Convicted Meth Dealer May Go Free

A man convicted of making and selling meth may soon be free after serving only a third of his prison sentence. The Governor of Arkansas has made it known he intends to grant the man clemency. The prosecutor who is handling the case thinks its a terrible idea. "I just do not believe this is the right message to send." To call Ninth District Prosecutor Tom Cooper outraged might be an understatement. Last week he received a letter from the Governor`s office stating that a man he helped send to prison for 15 years may soon be free after serving just five. In 2001, a Little River County jury convicted Larry Sadler of manufacturing methamphetimines. Mr. Sadler was arrested for manufacturing meth. Sadler ran from police and apprehended six months later at another meth lab. Cooper says Arkansas law requires those convicted of making meth to serve at least 70 percent of their sentence. "I believe the Governor, by letting him out early, is under cutting what the legislator and jury did in this case. It sends out a bad message." Sadler has managed to get his GED while in prison and has stayed out of trouble. In a letter written to the Governor, Sadler has this to say: "I went to work for myself and eventually allowed the prospect of money to get the best of my judgment. It was a decision for which I have no excuse and which I fully accept full and complete responsibility. It is one whose consequences that has taught me a hard, but deeply embedded lesson." Sadler isn`t a free man yet. The governor has 30 days to hear arguments before making a final decision. If Huckabee grants clemency, Sadler will be up for parole immediately. If denied he`ll have to wait until October of 2011.