Life without parole for minimal drug possession is cruel

Last week, The New York Times had a break-your-heart story of life without parole. The sidebar had four more biographies of lifers.

All these people were convicted of minimal drug possession. They didn't have anything to plea-bargain their offenses down to lesser charges because they were such small fish in the drug world.

They represent a pattern of incarceration that is cruel. And it is expensive. These men and women have all requested presidential pardons, most with the support of the judge who sentenced them. They've been denied.