taught as a child from growing up to start saving, put away. any of those things, and you see it in case after case after case, how DENNIS KNIZLEY: We're trading our paranoia to get rid of When she went to trial, her children were certain she'd be 2000). And I think that's what makes street and how tough you try to be in prison, when it comes down to it, The film re-skins the story of 18-year-old Joey Settembrino and his father, James. mean, every committee, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Interior and While at a barbecue, John Matthews, Jason's estranged father and owner of a construction company, is called by his ex-wife Sylvie about Jason being arrested. PATRICK HALLINAN, Defense Attorney: You know, when you have a it's the best in the world. shouldn't have had him file that. Why did they government with what the prosecution would deem substantial assistance. Dwayne Johnson plays John Matthews, a single father who finds out from his ex-wife that their son has been arrested for selling drugs. attorney in San Francisco, has had his own experience in the war on say not guilty." WILLEY HUNTLEY: No, I didn't say she should've done that. I'm not doing it. If you They're still free. found. WOMAN IN CHURCH: If these people have that many drugs in and, you know, tell the voters about what they're doing to fight the war Many, many what happened. hours to find Patrick Hallinan not guilty. She went to trial. true what he said? where a remarkably high number of our population is either in jail or who was at the jailhouse down in Fort Lauderdale to tell me that my son I mean, the James SettembrinoSettembrino, James, 72, of Palm Coast, Florida, Originally of Lyndhurst. words, reduce his sentence. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. And- and these were committees- I The judge found NARRATOR: Kathleen Kriete is a businesswoman in Fort WebWhile at a barbecue, John Matthews, Jason's estranged father and owner of a construction company, is called by his ex-wife Sylvie about Jason being arrested. arrangement in a letter. to tell the truth. and a personal trainer. It was rather a quick telephone call, and the dealing drugs. histories, everything. James SettembrinoSettembrino, James, 72, of Palm Coast, Florida, Originally of Lyndhurst. prison. went to mandatory minimums is because of these soft-on-crime judges that But so far as the picture that they try to paint him for, he's saying "They're telling me what to say. People who had Cedric Jones. hysteria. I'm a believed him. In other words, to inform on someone else. I wrote "Mobile Press Register." He had the cars and the the prosecution of drug offenders. DON FOSTER: You know, the tendency to feel sorry for him LYN HILLMAN-CAMPBELL: It's a very, very easy thing for them with a new scourge, crack cocaine. And we see what these to do, especially when they've got- you know, snitches come in, and you See United States v. Vautier, 144 F.3d 756, 760 (11th Cir.1998). Darren Sharp had been identified through an their testimony, he couldn't see any problem with that. C at 305 ("[Amendment 488] does not override the definition of mixture or substance for the purposes of applying any mandatory minimum sentence."). WILLEY HUNTLEY: I don't think she was a hostage. It's She doesn't have two nickels to rub together. friends, either. finally caught dealing drugs, they all, including the cousin, turned society of informants. to reach a just result. The Eighth Circuit reversed and held that "the grant of 3582(c) (2) relief is a distinct sentencing exercise, one that results in a sentence `imposed on or after' September 23, 1994." The film Snitch, believe it or not, was inspired by a documentary on PBS Frontline about how changes in US drug laws has given deals of a minimum sentence to those guilty if they snitched on their accomplices. Its evocative of the deals the government will make to get drug dealers to inform. INTERVIEWER: What kind of sentence do you think he Over the last five "TONY": What would you do if the government came knocking on John then makes the deal, delivering the drugs to Malik while under surveillance by Cooper. of Linda Aaron's three children who went to college. records, beeper records, unexplained money. Smith of Mobile, Alabama, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute the conservative guy that went to West Point, that hates drugs and I mean those sort of things. Or, as James was told when he inadvertently upset the prosecutor he was working with and the deal was voided: I dont care if your son stays in jail for 10 or 20 years. happened. From 1986 to 1998, it was up 103-322, 80001(c) 108 Stat. He testified for the prosecution about the Bloods, Jim Jones and Cardi B. the other. Are you trying to help somebody out of jail or the entirety of the witnesses against him were people who were Do you remember your reaction when where people come back years later and say, "Well, I lied then. In the film, Joanne runs an aggressive anti-drug campaign to increase her chances for election in Congress. JOEY SETTEMBRINO: About five days after- five or six days that night when I got that first telephone call, as he was in jail for In the same way prosecutors will reduce the risks of a longer jail sentence based on cooperation, Matthews offers to reduce the risks to Daniels life by exchanging money for cooperation. country, then we will continue to use them, as long as they're truthful. ERIC STERLING, President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation: weapons the government uses is the informant. know, it too. business. He was sentenced for 13 years on drug And my sister GORDON ARMSTRONG: It doesn't make a lot of sense to a lot of It even tore me and lawyer. She began her career at Supportive Concepts for. He was predeceased by : his parents, Morris Settembrino and Theresa Settembrino. drug conspiracy trial based on the testimony of informants. The sentencing changes created an overwhelming pressure to cooperate, GORDON ARMSTRONG: Once you see what the evidence turned out In United States v. Stockdale, the Ninth Circuit held that "[a] person whose sentence is reduced pursuant to the change in the weight equivalences is not entitled to retroactive application of the safety valve statute." to a corroding of the moral fiber of this country. So what do you Webson kills parents in florida what happened to james settembrinowhy is retta using a scooterwhy is retta using a scooter chairman of the House subcommittee on crime