Anyone reading this scenario will easily say that Michaela deserves to be rehabilitated and given a second chance at a new life, while Lucie should serve the rest of her life behind bars . again, everyone seems to agree with this, except the US legislature. They believe that Michaela and Lucie are equally guilty of committing a crime and breaking the law, and therefore should be equally guilty when it comes to deciding whether or not to serve their sentence. Scandalous? I agree. Mandatory minimum drug sentences had a very good case and were good enough to make it to trial when deciding how to end the war on drugs. Twenty years and many sad and terrifying cases later, we realize that mandatory minimum drug sentences do not actually lower the rate of drug-related crime. Instead, they help overcrowd prisons, take money away from taxpayers, and keep nonviolent offenders locked up for shockingly long periods of time, while instead allowing violent offenders to walk free among the rest of us. Mandatory minimums need to be eliminated and drug convictions need to be handled on a case-by-case basis as most are not committed with the intent to hurt anyone or