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Baraga County’s Prosecuting Attorney is hoping to ramp up the pressure on those who traffic in methamphetamine.
Calling meth an “insidious drug that is threatening to overwhelm law enforcement,” Joseph O’Leary says he’ll stop offering plea deals to those charged with manufacturing or delivering the substance within the county.
In a statement released yesterday, O’Leary acknowledged that plea arrangements in general are an integral part of the justice system. Studies have demonstrated that courts and prosecutors would be overwhelmed if they had to take every case to trial.
Still, O’Leary said that “something must change in our approach to this scourge,” and that, effective today, those charged with meth-related crimes “will risk the full penalties afforded by Michigan law.”
See his full statement here.
