Last week, President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 convicted criminals across the country. One of those commutations was for Jim Carlson, a Duluth man convicted of federal drug offenses.
Now, Sheriff Gordon Ramsay of St. Louis County, Minn., is calling that commutation “concerning and frustrating given the damage caused by Carlson’s actions.”
In 2012, law enforcement raided a Duluth store Carlson owned and operated as part of a crackdown on illegal synthetic drug sales. Carlson was eventually charged with 55 federal crimes. Many of those charges were offenses relating to drugs and controlled substances.
According to media reports from the time, Carlson said he did not knowingly sell anything illegal and therefore did not break the law. However, prosecutors argued that the store owner knowingly sold misbranded products intended to be used as recreational drugs.
Carlson was found guilty on 51 of the 55 federal charges in 2013 and was sentenced the following year to more than 17 years in prison.
“He used [Last Place on Earth] employees as guinea pigs for testing untested and unregulated drugs so that he could confirm that those drugs would ‘work’ on his customers. Some LPOE customers became addicted to the synthetic drugs sold by Carlson and suffered dangerous side effects, including tachycardia, paranoia, agitation, seizures, and black outs,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said at the time.
“According to documents filed in court, Duluth-area hospital emergency rooms treated a
significant number of synthetic drug users while LPOE was in operation. By 2012, the
emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital was receiving nearly three synthetic-drug-abuse cases each day. Of those, approximately 10 percent exhibited serious symptoms requiring the use of physical restraints and chemical sedatives or admission to the Intensive Care Unit or mental health ward. Each patient willing to disclose to hospital staff where they obtained the synthetic drugs they took, invariably reported obtaining the drugs from LPOE,” the office added.
In his statement denouncing Biden’s commutation of Carlson, Sheriff Ramsay said Carlson’s actions “contributed to the spread of addiction, increased crime and hurt the safety of our neighborhoods. Local businesses, bore the brunt of the disorder that stemmed from his illegal activity.”
Sheriff Ramsay, who served as the Duluth police chief when the Carlson case unfolded, further criticized President Biden’s decision, saying “leniency in cases like this sends the wrong message to those who exploit our communities for personal gain.”
Despite the commutation, Sheriff Ramsay expressed his commitment to “combating drug related crime” and said he will continue pursuing “justice for victims, supporting those in recovery, and working with our business and county leaders to build a safer and healthier future.”
In a recent appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., brought up Carlson’s case when asked about Biden’s recent commutations. The Minnesota senator indicated that she also was not a supporter of the commutation Carlson received.
According to a press release from the White House, the nearly 1,500 who were granted clemency by President Biden have “shown successful rehabilitation and a strong commitment to making their communities safer.” Carlson is listed among that group.
Additionally, the White House said the nearly 1,500 people granted clemency “were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities.”
The Constitution of the United States gives the president sole authority to grant either full pardons or commutations to individuals convicted of federal crimes.
Pardons restore full rights of citizenship to the recipient and can remove any penalties arising from the pardoned offense. Meanwhile, a commutation only reduces the recipient’s criminal sentence.
Carlson is currently under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons‘ Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office in Minneapolis. RRM Minneapolis supervises those on home confinement in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Carlson’s release date is set for Dec. 22 of this year.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
