Letter from Christine Heberle
Dec 10, 2006
By: Christine Heberle
Painreliefnetwork.org
RE: Richard Paey
Dear Governor Jeb Bush,
I am writing to you in regard to Richard Paey and the inhumane sentence he received. He has served approximately 3 years of his 25 year sentence. A sentence he received for violations of the CSA. He was found guilty for having his pain medication. A pharmacist felt he was receiving more than one person can take. The pharmacist deduced that he was selling the medication and called the authorities. A lengthy investigation found he was not selling them. They did however, accuse and convict him of writing his own prescriptions. He was using the medication to ease the pain of not one, but two highly painful medical conditions. From what I understand, Richard received this sentence based on the weight of the opiate (which is minute), the weight of the acetaminophen (which accounts for the majority), and the weight of the capsule itself. This really amounts to a life sentence for Tylenol.
Richard, with the support of thousands, filed an appeal. His appeal was denied by the Judges December 8, 2006. They were in agreement that the penalty handed down to Richard was unjust, but they were not in the position to change the ruling. It was, however, indicated that he could be granted clemency.
Issues with pain care that currently exist in our country have divided the powers. The power of the people to be heard and cared for, the powers of the physician to treat, the power of the justice system to set and uphold law, and the power of the authorities to enforce it.
Legitimate patients with legitimate needs are not finding appropriate care. They are finding themselves in the natural “fight or flight” mode to survive. In such a wonderfully advanced culture, forcing legitimate patients to become argumentative, demanding, and manipulative to receive care that relieves their pain stigmatizes them as addicts. When they are really exhibiting the instinctive fight mechanism. Whereby the flight mode causes others to commit suicide. Please understand that the actions Richard has been accused of stem from these basic instincts of survival. Instincts that only surfaced because the appropriate care was not readily available. Oddly enough, he did find appropriate care in prison. Had this care been made available to him in the free world, he would not have committed the crimes he is serving time for.
Governor Bush I pray that you find it in your heart to grant this man clemency. A man that is suffering with a debilitating deadly disease, suffering because he has been locked away from his wife and children, and suffering because he desperately needed medication to relieve his pain. He is not a danger to society. He is not a repeat offender. He is not a drug Kingpin or even a drug dealer. He is simply a father, a husband, and a chronic pain patient. He has paid above and beyond for a crime he was unjustly convicted of.
Governor Bush it is time to release Richard into the loving arms of his family and friends. You have the power to grant a Christmas miracle. It is our sincere hope that you will.
Sincerely,
Christine Heberle
