20-year mandatory minimum sentence for Ronald Thompson

Man fires two shots into the ground and gets a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence. The judge tried to give him three years instead of the mandatory 20 but was overturned on appeal. This is an especially brutal sentence because the man is sick and elderly. The sentence does not make more sense if he were young and healthy: firing two shots into the ground shouldn't put anyone into prison. (Via Families Against Mandatory Minimums) Read the whole article.