Habitually Offending the Constitution: The Cruel and Unusual Consequences of Habitual Offender Laws and Mandatory Minimums
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HABITUALLY OFFENDING THE CONSTITUTION:
THE CRUEL AND UNUSUAL CONSEQUENCES OF HABITUAL
OFFENDER LAWS AND MANDATORY MINIMUMS
Abigail A. McNelis*
INTRODUCTION
Lee Carroll Brooker will die before seeing another day of free-
dom.' At the age of seventy-six years old, the disabled veteran cur-
rently sits in prison, waiting out the remainder of his days, serving a
mandatory life sentence for a non-violent drug charge.2 In 2011,
Brooker received a life sentence for a marijuana conviction.3 As a
veteran suffering from chronic pain, Brooker grew marijuana plants
behind his son's home.4 Brooker intended the marijuana only for per-
sonal use.5 During an unrelated home search, police recovered less
than three pounds of marijuana plants, which included unusable
pieces such as stalks and vines.'
On July 20, 2011, Investigator Ronald Hall of the Dothan Police
Department obtained written consent from Brooker's son, Darren, to
search the family home.7 Darren consented to the search in connec-
tion with an investigation into stolen bicycles.8 While searching the
house, investigators discovered a smaller growing operation in an
upstairs bedroom.9 Investigators decided to search outside the prem-
ises, and Brooker confirmed the presence of additional plants behind
the home.10 The multiple investigators on the scene discovered sev-
* Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, J.D. expected, 2018.
1 See Ex parte Brooker, 192 So. 3d 1 (Ala. 2015).
2 Editorial, Outrageous Sentences for Marijuana, N.Y. TIMES (Apr. 14, 2016), http://
www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/opinion/outrageous-sentences-for-marijuana.html?_r=l [hereinaf-
ter Outrageous Sentences].
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Ex parte Brooker, 192 So. 3d 1, 2 (Ala. 2015).
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id.
10 Id.
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Habitually Offending the Constitution: The Cruel and Unusual Consequences of Habitual Offender Laws and Mandatory Minimums
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