Kyle W. Sawin, 17, was arrested on charges that he sold enough marijuana to roll about a half-dozen joints to an undercover police officer; the transaction allegedly took place in a parking lot in Great Barrington, Mass., about a four-minute walk to a local elementary school and middle school. Both were closed for the summer when the deal took place.

A jury recently deadlocked in the case, but Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless plans to try the case again, and says he plans to charge Sawin again under the drug-free school zone law, which carries the mandatory sentences. Capeless has been urged to offer Sawin a plea-bargain in the case, but has refused.

"By not making exceptions, we're being evenhanded and fair," said Capeless.  "We feel it's been effective in combating the drug problem as it relates to kids. If there's a violation in a school zone, we're going to prosecute."

The case has drawn criticism both locally and nationally. "The notion that taking kids and putting them behind bars for two years in the name of justice is only going to increase the likelihood of ruining their lives," said Ethan Nadelman, executive director of the New York City-based Drug Policy Alliance.  "You're derailing these kids for life. You're eliminating the possibility that they'll become productive adult citizens down the road."

Great Barrington resident Erik Bruun, an investment advisor, founded Concerned Citizens for Appropriate Justice to advocate for Sawin and other teens facing similar drug charges. "There's no question that drug dealing was going on in the parking lot, and there's no question it was a problem that needed to be dealt with," Bruun said. "If these kids were selling drugs from their lockers, I have no problem with a prison sentence. But the punishment of two years in prison for a first-time offense of selling marijuana in a parking lot that isn't really near a school is excessive."

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