Mandatory Sentencing
Destiny Barron
Bridget Murphy
English 1202
Argumentative Research Paper
April 16, 2014
One Strike and You Are Out
Mostly anyone these days can say that they have known or can identify a person who is suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction. From the addicts that we hear about, come the stories of stupidity, irrational decision making, and sometimes jail time. Some of the abusers commit crimes and do not fully understand the repercussions of their impulsive actions. For any addict, your destiny may depend merely on the weight of the drug you are caught with, where you are caught, or who you are caught selling the drug to. There was a Florida man, Jack Horner, a 46-year-old restaurant worker, who got hooked on painkillers after an eye injury in the year 2000. Horner sold $1800 dollars’ worth of his painkillers to a new "friend" who turned out to be a police informant. He received twenty five years in the state penitentiary. Jack did not have any prior criminal record but still received the minimum prison sentence of twenty five years behind bars. He will not get out of prison until he is 72 years old. He left behind three young daughters which he will never get to see on the “outside” again. Every person will have an opinion to this story but the length of time that a person is taken away from society and placed behind bars because of a fight with morality; should be prominent in our minds. Was this the correct sentence for the crime committed? Would everyone identify Jack Horner as a criminal that deserves this twenty five year sentence for selling pain killers? If every American who has ever possessed illicit drugs were punished for it, nearly half of the U.S. population would have drug violations on their records. (Drug Policy Alliance) Prison populations have soared between the fifty states since the end of the twentieth century and inner city residents, especially African Americans and Hispanics, seemed to be the primary target for drug related
Bridget Murphy
English 1202
Argumentative Research Paper
April 16, 2014
One Strike and You Are Out
Mostly anyone these days can say that they have known or can identify a person who is suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction. From the addicts that we hear about, come the stories of stupidity, irrational decision making, and sometimes jail time. Some of the abusers commit crimes and do not fully understand the repercussions of their impulsive actions. For any addict, your destiny may depend merely on the weight of the drug you are caught with, where you are caught, or who you are caught selling the drug to. There was a Florida man, Jack Horner, a 46-year-old restaurant worker, who got hooked on painkillers after an eye injury in the year 2000. Horner sold $1800 dollars’ worth of his painkillers to a new "friend" who turned out to be a police informant. He received twenty five years in the state penitentiary. Jack did not have any prior criminal record but still received the minimum prison sentence of twenty five years behind bars. He will not get out of prison until he is 72 years old. He left behind three young daughters which he will never get to see on the “outside” again. Every person will have an opinion to this story but the length of time that a person is taken away from society and placed behind bars because of a fight with morality; should be prominent in our minds. Was this the correct sentence for the crime committed? Would everyone identify Jack Horner as a criminal that deserves this twenty five year sentence for selling pain killers? If every American who has ever possessed illicit drugs were punished for it, nearly half of the U.S. population would have drug violations on their records. (Drug Policy Alliance) Prison populations have soared between the fifty states since the end of the twentieth century and inner city residents, especially African Americans and Hispanics, seemed to be the primary target for drug related