Michael Douglas' Son Sentenced for Drugs, Prison Time Doubled
A Manhattan district judge nearly doubled the prison time for Cameron Douglas from five years to nine-and-a-half years for repeated drug offenses while in prison.
Cameron Douglas, 33, son of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas and grandson of legendary actor Kirk Douglas, had received a five-and-a-half year sentence last year after pleading guilty to selling methamphetamines out of a high-end Manhattan hotel in July 2009.
According to The Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman cited Douglas’ "history of reckless behavior" when he handed out the harsh sentence.
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Earlier this year, Douglas testified as part of a deal with the government at a drug supplier's trial to receive a more lenient sentence. He testified that he had been addicted to heroin five years before his arrest in 2009.
The cooperation allowed him to dodge the mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison that the charges to which he pleaded otherwise required.
Berman added four-and-half-years years to the five-year term he gave Douglas last year when he recently pleaded guilty for successfully smuggling drugs into prison. The sentence is more than double what prosecutors were actually seeking.
The judge said he had never had a case before in which a defendant "[had] so recklessly, wantonly, flagrantly and criminally acted in such a destructive and manipulative fashion as Cameron Douglas has."
Judge Berman also criticized the government for indulging Douglas after repeated violations of prison rules. Violations included four instances in which a lawyer smuggled anti-anxiety prescription drugs into prison for Douglas in her bra.
The lawyer entered a deferred prosecution agreement which allowed the charges to be dropped if she kept out of trouble for six months.
Douglas and his lawyers pleaded with the judge for another chance to get medical treatment for his drug addiction instead of more prison time. Judge Berman rebuffed their request, saying that Cameron’s father Michael Douglas told authorities that his son had been treated six or seven times for drug addiction, but never completed the treatments.
"I cannot seem to find comfort within my own skin," said Douglas according to AP. "I feel ashamed. I feel defeated… I know that I bear in my heart what it will take to overcome this plague."
