Troy Lawrence grew up in a muted greys of concrete and despair in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He lived within a pervasive fog of poverty where not much beyond arm’s reach could be seen or attained.

For Chicago Heights police, young Troy Lawrence was low-hanging fruit. In the fall of 1992, 17-year-old Troy was repeatedly arrested by two corrupt police officers. Every month, the same two officers patroled Fifth Avenue arresting young Black boys. Troy was repeatedly arrested for possessing $10 “dimebags” of cocaine. Troy pled guilty to all three arrests, mostly because he wanted to get out of jail. Troy was released after 120 days in a boot camp for young offenders. Youthful choices are often regretful. Troy didn’t know at the time that teenage mistakes would later contribute to his federal life sentence.

Years after Judge Wayne Anderson sentenced disgraced Chicago Heights police chief to 10 years in prison for dealing drugs and taking bribes, another Chicago Heights resident stood before the same judge: Troy Lawrence.

This time, Judge Anderson was powerless and unable to impose a fair sentence. The government prosecutor argued Troy’s teen drug convictions at age 17 required him to forfeit his entire life’s freedom. The 3 Strikes Drug Law left Judge Anderson no choice but to impose a “profoundly sad” sentence of life imprisonment. The judge told the courtroom: “In my gut, in my heart, the decision in my mind was, ‘Should Troy Lawrence be sentenced to life or should he receive some lesser sentence?’ But the debate in my mind as a trial judge had to end when I realized that the [3 Strikes Drug Law ] didn’t give me any choice.”