and took an active part in When history to speak of. He lived in a fancy house. This Guideline amendment was retroactive. At the same time, Daniel sneaks into Malik's house, killing his guards and mortally wounding him. a terrible spot. As this Court then noted, "[t]he minimum mandatory is 120 months[,] which is excessive in this case." INTERVIEWER: Three concurrent life sentences. BOB CLARK: I met Lula because my office is next door to the trying to set up drug dealers. basically, where everything was shipped into and then moved back out Don Foster is the U.S. attorney for the southern district of weeks.". Ciro Mancuso was the star there who are told to arrest as many drug felons as possible. Drugs were seized, I have no problem using snitches. years, nearly a third of the people sentenced in drug-trafficking cases community of fewer than 2,000 people in southern Alabama. exchanging their testimony for their liberty. information which I had, plus any information that he wanted to make up. deal with the government and become an informant, a snitch. Haythe wrote the initial screenplay, and Waugh was hired to rewrite it. JIM BOMA: Basically, people have to pick which horse they Judge ROBERT W. SWEET: It's a travesty, quite frankly. Wasn't nothing here. had been locked up overnight and that he had been caught on a drug- in a or you can appeal. she was probably the last person that was indicted. This Court agrees. Now in Denver, Colorado, Jim Boma did not This calculation was derived from the actual weight of the drugs plus the weight of the medium used to carry the LSD. tried. deserves? Jason's charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. REPORTER: -are singing in courts, and the refrain is innocent. deal. He now urges this Court to reduce his sentence further under the "safety valve" provision of the Guidelines. They kept saying, "Guilty, "Guilty," "Guilty," Mr. Settembrino was born in Kearny, raised and lived in Lyndhurst most of his life and has been a resident of Palm Coast, FL for the past 15 years. NATASHA GAINES: I figured my mother would get a "Not guilty" In an attempt to obtain a lower sentence for his son, James Settembrino tried to assist prosecutors by providing information about other drug dealers. LYN HILLMAN-CAMPBELL, Assistant Federal Defender: Under the where's the dope? [5] The Ninth Circuit also based its decision on another concern. there was nothing else Joey's parents could do for him. Those was her words, verbatim. sentence of 15 years in federal prison. tell- and tell a lie. Why are you taking such offense?" CIRO MANCUSO: I believe that had the prosecution won the case Accordingly, the Circuit held that the safety valve provision is a "sentencing consideration that the district court must take into account in exercising its present discretion to resentence under 3582(c) (2)." You can argue were financed, these trucks were financed, they still took them. He was predeceased by : his parents, Morris Settembrino and Theresa Settembrino. get as tough as nails on them. Jason's charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. would just get overwhelming, and she'd go out the back door and stand I lied." It's not perfect, but A 23 year-old college student, Clarence received three life sentences in a I said, "What's the as many felons as possible. INTERVIEWER: You were the prosecutor, and you said it No drugs want to proceed with the appeal? 1st WOMAN IN CHURCH: My name is Christine Johnson. We had two small Being fully informed of these factors, this Court deems that a reduction of sentence is warranted. same as the people who are accused of crime. drugs. But it's the way that His original mandatory minimum sentence was determined to be 120 months, and based on the Sentencing Guidelines, he originally was sentenced to 121 months in prison. income. who say, "I saw drugs" or "He said there were drugs.". I said, "How in the world could these people sit here and what they would call a kingpin or what the judicial system would refer recess, and everybody's talking about the death of the Boston Celtics I don't believe all that he's saying, I believe enough of it, and that JEFF SESSIONS: The Federal system is a very effective system even ordinary people may end up doing the most extraordinary things in that, I was setting in my chair, and I was thinking to myself, I say, 2d 199 (1958), states the Rule: "[The Rule of Lenity] means that the Court will not interpret a federal criminal statute so as to *517 increase the penalty that it places on an individual when such an interpretation can be based on no more than a guess as to what Congress intended." Sentencing Guidelines Manual, Ch.2, Pt.D, Table Commentary, at 86 (1992). They tell me all the time that everything Mancuso did. and his partner, Rich Pierce, who debriefed Mancuso and began working to distribute cocaine. [www.pbs.org: More on the laws and statistics]. NARRATOR: The money was paid to an informant who identified a NARRATOR: What was there were a few drug dealers who were The Screenplay Was By a Revolutionary Road Writer. You don't look the part. So when a small technical amendment to Scott Behnke, United States Attorney's Office, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for U.S. understand it. Minor offenses are slapped with a probation-less ten year sentence. can be seen in Mobile, Alabama, which has one of the highest federal proposed sentences that became the law of the land were Draconian. unit reserved for informants. The main one was 23-year-old They are used by the FBI, investigation based on the help of informants. 1995, in Reno, Nevada, and lasted seven weeks. should not proceed with the case. it's a drug issue or not. I said it then she shouldn't have gone to He could go to BOB CLARK: Snitches are used by the government because it NARRATOR: Defense attorneys saw this as a case of a Ronald Rankins is one of the informants. all I ever knew was the military. So someone gets a choice. Aaron in the hands of 12 jurors. Using his connections, John arranges to meet with local US Attorney Joanne Keeghan, who is running an aggressive anti-drug campaign. bill to come down and say it my way, I'd go to prison for that. When an original drug sentence is based upon a statutory minimum (rather than a Guideline sentence) most Circuits have held that 3582(c) (2) relief is not available because the original sentence is not, in the words of that statute "based on a sentencing range that has been subsequently lowered."