He memorably used his Emmy
winning speech last month to lament the U.S. prison system for not
allowing him to visit his incarcerated son Cameron in jail.
And
Michael Douglas has now received support in his quest from non profit
organisation the Drug Policy Alliance who have a launched a petition
urging Attorney General Eric Holder to change his tough stance on
non-violent drug offenders.
The petition, posted by Alliance activist Tony Papa on Change.Org is trying to pressure Holder and Cameron's prison warden John Caraway to allow families like the Douglases to see their loved ones in prison.
Petition: Tony Papa from the Drug Policy
Alliance has launched a petition urging the Attorney General to allow
Michael Douglas to see his son Cameron in prison
Cameron, the only child of Michael
and his first wife Diandra, was convicted in 2010 of selling
methamphetamine and possession of heroin. A year later, his sentence was
increased by Judge Richard Berman when he failed a drug test and pleaded guilty to possessing drugs in prison.
The 34-year-old is currently in incarcerated at the Federal Corrections Institute in Cumberland, Maryland.
'Cameron is currently serving nine and a
half years of hard time for a nonviolent drug conviction and is being
punished because of his drug addiction,' Papa writes in his post.
'District Court Judge Berman whacked Cameron with additional time for what is essentially Cameron's bad drug habit,' he adds.
Imploring: Michael Douglas gave a shout out to his son Cameron in his Emmy speech last month
Michael brought attention to Cameron's plight after winning won the award for
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Movie of
Miniseries for his role as Liberace in Behind The Candelabra.
Long road: Cameron is scheduled for release from prison in 2018, pictured in a mugshot in 2007
'A shout-out to my oldest son Cameron, but hopefully I'll be able to see him soon,' he said in his speech.
The 69-year-old actor further explained his comments in a post-awards press conference.
'[Cameron] has spent almost two years in solitary
confinement,' Michael said. 'Right now I’ve been told that I can’t see him for two years.
It’s been over a year now.
'I'm
questioning the system. At first I was certainly disappointed with my
son, but I've reached a point now where I'm disappointed with the
system.'
Papa, an advocate for Cameron, agrees -
telling Radar: 'Every father should be able to see his imprisoned son.
At first, Michael blamed his son for the mess he got into, but now, he
is questioning the Bureau of Prisons and asking why he is being
prevented from visiting his son for two years.
'Prison
does not end at the prison wall… It severely affects the family members
and loved ones of those who are incarcerated. Michael Douglas is being
punished for his son’s drug addiction.'
Papa's post goes on to relay how the Alliance helped Cameron appeal the near-doubling of his sentence as 'excessive
and unjust,' presenting a brief which argued that addiction treatment
rather than jail time would be more helpful to him.
Harsh
sentence: Cameron is still not
allowed to have any visitors as part of his punishment, pictured with
his father in LA in 2009
'In that brief, experts contended
that Cameron’s drug relapse behind bars was not surprising, noting the
lack of adequate drug treatment in the nation's prisons and jails,
particularly for opioid-dependent persons,' writes Papa.
'They
urged corrections officials to remedy this situation as a critical step
to breaking the cycle of addiction that affects the great majority of
people incarcerated in the U.S.'
Cameron's appeal was denied and he was taken into solitary confinement with 'many
privileges taken away, including phone calls and visits with family,'
adds Papa, bemoaning the government's policy of 'locking up inmates with
drug addictions rather than giving them treatment.'
He continues: 'Hopefully Michael Douglas will be able to visit his son and the issue of
punitive punishment such as this will change and individuals with
similar circumstances will be provided relief.'
Outraged:
Michael Douglas' ex-wife Diandra slammed the 'barbaric' treatment of
their son Cameron at the Cumberland Federal Prison in Maryland, pictured
with Michael in 2010
Cameron's mother Diandra has also questioned her son's treatment in prison, claiming to TMZ that he was 'treated like an animal' while in solitary confinement, and that she too wants to visit him.
Diandra told TMZ that when Cameron
left solitary he had to stay out the sun because his skin would burn
after he had spent so long underground.
She said his hair was also falling out as a result of his poor treatment.
Cameron himself has also spoken out against the policy, calling the system 'outdated' on a blog on the Huffington Post.
'This outdated system pays little, if
any, concern to the disease of addiction, and instead punishes it more
harshly than many violent crimes,' he wrote. 'And even more exasperating
is that many of the people responsible for this tragedy disregard
documented medical research and the reality of our country's
unsustainable prison overpopulation.
He is due for release in 2018.
Inhumane: Diandra said when
Cameron left solitary he had to stay out the sun because his skin would
burn after he had spent so long underground, pictured as a family in
1993
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