Justice For Drug Offenses Or Just Ice Cold?

The older brother finds himself feeling obligated to help his brother Sonny who is put into jail for selling heroin, this obligation comes from the promise he had made to their mother. In these two stories each

The documentary “Unguarded” by Chris Herren is a story about drug abuse. Chris Herren, a former NBA player was addicted to heroin and painkillers. In his story he talks about how the world of drugs can change your life. Chris Herren, who had such a big income decides he would rather spend it on drugs. His life has changed insensibly and now he goes around the world educating students, soldiers, and people in rehab centers about the dangers of drug addiction. He tells again and again, wherever he can, in the hope that he can help people avoid the mistakes that nearly killed him.

The central idea in the story “Sonny’s Blues,” by James Baldwin, is that it is hard to understand someone’s struggles without truly understanding whom he or she is. The narrator learned that his brother, Sonny, was arrested for using heroin. He revealed that they have become very distant, which he then explained with flashbacks. He thought he understood Sonny and falsely assumed his reasons for what seemed to be poor choices only to learn that they saved his life.

The story opens with a crisis in their relationship. The narrator reads in the newspaper that Sonny was taken into custody in a drug raid. He learns that Sonny is addicted to heroin and that he will be sent to a treatment facility to be “cured.” Unable to believe that his gentle and quiet brother could have so abused himself, the narrator cannot reopen communication with Sonny until a second crisis occurs, the death of his daughter from polio. When Sonny is released, the narrator brings him to live with his family.

Drug courts improve lawbreakers mental wellbeing, allowing for a halt of criminal activity. Improvements of wellbeing is a result of drug courts. A study from Mendoza et al (2013, p.787) found psychological symptoms have a significant impact on the completion of drug courts, implicating the likelihood of relapse and recidivism. There is a clear relationship between the completion of drug courts and a reduction of substance abuse and child wellbeing; allowing many drug affected families becoming reunified (Child & McIntyre, 2015, p.67,85). A study from Boles et al displayed that children reunified with offenders who partake in drug court treatments are safe from repeated mistreatment when compared with children not associated with drug court treatments (Boles et al cited in Child & McIntyre, 2015). It is clear drug courts increase mental wellbeing and allow for offenders to return to a family orientated

The Larimer County 8th Judicial District Adult Drug Court program is a governmental agency that provides helps to individuals within the judicial system with drug abuse related offenses gain the tools for success to become a positive member of the community. The clients in this program have voluntarily chosen to be in this program and follow the terms and conditions of their probation as signed by a drug court contract that follows there terms and conditions set by the court. This may seem like a forced step or little step to some, but in reality, this is the first biggest step for drug abuse individuals because it means they are admitting they have a problem with drug abuse. Now it’s the Adult Drug Court team’s opportunity to provide the

In her article “The meteoric, costly and unprecedented rise of incarceration in America”, Badger reports that between 1980 and 2010, the incarceration rate for drug crimes increased ten folds. This was consequence of the “war on drugs”, a corollary to Lyndon Johnson’s “war on crime” and laws enacted by Congress where “mandatory minimum” sentences and “Three strikes laws” took effect.

The narrator Sonny’s older brother had a difficult time accepting that his youngest brother had fallen victim to the Harlem streets. The narrator discovers that Sonny has been arrested in a drug raid for using and selling heroin, and that information did not sit well with him, he then began to reminisce on the brother he once knew, he remembered the brightness and livelihood he once endured. The narrator had been a teacher and he often saw the same potential in the students that he had once saw in Sonny, on the way home narrator had ran into an old friend of Sonny’s. Sonny’s friend had also been a drug addict, the narrator and the friend began to talk about Sonny and how his life was and how it would continue to be. Time passed and the narrator did not reach out to Sonny, until his youngest daughter Grace dies. He wrote to Sonny explaining why he ended where he was in life. Sonny

Earlier in the story, the narrator found it hard to believe that his brother would slip into such an evil addiction. This letter written by Sonny portrays just how excruciatingly difficult addiction is to overcome. He describes the agony of not being able to use heroin in prison. The author uses the letter as a window into Sonny’s story. For the first time the audience is not receiving the bias opinion of the narrator (Sonny’s brother), who has only read the story from the newspaper.

Thousands of dollars spent in doctors, detoxes, rehab camps, and he was there for his son every single time he fell into the same pit again, and again and again. "When she was singing before – said Sonny, abruptly–, her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like sometimes – when it's in your veins. It makes you feel sort of warm and cool at the same time” (242). This phrase felt almost like the despair in my dad’s eyes while telling us how my brother used to shake and sweat and get cold and hot and hallucinate because he needed drugs; and how tired he was, but still he never gave up. I remember the day Albert died, he wasn’t on drugs, he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t with some bad guys; he was home, it was totally unexpected.

This bitter conversation with the drug user would also be regeneration for the narrator. The drug user states he feels somewhat responsible in Sonny's arrest. In turn, the narrator faces the fact that he feels somewhat responsible for Sonny's arrest. As a result of his guilt and interest in Sonny, the narrator starts to ask the drug user specific questions regarding Sonny's disposition. The drug user has knowledge of the never-ending cycle of abusing drugs and shares this information with the narrator. In return, the older brother feels a regeneration of care for the drug user, who his is viewing as Sonny. This encounter concludes by the drug user requesting money from the narrator. The narrator feels sensitive of the drug users struggles (and failures) in life and gives him more money than requested.

The same internal struggles that Sonny’s brother faced are similar to the internal struggles I faced when it came to my own brother. My family had tried for years to get my father help, to no avail. It was an internal struggle to want to help my brother because of the loss of my dad, and his unwillingness to change. The internal fight stopped when I realized that he is family, and he deserves every chance at getting clean just like we tried with our father.

Many people in Harlem are unable to break free of its barriers. Many people living in this area end up doing drugs and getting themselves into more trouble than they asked for. The perfect example of this is Sonny, who was thrown into prison after the use of drugs. There is biblical context within this story that united the two brothers back together after not talking to each other for years. The narrator’s daughter dies while Sonny is in prison and Sonny decides to write a letter to his brother to show his sympathy. The daughter’s death is a symbol of a Christ-like figure because she died to restore the relationship between the two brothers. After the death of his daughter, the narrator realizes he did not keep his promise to his mother about

A significant difference in the means for sentence length exists between men and women for the offenses rape, child sexual assault, and forcible sodomy. In each of these offense categories, men are, on average, sentenced to longer, or harsher, prison terms. It is interesting to note here, too, that the offense that had the most even ratio of men to women and the largest number of offenders, sexual assault, showed no significant differences in sentence length between men and women…Rape, as it typically manifests itself in a violent manner, would demonstrate the most egregious break in gender roles. However, the data suggest men receive harsher penalties, evidenced by a higher mean sentence length. In addition,

Once this girl started with the drugs, she could not stop. As soon as she tried the first drug, it lead to all of the other drugs and things that she did. Her first time doing the drug was an accident, and she did not know, but she made the wrong choice in continuing to do them. She said it gave her a feeling of belonging and love that she had never felt before. If her parents or her close friends had paid more attention to her, then some of the events that happened would not have happened. Her heavy drug use lead to her runaway from home to the streets, involvement in crime, her prostitution, and her visit to the insane asylum. She found a "best friend" (Chris) - one that would give her drugs - and they decided to runaway and leave their family and friends to start their own shop in San Francisco. They thought they could not handle their parents telling them what is right and what is wrong, but that is what they needed to hear. They were naive in thinking they could live their lives alone without any rules or any authority.