Pilot with terminal cancer caught smuggling drugs into Australia sentanced to 9 months jail - Polidicks

[quote]A pilot has been sentenced to nine months in jail for taking part in an international drug ring by flying a small plane thought to have been carrying drugs into Australia. Wollongong father Bernhard Stevermuer, 43, pleaded guilty in February after a plane was raided by police at Illawarra Regional Airport last July, following a Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad investigation into drug supply in the Sydney metropolitan area. Police said Stevermuer had $70,000 in cash, his payment for flying the plane from the United States across the Pacific. Stevermuer's lawyer Mark Savic unsuccessfully argued that his cancer-suffering client took part in the deal because of his love of flying and wanting to secure his family's finances. Mr Savic said Stevermuer's prognosis was that he had a 10 per cent survival rate over the next five years, but he was in remission. He said "the excitement of flying a light aircraft all the way from the US back to Australia was a huge inducement in itself". "His love of flying caused him to be blind," Mr Savic said. Mr Savic described his client as a trustworthy, generous man who had contributed significantly to the aviation community.[/quote] [url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-22/cancer-suffering-pilot-jailed-over-drug-importation-flight/6490462[/url]

His reason for doing it, however noble and agreeable, does not negate the crime.

It's a really unfortunate situation, but the reality is, it's not a risk unless there's repercussions, and he was taking a big risk.

Shitty situation all round, I'm not sure I'd turn down an offer like that if I knew I had a relatively high chance of kicking the bucket. I mean, who wouldn't want to leave their loved ones something to help them after you're gone? I can't imagine how destroyed I'd be if I got sentenced to 9 months, knowing I'd spend the few remaining years of my life in jail.

Well, 9 months for drug smuggling isn't really bad at all, if he got caught in Malaysia, we all know what fate would be waiting for him. Lets hope he survives the cancer and gets to stand free again.

Damn this makes me sad, he's gonna spend 9 months in jail and risk dying out of reach of his family. Knowing that you are going to die soon makes you do strange things, from what I have observed with my uncle who died from cancer. Let the man go, christ. He just wanted to fly.

Can't say I wouldn't do the same. If I had a pretty high chance of dying soon, I'd want to live it on the edgiest of edges too.

Did he not watch past the pilot of Breaking Bad? It doesn't turn out to be a very good way to provide for your family. [editline]22nd May 2015[/editline] Doesn't say what drugs he was muling but frankly I'd be fine if we lightened up on imprisonment for it. Don't think locking him up does any good.

Not that the context makes what he did ok, but I can't say that I don't understand why he did it. Life is a huge bitch sometimes isn't it?

[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;47778679]His reason for doing it, however noble and agreeable, does not negate the crime.[/QUOTE] Noble? It's literally "liked doing it and wanted money" or is there something I'm missing here

Does Australia not have any form of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassionate_release]compassionate release[/url]? At least in the US, there would be almost no chance of this guy actually serving that sentence in jail if he was terminally ill.

[QUOTE=MuTAnT;47778940]Did he not watch past the pilot of Breaking Bad? It doesn't turn out to be a very good way to provide for your family.[/QUOTE] Highsenberg?

[quote]Stevermuer's lawyer Mark Savic unsuccessfully argued that his cancer-suffering client took part in the deal because of his love of flying and wanting to secure his family's finances.[/quote] Is the Breaking Bad defense going to end up as an actual thing now?

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;47778753]Well, 9 months for drug smuggling isn't really bad at all, if he got caught in Malaysia, we all know what fate would be waiting for him. Lets hope he survives the cancer and gets to stand free again.[/QUOTE] If it were in Malaysia, the judges there would probably stay still thinking werther they'd execute him or let the cancer do it for them.

[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;47778679]His reason for doing it, however noble and agreeable, does not negate the crime.[/QUOTE] I dont think it's very noble considering he was trying to make his family money at the expense of people directly affected by the drug trade.

[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;47778679]His reason for doing it, however noble and agreeable, does not negate the crime.[/QUOTE] Understandable but not noble.

[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;47780180]Is the Breaking Bad defense going to end up as an actual thing now?[/QUOTE] Honestly, it should - if affluenza can have weight in court, why can't the opposite? Is it so inconceivable to think that one might be driven to do illegal things by the love they feel towards their family and the desire to provide for them, to such an extent that they consciously ignore or unconsciously lose sight of their moral compass in their attempts to do so?

[QUOTE=FreakyMe;47782337]Honestly, it should - if affluenza can have weight in court, why can't the opposite? Is it so inconceivable to think that one might be driven to do illegal things by the love they feel towards their family and the desire to provide for them, to such an extent that they consciously ignore or unconsciously lose sight of their moral compass in their attempts to do so?[/QUOTE] No its not inconceivable to think that. I totally understand the reasoning behind it, it still doesn't make it legal.

[IMG]https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10408672_10206074754095230_609260637696744931_n.jpg?oh=a8a8eee3533dd740dcde10d8b72ad0b9&oe=5603D4C3[/IMG] But in seriousness, hope it all gets figures out for his family.

[QUOTE=InvaderNouga;47782509]No its not inconceivable to think that. I totally understand the reasoning behind it, it still doesn't make it legal.[/QUOTE] It's not that it suddenly makes it legal, but it gives cause for special consideration in sentencing and towards the weight and impact of punishment on their and their family's lives. Could he not be under house arrest? He is a terminally ill cancer patient who's had his grand adventure. I don't think he is going to make a career of it - I think he's sated, and that an ankle bracelet would do a lot less harm than a prison cell. Consider the impact of depression on the immune system and the body's ability to fight illness. Though he may be terminal, his cancer could take longer than predicted to kill him. By placing him in a prison cell, they may very well be sentencing him to a quicker death as well as the loss of his remaining time with his family.