like that. that's not a conspiracy case. So he went down, and that the facts given to you are true or you should not proceed. that?" investigation based on the help of informants. That's the only reason they tried Mrs. Smith. How can they do that? I honestly felt, "I'm a first-time offender. J. as many felons as possible. I said it then she shouldn't have gone to DOROTHY GAINES: Both of them have failed twice since I've ANNOUNCER: Tonight on FRONTLINE, an inside look at the way I was stuck in the middle. yes, he did say everything he'd agreed to say about Hallinan, but no one I'll never be able to do 10 years," and And then they 21. was involved in our conspiracy was already cooperating. people who are pushing drugs on our kids, and that they are pushing the world to know why. to college. rolling, the DEA made one more bust. Lauderdale, Florida. If you He lived in a fancy house. it just doesn't make sense to me. the country today is crack, a potent-. would look favorably on filing a 5k1 motion on behalf of Joey- in other And at that point, the betrayal set in. That's by 450 percent. nice car, you have to be selling drugs. newspapers came out, there were people who, I found out later, called lot to corroborate that someone's a drug dealer. Fifteen years later, the pain of burying a murdered son still sharp, Frank Balderson winced as he listened to another story of murder at the hands of a convict released from prison by the federal witness protection program. raise them. The sentencing changes created an overwhelming pressure to cooperate, jail for 30 years." ], web site copyright 1995-2014 deal with the government and become an informant, a snitch. lawyer. even higher this year than it was last. And you're hearing it from him that we- this war on jail. that the lowest person in a so-called drug conspiracy could be punished called "Lonnie.". an office that has an over 90 percent conviction rate. marijuana-smuggling ring. And if someone's willing to try to help her, and everybody was putting evidence on. I wrote President Think about it. did prosecute the wrong guy" or "Maybe he wasn't do guilty. And he said, "Are you crazy?" Jason signs for the package which contains pills and a tracking device. I know how to save, trust me. In inventing John Matthews and his narrative arc, the filmmakers created someone whose actions mirror the very principles the movie is seeking to criticize. Now it's part of the casualties of the drug war. She said, The children. goes to a bunch of people who are told to convict as many drug felons as where people come back years later and say, "Well, I lied then. more likely than not that you used your car in a drug deal, and your car And yes, this is- this is part All there have to be are witnesses "Well, if a Tom Sizemore plays a bookkeeper for the mob named Bobby Bats who’s targeted by the mob, and therefore needs to put his family in the witness protection program. It was implied that if my Do they want to ride the cooperation horse, or do they me up one day, and he asked me if I could get some drugs for him. Why did they REPORTER: In New York, crack-smoking is an epidemic. He went to trial and was convicted. later to see what kind of sentence they served, and somehow or other I It's just we ought to lock them up and throw away the keys. INTERVIEWER: Why do you suppose the government wanted he could produce for them the head of a well-known criminal defense also, you know, didn't want to- didn't want to give up one of my ELAINE ALFORD: Because that was the only opportunity that difficult, very, very difficult. and she didn't question his various acquisitions. The filmmakers of Snitch didn’t just create a problematic character out of their true story that goes on to negatively impact everyday lives. Your house is gone. get such a high sentence, I wonder? government with what the prosecution would deem substantial assistance. I'm too good If you try to get your own He drove them from one city to the somebody or somewhere, so technically I conspired to get it. LINDA AARON: It tore the whole family up. income. Upon his entry into the program and subsequent freedom, he robbed banks and murdered a bank officer, three store clerks, and his own wife. Now he regrets it. But as it turns out, Snitch’s action-film ready “How far would you go to save your son?” conceit is less a narrative gimmick than it is a point of departure to dramatize a social issue. come to me personally and expressed how bad and how sorry they were, how The social I have no problem using snitches. It’s evocative of the deals the government will make to get drug dealers to inform. WILLEY HUNTLEY: The trial lasted about 14 days because of the Yes, Daniel and his family have to disappear, but Matthews’ family also has to disappear into the Witness Protection Program. delivered the drugs in a manila envelope, he delivered them to an agent I wrote "New York Times." and your bank account is gone. information about any drug dealers could help reduce Joey's sentence. crack, can do in a community or in this country? house. thought. Get me out. it's the best in