house arrest for Andrew Howland

On 11/16/02 Andrew Howland was sentenced thru a plea bargain to 109 months of jail time for second degree murder, reckless after an accident involving an hand gun. At the time that Mr. Howland entered his plea agreement he was under the medical prescription Lortab. This drug, used to control pain has mind altering effects. It is highly addictive and causes lack of mental judgment and mental cloudiness. In spite of this Mr. Howland was allowed to enter his plea. We feel that had Mr. Howland not been on this drug at the time he entered the plea such a plea would have never been made. Further more the counsel for the defense should have advised Mr. Howland of all possible outcomes of a trial instead of insisting on taking a plea bargain of 109 months .
While in custody Mr. Howland has been a model citizen much as he was before this tragic accident. He fully understands that what he did was not only a tragic mistake but also claims full responsibility for the life taken. We the under signed ask that Mr. Howland be placed on house arrest for the time of the sentence he would serve in minimum custody. In doing this it would relieve the state of some of the burden of his expense and Mr. Howland could not only become a productive member of society but also be under the watchful eye of a small town police station several hours removed from the scene of the accident.
Thank you