Pain sufferer tries to get painkiller drug sentence overturned

By Brian Cole

Published on May 26, 2006

“Without medication, it’s like his legs are on fire,� said Paey’s attorney, John Flannery.

Paey was sentenced in 2004 and is currently serving 25 years in prison. His lawyers argue that it is cruel and unusual punishment to convict a man for merely possessing the medications he was prescribed.

“We treat a person who is a patient as a criminal by the fact that he requires medicine for his condition?,� Flannery asked, “Because that is what we have here.�

To display his client’s need for the pain killers, Flannery said Paey is currently being provided with more medication in prison than he was taking before he was arrested.

The Florida state attorney’s office says Paey had a “little self-inclusive prescription factory running from his house.�

It is not known when the judge hearing the appeal will make a ruling.

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