Latest Drug War News

These stories can't be told without your help.

Donate Today.


Google
The Internet Our Website

Susan Spry

#04322-090

12 Years, 8 Months
Methamphetamine Distribution

(As of 10/1/08, Susan is out of prison and on supervised release in Colorado)

Yes, I am a POW. I am serving 152 month sentence for possession of 28 grams of meth. I became a target for a police officer whose zeal knew no bounds. Unwilling to have me exterminated merely on grounds that I was a drug user, he bargained for the lies of vulnerable people, and with plenty of lies of his own, to destroy me completely.

I told the psychiatrist and the social worker in the pretrial release assessment that I used drugs. I took my mother's valium growing up and tried methamphetamine when I was 19. I was high functioning drug user with a high tolerance for methamphetamine. Looking back, I thought it made me feel normal -- until my arrest. I was a user, an addict -- not a drug traficker.

My case was originally a state case that was dismissed by the prosecutor the day before my pretrial motion hearing. If the judge would have heard my motions, it would have been known that the police filed false affidavit statements to get their search warrant. The exculpatory evidence, the confession of the "unwitting informant," would have been presented stating that the drugs found at my residence were hers, not mine. The police admitted they had not searched my entire apartment for indicia of occupancy. They never searched the third floor where my two room mates lived. But this was already making big news and they would have to change the headlines to "Superior, Wisconsin Police Lie to Get Search Warrant."

When the feds took over the case, they ran an investigation and searched my house again, coming up with nothing more than what was dismissed in the original charge ­ a few snitch lies whose monkey business had been exposed. It became a hot potato ­ "Here, Suzee, catch!"

The first public defender asked to be taken off my case and questioned the prosecutor why he was doing this to me. His reply was that it was a favor for the Superior, Wisconsin Police. I was thrown in jail 400 miles away from home with no access to anyone to help me but a newly appointed public defender, who was obviously a part of their gang. He never even got my file from the state where the case was dismissed. I told him that the police had lied to get a search warrant, but he never bothered to present the evidence.

The "Unwitting informant" had made five stops while under surveillance before coming to my house. One of those stops was a drug bar where the police had done sting operations before. This fact provides other possible sources for the drugs, but the judge was only told that she stopped at my house. If the judge would have known, he would never have given them a search warrant. The state court judge had ruled that there was no probable cause. He used the good faith exception that excludes warrants obtained using false information.

Then, the confession of the unwitting informant, who took responsibility for drug transaction, was not presented to the judge either. The next step was to burn me good, so they found two people to make up stories to get themselves out of trouble. With their testimony, the original charges of 28 grams of methamphetamine was raised to 2,067 grams. Then to add insult to injury, they gave me a leadership enhancement that was based upon FBI testimony that someone back in 1990 said that I was recruiting people to sell drugs for me. They think I'm Mary Kay or something. So where are the pink Cadillacs?

Here's what the judge who dismissed the state case said. "... I think that Susan Spry is correct. If the police had dealt directly with the unwitting informant of the confidential informant, or had the confidential informant dealt directly with Spry, I would agree with the government. But there is one layer too many between Spry and the police for this court to find probable cause to support this warrant."

But my story will change because I am stuck on getting this mess straightened out. If I have to get the unwitting informant to go to the stationary store and pick up a deposition form and have it notarized, that's what I will do. So be looking for me now, because I'll be the one telling. I'll be the one snitching. I'll be the one telling America what is really going on.

Updated 10/1/08

Back to the Wall

To the Next Prisoner of the War on Drugs

Working to end drug war injustice

Meet the People Behind The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Questions or problems? Contact webmaster@november.org