John Horner, 50-year old father of 3 in Florida, USA, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking because he sold his unused painkillers to a "friend". John was prescribed painkillers in 2000 after losing an eye in an accident. Several years later he make friends with a man who asked to buy the pills to help with his own pain. John did not accept any money until the day he was arrested. The "friend" was a police informant who was trying to get his own time reduced. John was arrested and was sentenced in October 2012 to 25 years - due to tough mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking introduced into some states in the 1980's.
He will be 72 by the time he is released. You can read BBC's story here or you can listen to his story here. You can also join this Facebook Pardon group. You can watch my personal video here.

"The laws for non violent drug offences, especially where possession is being called trafficking and given 25 year minimum mandatory sentencing are unjust and inhumane. Minimum mandatory sentencing allows prosecutors to railroad defendants into plea bargains with little to know effort on proving the quality of the case against them. Due to the possibility of serving an incomprehensibly lengthy prison term, a defendant without the means to afford private counsel to pose a costly defense must accept whatever offers are made to them, whether guilty or innocent. Judges should have the discretion to weigh the merits of each case and defendant independently and the sole right to impose a just sentence. In the past few years Florida’s prison population has skyrocketed, and now stands above 100,000, a 20 percent increase from just five years ago and the third highest in the country. The costs associated with our prison population have exploded as well. In 1987, for every dollar spent on higher education, Florida spent 34 cents on corrections; today, it spends 66 cents. A significant portion of the increase in Florida’s prison population can be attributed to Florida’s harsh mandatory minimum sentences. For instance, Florida law defines drug “trafficking” as possession of a given weight of illegal drugs, and possession of 28 grams of illegal painkillers triggers a mandatory minimum 25-year prison sentence; no intent to distribute is required to trigger the mandatory minimum sentence. For perspective, the same crime in Texas carries a two-year sentence. While no doubt well-intentioned, Florida’s laws leave no room for a judge to determine whether a particular defendant deserves the sentence prescribed by the statute. This often leads to unjust outcomes." Quote origin