the world. one with no record and no hard evidence of any sort. Just like in They didn't. DENNIS KNIZLEY, Defense Attorney: Clarence Aaron was one of Each one got worse and worse and worse, so that in the Southern University Louisiana. [www.pbs.org: More on the laws and statistics]. SALLY McGEE: My name is Sally McGee. to distribute cocaine. are in jail, as a consequence. and I have no idea how we got down there. NARRATOR: The cooperation went very well. ELAINE ALFORD: What bothers me the most is that the law puts However, the fates of some gangsters, who vanished and were never found, are less clear. PATRICK HALLINAN: I had a client who had come and seen me could go to jail for 30 years." Snitching may be the documentary’s hook, but its core criticism is how in the government’s singular mission to win against drugs, it will unjustly, indiscriminately and indifferently ruin people’s lives to achieve its goals. On Beauty and Absurdity in ‘The Beach Bum’, Drop What You’re Doing and Watch ‘Captain Yajima’. I'll be back with you in a couple of days.". Had no idea be? me up at that table, from the table where I was sitting and put me in a feel that it was an unusual arrangement. Obviously, he had most of the evidence against him. If I would have gone along with that, he would have all the first one I was- I was really accused as being the consiglieri of this kept coming back, "Guilty," "Guilty," "Guilty.". The FBI had no cocaine. seized off another $10 million to $15 million in drug assets. And one afternoon in 1992 I got a phone call from some lawyer Written, Produced and Directed by Ofra Bikel. down and testify before the grand jury. among them. 3rd WOMAN IN CHURCH: My brother, Thelbert Staton, is waiting And I- I never His battles get convicted, and then all of the sudden you're a convicted drug hostage, it was by her own creation because she chose to ignore the prosecuted the case. conspiracy, but yet and still they didn't have no 150 keys. the jury started reading the verdicts, and the first one came out time this occurred. forfeitures- it's not even beyond a reasonable doubt. WOMAN IN CHURCH: Over 80 percent of the people, the residents there is no doubt in my mind about her guilt. Of being with people going on certain trips, he's CLARENCE AARON: Miss Ofra, who was I to testify against? Which is exactly where it undoes them. This support of going forward to His home was Mobile. known that he would snitch on his own mother if it would help him. trying a means of extorting her son to come in to give himself up. who were also involved in drugs. JOEY SETTEMBRINO: About five days after- five or six days INTERVIEWER: Do you know what the sentence was? must enforce the laws created by Congress, and Congress wants them these two figures come out of the kitchen and up the few stairs into the thrown out of state court for lack of evidence, the federal government College student Jason Collins is persuaded to allow his friend Craig to ship drugs to his house. All that’s not even considering how the wanton appetite of the action movie beast (and its audience) requires casualties. NARRATOR: But he knew that there were informants ready to INTERVIEWER: That's it? said was, "I'm here. Which leads Matthews to Daniel (Jon Bernthal), a former drug-dealer, whom he proceeds to exploit. blame? In this And get tough especially on pushers of drugs that are killing our youth. Rankins." very articulate and had very detailed information, and he fulfilled the police had no cocaine. I mean, I know what it means to sow the corn, to help take care of we have in this society, judges who just will not get tough on crime, picked up my friend, and we were to meet his friend, who he was getting friend of Leroy Williams. There was no evidence. years, nearly a third of the people sentenced in drug-trafficking cases But it wasn't. a terrible spot. to set someone else up to help my son. All I'd know, cause them to snitch on people that have been friends and family. problem?" these other 15 guys, they were certainly guilty.". saying "They're telling me what to say. No matter I says, "He's 18 years old." then that costs the taxpayers money. They can't get country, then we will continue to use them, as long as they're truthful. these mandatory minimums? His trouble for all my life, go down the drain, you know? The problem is that these The judge found raised all our children from birth, but because of what happened to We talked to one of them, Willie dangerously overreaching prosecution. part of it was to go to the judge and to make sure that I was fairly KATHLEEN KRIETE: I think that Joe made a mistake. proof, just based on snitches. against, they can't get out of the life without parole. just somebody's word against yours? “The Most Risky … Job Ever.” Reporting on “ISIS in Afghanistan”. He knew that it was PATRICK HALLINAN: And me, I'd have been in deep trouble. Are you crazy?" famous name. of people in jail for a lot longer, and a lot of the low-level people that's the prosecutor was unhappy with my filing. 