“In some cases, drug dealers are convicted and given sentences of up to 10 years only to serve less than half of that.”
As the United States faces a crippling opioid crisis, communities across the nation suffer the consequences. Lives and families are torn apart by ever-present and growing drug addiction. Many rural areas have been ravaged by drugs. Towns that were once relatively safe and peaceful find their streets running rampant with illegal drugs and those addicted. A gruesome example of how drugs ruin lives recently made headlines when a 20-year-old girl gouged out her own eyes while high on meth. While law enforcement officials across the United States grapple with the ongoing drug crises, citizens and innocent bystanders must deal with the devastating effects.
During a rally in Pennsylvania, President Trump received positive feedback from the crowd when he suggested drug dealers in America should qualify for the death penalty or life imprisonment. He praised Asian nations like China and Singapore, where there’s a zero-tolerance stance on drugs. These countries also impose harsh punishments for drug offenses. While I believe sentences for drug dealers should be tough, these countries don’t have a constitution like the United States. They don’t operate using the same laws, rights, and morals as the United States.
When inmates are sentenced to death in the United States, it’s a very long and expensive process. There are inmates who have been on death row for decades. High-level drug traffickers are almost always capable of violence in other forms. While convicted murderers have been shown to possess intent to kill, drug dealers walk the thin line. They contribute to astronomical numbers of deaths in the United States due to overdose and other actions taken while under the influence. The justice system just doesn’t see their actions as murder.
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Like murder, drug offenses are currently sentenced based on severity. A low-level marijuana dealer is more likely to receive a slap on the wrist than an individual distributing meth. However, there are flaws in the justice system that allow drug dealers to face minimum sentences. In some cases, drug dealers are convicted and given sentences of up to 10 years only to serve less than half of that. While I don’t think the death penalty should be used on drug dealers, I agree with President Trump that life sentences need to be imposed on the worst. Many distributors are themselves addicted and should be court-mandated to rehabilitation programs while serving their sentences.
I find it difficult to understand how white-collar crime is punished more severely than indirectly causing the deaths of millions of people by distributing dangerous substances. Drug dealers take up their profession to cut corners in life. No consideration is given to the victims. Meth labs are fast-growing in rural areas, where the devastation of drugs has altered entire communities. Children are becoming addicted to street drugs at an early age. Drug dealers don’t care, as long as they are making sales. A sentence of life imprisonment for traffickers and dealers would assist in deterring those looking to enter the business.
