Marion Barry has gotten into trouble time after time. This time, the former mayor-for-life is being tried for not paying his taxes for six years, and, by extension, violating the terms of his plea agreement by testing positive for cocaine and marijuana use. Though he served six months in jail for cocaine possession in the early 1990s (and, somehow, was elected as mayor for a fourth term thereafter), it seems that he has yet to learn his lesson.

How is it that other public officials are accosted for both major and minor blips on the radar screen are usually not re-elected to represent their constituencies, yet Barry seems to have a never-ending supply of second chance cards? He is a public official who is supposed to serve the interests of the citizens of Ward 8 and, once upon a time, that of the District as a whole. But he keeps getting caught in various predicaments. Of course, part of the issue are the citizens who continually support Barry and elect him to public office.

That aside, do you think that, perhaps, Barry should go to jail for 18 months and get the $100,000 fine? Besides his disregard for drug laws, he didn’t pay taxes for six years. If any “regular folks” did that, they’d most certainly end up with some time in the slammer. Should this wayward public official be put away in hopes of finally coming out clean? Or is mandatory substance abuse counseling coupled with probation something that might better serve that purpose? What do you think Barry’s sentence should be?

Image courtesy of NBC 4.