In 1988, a small-time drug dealer became the first man charged under a new, harsh drug law signed by then-President Ronald Reagan. Almost 30 years later, President Barack Obama granted a sentence commutation to Richard Van Winrow, a literal posterboy for the history of America's drug war. When he was 22 years old, Winrow was arrested in his mother's home in Los Angeles, California, with 151.9 grams of crack cocaine, a scale, a gun and $3,209 (£2,444) in cash. It was not his first bust - he had been arrested three times over the course of three months with tiny amounts of the same drug, and admitted he was a dealer. Winrow was sentenced to life in prison under a brand new law. He was the...
