Richard Paey

Richard Paey is a Florida man who was incarcerated in 2004 for drug trafficking. There was no evidence he ever distributed or intended to sell any pills, but drug laws in many states, including Florida, allow officials to prosecute for trafficking based solely on the quantity an individual possesses. Paey spent three and a half years in prison, until he was granted a full pardon by Florida Governor Charlie Crist in September of 2007.

Arrest and Trial
In 1985 Paey was involved in an automobile accident. A subsequent botched operation left him in near constant pain. Like many chronic pain patients, he developed a tolerance to the opioid painkillers he was using to alleviate his suffering. Detectives began their investigation of him in 1996. Due to the quantities of pills he was buying, it was believed he was trafficking the drugs. However, a three month investigation turned up no evidence of intent to sell, and the quantities he bought are not unusual for long time users of opioid painkillers. Nonetheless, Florida law allows prosecution for trafficking based solely on the amount of drug the suspect possesses. Paey was arrested in March 1997.

Prosecutors offered Paey a plea deal in 1999 that would have resulted in a guilty plea of attempted trafficking and 3 years of house arrest, but he chose to fight the charges. A similar plea was offered during his first trial in 2002, but it was quickly rescinded after Paey accepted it. Paey was eventually convicted in his third trial on 15 counts of drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance, and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. On April 16, 2004, he was sentenced to a 25 year mandatory minimum prison sentence and a $500,000 fine.

Later, Dwayne Hillis, one of the jurors in the trial, came publicly forward and said he was pressured into a guilty verdict with assurances that Richard Paey would serve no jail term.

Paey served three and a half years at the Tomoka Correctional facility in Daytona Beach, Florida. During this time, the state provided a direct IV pump of morphine directly into his back to alleviate his pain. The strength of the morphine drip prescribed to him was stronger than the "morphine equivalent" of the amount of oxycodone that he was arrested for using in the first place.

Pardon
After succeeding Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Charlie Crist granted Paey a waiver of the requirement that a minimum period of the sentence be served on his clemency petition, permitting his petition to be heard by the clemency board immediately. The board recommended denying clemency for Paey. Nevertheless, in a sudden and unexpected move, Governor Crist and the Cabinet unanimously granted Paey a full pardon on the morning of September 20, 2007. Paey was freed from prison at 2:51 pm. 

Paey's case is the subject of the book Pain In America, and the upcoming film documentary The War on Drugs.