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A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 18 May 2018

Homeless jailed frequently under 'habitual drunkard' law

By DENISE LAVOIE same law and set him on
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — For the same path at a young
the past six years, Richard age, when he would often
Walls has been in jail more put moonshine in his baby
often than not. The longest bottle.
stretch of time he's spent "They put me in this jail to
outside a cell is 30 days. harass me," he said in a re-
Walls is not a hardened cent interview at the Rich-
criminal, but he is what mond City Justice Center,
Virginia calls a "habitual where he's been jailed for
drunkard," a designation the past three months.
that allows police to arrest "I never hurt anyone in my
him and jail him for up to a life or committed a felony,"
year if he's caught with al- he said.
cohol. Opponents say the law tar-
The law, which dates back gets homeless alcoholics
to the 1930s, is being chal- who have nowhere else to
lenged by the Legal Aid drink but in public. People
Justice Center, a nonprofit without the habitual-drunk-
advocacy group that pro- ard designation can also
vides legal services to low- be arrested for public in-
income people. The group toxication, but they don't
accuses state prosecutors face any jail time.
of using it to punish home- From 2007 to 2015, more
less alcoholics. A judge dis- than 1,220 people were
In this Tuesday, May 1, 2018 photo, attorney Mary Frances Charlton, left, talks with inmate Richard
Walls during an interview at the Richmond City Jail in Richmond, Va. missed the lawsuit last year, designated as "habitual
but the group appealed. drunkards" in Virginia, ac-
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court cording to data reported
of Appeals is weighing the to the Virginia Department
case. of Alcoholic Beverage
Virginia and Utah are the Control.
only two states with so- The lawsuit alleges that
called interdiction laws the law criminalizes addic-
that make it a crime for tion and violates the 8th
people designated as ha- Amendment prohibition
bitual drunkards to possess, against cruel and unusual
consume or purchase al- punishment. It also says the
cohol, or even attempt to law violates due-process
do so, according to a sur- rights because the cases
vey of state laws done by are brought in civil court
the legal aid center. and the defendants are
Under the law, prosecutors not guaranteed a lawyer
can go to court to ask a as they are in criminal cas-
judge to declare someone es.
a habitual drunkard. Once "This criminalizes the status
that happens, police can of being a homeless alco-
arrest that person for being holic," said Mary Frances
publicly intoxicated, pos- Charlton, the lead attorney
sessing alcohol, being near challenging the law.
open containers of alcohol The law gives prosecutors
or even smelling of alcohol. discretion on when they
In addition to jail time, they can go to court and seek
face fines of up to $2,500. the "habitual drunkard"
Walls, 48, has been locked designation. It doesn't re-
up at least 30 times for al- quire a specific number of
cohol possession since alcohol-related offenses.
being given the "habitual "Our officers would much
drunkard" designation in rather do other things than
2012. He says his father this," he said. "We hate see-
was an alcoholic who ing people destroy their
was prosecuted under the own lives."q