamorous, and socially acceptable to the same people who pass laws against so many other drugs.

- LH


13 Aug 02 - 10:10 PM (#764886)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Celtic Soul

I agree with you both, LH and Midchuck.

My argument is only that, just because someone is famous or powerful, that should not mean that they somehow deserve better treatment at the hands of the law.

Sure, the laws could use to be changed. But, until that time, anyone caught breaking them (from Bill Clinton down to the anonymous dude down on the corner) should suffer the same fate.


14 Aug 02 - 01:25 AM (#764952)
Subject: RE: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Genie

What Little Hawk said.

Celtic Soul, IMNSHO, the tragedy in "American justice" is sometimes not so much that the "respectable" and the "rich and famous" get off too easy but that the poor, the minorities, the less articulate, and the less "desirable" folks who get busted often get treated overly harshly by the law. This is particularly the case with juvenile offenders and, especially, with drug possession and minor drug dealing (like growing pot and selling or giving it to your adult friends). Yes, we need a consistent standard. We also need to get our priorities straight when it comes to how to deal with problems like using one mind-altering substance vs. another.

In this case, from the info given here, I cannot fathom someone going to prison for even a year, much less 20, for bringing in rohypnol, unless there was strong reason to believe they were going to be dealing it or using it to rape people. And somehow I doubt that Tish fits the latter category. Mike Tyson, now that might be a different matter.

Genie


14 Aug 02 - 01:56 AM (#764960)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: katlaughing

I do not know whether this is current or not, there was no date on the page.

From some other sites that I scanned, if convicted, unless they can prove she was going to use it on someone else, I doubt that she would get a full 20 years. But, of course, that is pure conjecture. Ya never know. When I was researching and writing about domestic violence in Wyoming, it was still a misdemeanor to beat on one's wife, but a felony to steal one's cattle!

Federal Sanctions

The federal system establishes sanctions for possession and distribution of controlled substances, based on the schedule of the drug and the amount involved. However, in addition, the statutory sanctions for possession and distribution are subject to the "Sentencing Guidelines for U.S. Courts." Imposition of the guidelines may lead to higher offense levels and, thus, stricter penalties than otherwise indicated. Courts must make adjustments in the offense level for victim-related considerations, defendant's role in the offense, multiple counts, obstruction and acceptance of responsibility. Finally, the guidelines establish sentences for each offense based on the defendant's criminal history. Federal penal sanctions range from: Manufacture, distribution or trafficking of large amounts of heroin, cocaine, PCP, methamphetamine, Schedule I and II hallucinogens, marijuana, hashish, or any of their derivatives (30 years to life, regardless of the defendant's criminal history) to Possession of any Schedule III-V drug if defendant has lowest level or criminal history (0-4 months).

Further, if serious injury or death results from the crime, minimums of up to 10 years (serious injury) and 20 years (death), plus fines of up to $4,000,000 may be added. These penalties may be doubled for defendants with past felony drug convictions. Finally, penal sanctions in the federal system are "real time", with reductions in sentences only for good behavior.


14 Aug 02 - 02:12 AM (#764962)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: michaelr

The big problem with drug penalties today are "mandatory minimum sentences". Used to be, the judges had a lot of leeway in sentencing and could take all the special circumstances of a case into consideration when determining how harsh a penalty a drug offender should face. Reagan's right-wing appointees imposed mandatory minimums on the judiciary whose hands are now tied, and as a consequence federal penitentiaries as well as state prisons are packed with perpetrators of victimless crimes doing long, hard time.

Michael


14 Aug 02 - 02:20 AM (#764965)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: GUEST,.gargoyle

As the television show charactor BERRETA used to say:

If you are not prepared to do the time....don't do the crime.

What is so difficult about being a law-abiding-citizen?

Sincerely,
Gargoyle


14 Aug 02 - 02:48 AM (#764974)
Subject: RE: BS: Tish Hinojosa: Busted for drug smuggling
From: Genie

Yeah, Garg? Well, in some states you could do hard time for having sex with your wife in positions other than the "missionary" one.

Sometimes, to quote I-forget-whom, "the law is an arse."

Genie

PS, I still think it's stupid to do something that you really think WILL get you thrown in the slammer unless you've got an extremely good reason for doing it. And recreational drug use doesn't count as that kind of reason.


02 Feb 03 - 06:18 PM (#880901)
Subject: Tish Say It Isn;t So!
From: JedMarum

Sh*t - didn;t we just have a conversation like this a few weeks ago?

Tish Hinohosa has more legal issues, again stemming from possible substance abuse.

Sorry to see this news ... all the best, Tish.


03 Feb 03 - 09:08 AM (#881263)
Subject: RE: Tish Say It Isn;t So!
From: JedMarum

another CLICKY for those who don't know who Tish is.