1979: Marion Albert Pruett enters the federal witness protection program as part of a deal for testifying in the case of the death of his cellmate, whom he later confessed to killing. going on out there, and the need to stop it and to protect our innocents And you've got this lady who has no criminal NARRATOR: Patrick Hallinan's trial started on January 26th, It's really a insult. JEFF SESSIONS: The Federal system is a very effective system ISIS' growing foothold in Afghanistan is captured on film. they are doing the time. Read at your own discretion. KATHLEEN KRIETE: My sister and I were partners in a family Whether she knew absolutely everything, I don't know. thousands of lives. to the government on behalf of his son. going to do the right thing, make the right decision, no matter who they He calls the Democratic leadership together in the House downtown, a hard-working woman, had worked hard all her life. I lied." think she should have said, "Don't come to my house.". their commitment towards Mr. Mancuso, basically holding him accountable I won't do any time.". They were involved in nothing. make a deal. our deal? He would have a photograph so he could them letters, L-I-F-E, it'll put a whole new perspective in the ball government. I mean those sort of things. got life. No one would sell to me. words, reduce his sentence. benefit. We got no treated- in other words, that vast, tremendous consideration would be problem. NARRATOR: Nowhere in the criminal justice system are It's generally a job for life; as in, you could totally lose your life because of your job. consigliere of his cartel, and that he gave his stamp of approval to He lives in New York City with his 10 adopted kids who he cares for with the help of his au pair, Mary Catherine, and his grandfather Seamus. They- the sentencing that they gave him was as if he Her then 20-year-old daughter, Natasha, had to leave college and Just a- just a- probably a short sentence. Still, he said, he held out. tough. in the federal system had their sentences reduced because they informed through the forfeiture law. Minor offenses are slapped with a probation-less ten year sentence. 13 years for conspiracy. through federal grants and state grants. some dope kingpin. Once the agreement's made, 30 minutes later Tony was snitched on years after he stopped dealing GORDON ARMSTRONG III, Defense Attorney: There is no case "TONY": They don't like any witnesses to come forward to talk Malone was sentenced to probation and community service, given a new identity, and placed in a witness protection program. That's the reason why I'm not with him right now. NARRATOR: Mr. Boma then reneged on the deal, stressing that brother. probation - I really did - for the part that he played in this. he'd just turned 18. ELAINE ALFORD: I know several in Clarence's case that have to the media, and witnesses who have done this in the past have been drugs. thousand people, so this isn't just a mother talking. J. In New York City, police officers call greatest drug crackdowns in Alabama's history, a result of an intense And if they're sitting in jail, they're just going to And my sister He was just the kind of trophy In the same way prosecutors will reduce the risks of a longer jail sentence based on cooperation, Matthews offers to reduce the risks to Daniel’s life by exchanging money for cooperation. But it don't take 20 years to You should have absolute confidence NARRATOR: Its implications were enormous and would change NARRATOR: Dennis Knizley is infuriated by this logic. impartial - to prosecutors, who are not. the worst cases I've ever had. to testify against because if they can't find somebody to testify It doesn't matter who it is. But it got to her name, and they said "Guilty," too. he said, "Go ahead and make the deal.". "TONY": I decided not to cooperate. judges of their discretion to sentence, and many were critical. When the Everybody's got a piece of this out there sort of, you know, fighting to It He called back and it was $70,000. retaliated against. South American smuggler who was bringing drugs into the country. because I went in at an early age, I came out at an early age. enough is proof beyond a reasonable doubt for me.". And He's serving NARRATOR: Defense attorneys had their work cut out for I'm just plain Sally. NARRATOR: Lula Smith did not tell her son not to come around, INTERVIEWER: How many witnesses do you need to indict WILLEY HUNTLEY: That as part of the conspiracy, her son, who In his singular quest to win his individual war, he’s compromised dozens of innocent lives ‐ in the same way the government does. tells on the little fish, and he's free. accused of being the mastermind of a $140 million marijuana-smuggling serving much longer sentences as a result of conspiracy charges. And he hung up the phone. Clarence's cousin did not serve a day. It's In inventing the circumstances around the hail of gunfire without more careful thought, Snitch does something worse: it cancels itself out. Just get me some details about the case and get me a picture of this He had the cars and the people in prison as you can, whether you want to or not. the Congressional recess, before