Cameron Douglas, Michael Douglas’ 31 year old son, was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday in what the sentencing judge called his “last chance to make it.” Cameron was pleaded guilty in January to charges of dealing large quantities of meth-amphetamine and cocaine.
Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones and 37 other family, friends and supporters submitted letters to U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who was overseeing the case, arguing that Cameron was really ready to turn his life around. Zeta-Jones wrote of her stepson, “He is a caring, considerate, worthy human being.” Michael empathized with his son’s difficulties. He wrote, “I have some idea of the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father. I do believe out of this adversity he will be a positive citizen. I don’t want to see him break.”
Cameron’s family was hoping Berman would consider sentencing him to time served, or three and a half years at most, but according to experts the five year term is actually a fairly light sentence. NBC’s chief legal analyst Dan Abrams said, “Some people may say, ‘Five years – that’s a lot of time.’ For this amount of drugs and these…crimes, this is a very lenient sentence.”
In fact, charges of conspiracy to distribute drugs carries a mandatory 10 years in prison by law. But it wasn’t appeals from famous family members that got Cameron’s sentence reduced – according to Berman, the government had agreed that Douglas qualified for a lesser sentence because he tried to cooperate with prosecutors in any way he could.
Berman pointed out that Cameron has been sober in prison since August, which is his longest drug-free period since he was a teenager. He hopes that the sentence will force Cameron to stay sober long enough to get clean for good. Cameron’s statement to the court seems to indicate he’s ready for that. He spoke of many missed opportunities to overcome his addiction. ”I squandered a lot of them,” he said. ”If I should be so fortunate as to have another chance, I will never squander that opportunity.”
