REMEMBER THE NAME Heather Hasting. Chances are you will hear about her again.
Hasting was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for meth. As usual, The Whig was the only media in the courtroom, and Don O'Brien's story is here.
Hasting was busted twice in about two weeks last year at two local hotels. Court documents show she tested positive for pot while on bond. She could have gotten probation, but Judge William Mays gave her the minimum prison sentence.
Hasting had a derogatory remark for the judge as she was led away from the courtroom, according to Don's story.
She is fortunate she wasn't around about a decade ago when a judge named Dennis Cashman presided in Adams County. He was among my favorite judges because he saw through the crap and he addressed the issues head on. He was compassionate and took everything into consideration, but if the defendant wasn't cooperating, he or she was going away for a long, long time.
But here's the real problem with sentencing a methhead like Hasting - she probably won't get cured in the Department of Corrections. She will serve a year or so in our overcrowded prison system and she'll get kicked back out on the streets, and because meth is such a horrendous addiction, she is likely to lapse back into bad habits.
We are getting better at addressing meth addiction with things like Drug Court, but the odds are stacked against her.
I guess we should feel safe for a while until she gets out again.
I taught her in grade school. This is sad.
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