SECOND CHANCE- In May 2007, my father was arrested by U.S Marshalls, they had been investigating him for over a year. There was a sealed indictment on him & he was being charged with conspiracy to traffic meth. My dads trial lasted 3 days, December 19th 2007, my 17th birthday, the jury found him guilty. I will never forget that day. Life as I knew it changed forever, my whole world was shattered. My dad was sentenced to not one, but three life sentences in Fedral prison. It was a huge smack in the face, I never seen it coming, hadn’t even considerd such a harsh punishment. My father was a drug dealer, a non-violent offender. He wasn’t a murderer, or a rapist, he sold drugs. He made a living from this, he raised my brothers & I by myself. He done what he had to do to take care of us, he done the best he could do. He was & still is a great dad. He made some bad chooses , but that don’t make him a bad person. It blows my mind that in the United States of America, a non-violent drug offender can be sentenced to life & death in prison. Murderers can serve a 6-8 year sentence, for taking another human beings life and are allowed to return to society. A life sentence in the Federal System is pretty much a very slow death. Most offenders die in prison, there is no reduction, no good behavior, nothing to reduce the sentence. My father missed out on so much of our lives because he was in prison. He wasn’t around to teach the boys how to drive a car or see any of us get our actual drivers licences. My dad wasn’t at my high school graduation, he didn’t get to see any of his children walk across the stage & receive a diploma. He became a papaw to 2 grand children, one of which, he still hasn’t held or laid eyes one. My children don’t know there papaw, & it brakes my heart. I know he could b e such a positive influence in there life , a wonderful grandparent to both of them. I My dad has been locked up a long time, he has paid for his mistakes, he realizes he was wrong & has a new, positive outlook on life. My father has had a change of heart. He wants to mentor young adults who believe that selling drugs is the way to provide their family. He wants people to know that it was not worth losing his freedom nor his life for. It is not fair, nor safe, that sex offenders and murders walk around enjoying their freedom when they have physically, mentally, and emotionally harmed other person. Yet, my dad, has never been violent in his life and is expected to die in prison all because he wanted to provide the best way he knew how to. Murderers and rapist get way less time and I just don’t understand how or why. He deserves a second chance. His kids deserve there dad again. If he was granted his freedom, we could be a normal & happy family for once. My kids would know what it is like to have a papaw, he would actually be able to meet them, hold them, play with them. He would be free man, and he would live a sober life, thankful for every second of it. He deserves a second chance, and be able to start over in life.