A Houston attorney, Ronald Lewis, 77, is facing criminal charges over an allegation that he brought drug-laced papers into a jail that later caused the death of two inmates. We have previously discussed charges of attorneys for criminal conduct in jails, but few have reached this level of culpability. Lewis is currently facing two charges of having a banned substance in a correctional facility. However, it is possible, if not likely, that additional charges will be brought later.
Drugs are often smuggled into prison on papers. In the classic case, a page or a word in a book is saturated in a drug like LSD or Ecstasy and the inmates told about the spot. It is then digested or sold in the prison.
Lewis, a retired lawyer, is accused of saturating whole pages (marked as legal papers) with ecstasy and synthetic marijuana. The material was brought into the Houston County Jail.
According to police, the sheets could sell for between $200 and $500 a sheet. Lewis was shown to have visited 14 inmates between July 2023 until November 2023. Police recovered approximately 154 sheets of paper believed to be laced with narcotics. Police are now testing 11 sheets of paper found in his possession.
Even assuming that the 154 sheets were the only drug-saturated pages introduced into the jail (as opposed to the unused sheets), that could fetch as much as $77,000 on the prison black market.
Lewis posted a $7,500 bond after his arrest.
If the sheets in his possession test positive, it is hard to see a defense absent coercion. Even that defense breaks down due to the ability to seek police protection. If convicted, the sentence is likely to be harsh despite his age. As an officer of the court and member of the bar, Lewis could face significant enhancement of the sentence.
for the author’s edification – the jail is harris county jail- not houston county, which is another county altogether
For this reason, visitors are no longer allowed to bring papers into the jails in my county at this point. They require all legal documents be sent digitally.
Ecstasy isn’t a “narcotic”, Prof. Turley. Referring to it as such makes you sound like a dumb cop. I’ve made the same comment on this blog regarding cocaine. You should say “contraband”.
Actually by definition, it is a narcotic.
When it comes to distorting reality and fostering delusions, the substances in Mr. Lewis’s legal papers are far less harmful than those saturated within the pages of America’s daily newspapers.
Proving once again how the Nixon “war on drugs” has utterly failed. This guy got caught but supposedly the most secure places in the US, prisons, are full of drugs. Street sales are common everywhere too, yet we continue to repeat the same behaviors expecting different results. IMO, 5% of any population in a free country will use drugs and we are powerless to stop it. This is one problem for which there is no solution.
That may be and I will not argue with your point. However, we do not need lawyers to sneak in drugs to our prisons. Lawyers especially are held to a higher standard and should face heightened punishments for these types of crimes if convicted.
Speaks volumes about the character of most lawyers – I would even wager that he voted D in his election choices, the criminals are “oppressed people” you know and they need a little kindness – or he is just willing to sell his soul for the right amount of money. Either way – you observe the outcome of decades of downplaying morals and culturally agreed upon values. It is only going to get worse until someone or some ideology imposes a great deal of control and I hope it isn’t islam or communism.
randy from ftw…whose going to invoke Trump first…for whatever relation to this story (or reality)? I’m curious of his defense…he can’t say the documents were his. I’d like to see his financial receipts to determine if he had a monetary motive to do these actions. I once had a buddy arrested for purchasing a kilo of powder cocaine, the very same evening he was arrested and charged with possession etc…of 2.5 million dollars of street cost. From then on (25 years ago) I’ve never taken drug prices seriously
correction – he can say the papers weren’t his* my buddy bought the kilo for an unbelievable price of 10,000$ so cheap that is became enticing for him, and most young men, the local police conducting this undercover arrest then inform the local media of the hugely inflated street value of said drugs. so disingenuous. I’m happy that most police depts around the country now limit drug stings like selling 10$ bags of pot and then arresting the men for felony…
In accordance with the Biden administration principle that all government officials should be incompetent, or actually working against the government, Mr Lewis should be appointed head of the DEA.
I really don’t believe a lawyer would do anything so unethical. Also, I think gravity is just a rumor started in Hollywood to peddlle some dumb movie. I’ve never seen any actual evidence that gravity exists.
“. . . facing criminal charges over an allegation that he brought drug-laced papers into a jail . . .”
Strange, isn’t it, that some law enforcement can discover that. But others cannot discover who brought cocaine into the White House.
It’s simply a matter of incentive…you are either the garbage men picking up human detritus or you are the cleaning crew making certain everything is cleaned up. Both deal with human waste.
Drugs are sooooooooooo Ninteen Sixty/Seventy’s – Blotter Acid –
Give the Inmates Tic Tok.
You can take the lawyer out of the ‘hood’, but not the ‘hood’ out of the lawyer.
Houston the city or Houston the county? They’re not the same.