Daily Headlines
by Jim Moore, Republican-American, (Source:Republican-American)19 Sep 2010
Connecticut
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Challenger, Incumbent Differ On Legalization
NEW MILFORD -- Nicholas W. Payne, the Green Party candidate vying to unseat five-term incumbent Rep. Clark J. Chapin, R-New Milford, believes the state would save both dollars and lives by legalizing drugs.
Payne, 61, said the May 20, 2008, murder of his daughter, Rebecca, a student at Northeastern University who was shot inside her Boston apartment, inspired his run for office. Rebecca Payne's murder, which attracted extensive media attention, remains unsolved. Payne said police have told him they believe it was a case of mistaken identity, and his daughter had no known connection to illegal drugs. Payne said that while the circumstances may never be known, his daughter's murder was all but certainly related to the drug trade.
"This election's all about money, jobs and taxes," Payne said. "In New Milford you don't see violence on the streets ... It's the expense of ( fighting illegal drugs ) I'm going after."
The state Department of Correction budget stands at $650.8 million following deficit mitigation legislation for the 2010-11 fiscal year, and the state currently incarcerates just under 18,500 prisoners, according to Office of Policy and Management estimates. Payne believes that legalizing marijuana and regulating its use in the same way that alcohol is regulated, and decriminalizing all other drugs in favor of mandatory treatment, would significantly reduce spending that now totals about $35,178 per prisoner each year.
MAP posted-by: Jo-D 
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