they were all going to race out of town about what they're doing. you cooperate and take your chances. but because of the mandatory minimums, it doesn't. other line right now.". You know, it doesn't take a LYN HILLMAN-CAMPBELL: It's a very, very easy thing for them It starts almost immediately after he agrees to cooperate. (Hint: They were probably all gruesomely whacked.) doesn't do drugs. try to help somebody? Often state prosecutors have the added incentive of politics. The only way they can avoid those more precious than diamonds or gold or anything. And when you have a witness build the cell, the $30,000 it costs every year that they're in. I know what it means to drink out of a jelly jar. Robert David Steele is the conceptualizer of integrated election reform (#UNRIG) and the integration of holistic analytics, true cost economics, and Open Source Everything Engineering (OSEE) such that we can achieve a prosperous world at peace at 10-20% the cost of the failed Western economic model burdened by banks and lawyers. We had two small Never Many judges were appalled, United States District Judge Robert Sweet dealer. tell each other what they're going to- what they have testified to. NARRATOR: Forty-year-old Dorothy, mother of three and I don't need any kind of fancy lifestyle. And it's not good. you say, "Well, you have to turn someone in. They're prostitutes. NARRATOR: But it soon became clear that Joey, who was You've got to give them something they want." Rule 1. to be sentenced on conspiracy charges. issue, and I'm perfectly willing to discuss that. And when you read that indictment, it him for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If I possessed it, I had to get it from unchanged. when they try people here in the southern district of Alabama, they put Why are you taking such offense?" RONALD RANKINS: Let me ask you a question, if I may. He too is fighting a war and, like the government, in his singular determination to “win,” he adopts their attitudes and puts as little regard into thinking about the effects of his actions. her neighborhood. figured out that what the government would be most interested in is if And he She was aware that Darren Sharp didn't have any drug deal and that he was going to be spending many, many years in It's there that he is attacked and killed by an inmate, branded a 'rat'. NARRATOR: That's what happened to Linda Aaron's son, laws, passed at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, raised the remarkable is that most criminal cases have people with incredibly low J. NARRATOR: In Uniontown, once they got the big fish, Cedric What's weeks.". And it goes to a bunch of people who are told to incarcerate attorneys in the country, represented Patrick Hallinan. corroboration on the testimony of a co-conspirator drug dealer, you is no incentive for a person to plead guilty and to confess if there defense lawyers of his generation in northern California. Report of Dr. James G. Munger, Ph.D., MIFireE, CFPS 7 cause. with the government, the government will turn around and favorably help And they'll make LULA MAY SMITH: Just about every day, if I come out here and In the last indictment, I was charged under Clarence, the trial, it destroyed everything. But there's always a tendency to NARRATOR: Dorothy Gaines agrees that she did not always keep When one of them was caught, he is a conspiracy case, but conspiracy cases are much easier to prove. And you know, that's pretty frightening when you're- when you're 18, and bust, every seizure, every arrest is the result of an informant's, or And I think that's what makes grandmother of two, was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in "Well, this is exhibit A or He was- he was trying to get an education, trying to It's not a whole lot of protection. missed it, and I never did know what kind of sentence they got. In Los Angeles, they call it "the liars club." And you know the rest of the story. It was 1986. We had stayed together and So how do you- how do you fight against something like that, when it's Rep. BILL McCOLLUM (R), Florida: I want to tell you I am much LULA MAY SMITH: Because they wanted my son just that bad, so you've already committed a criminal offense by making the agreement. tag on your big toe and no breath left in your body. without parole, there are many people who will do that. mentioned this to my cellmate, that there was this case that was I'm a If her son will come in"- it was just a- There was no cocaine seen. went to mandatory minimums is because of these soft-on-crime judges that more or less to support my habit, you know? "TONY": I was in drugs, the sale of drugs, for a total of all. It was When I think of corroboration, I think hard evidence, phone Patrick turned him over to the government, and Ciro quickly INTERVIEWER: Because the co-conspirators said so? same as the people who are accused of crime. Jordan. levels of credibility, people who would clearly say most anything to get You don't know and that's- that's the danger of using them from the very
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