BACK TO PRISONERS
BACK TO PRISONERS
Back to prisoners
Part One

Fifth Avenue Was Always Jumpin’

"When I was a kid, we all used to hang out on Fifth Avenue in Chicago Heights. It was an ordinary block with young kids, older people and corrupt cops all hanging around."
- Reflections of Troy Lawrence
1992 - Chicago - Young Troy Lawrence

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. Every month, the same two officers patroled Fifth Avenue arresting young Black boys. In the fall of 1992, 17-year old Troy was repeatedly arrested for possessing $10 “dimebags” of cocaine. Troy pled guilty each time, mostly because he was tired of sitting in the local 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 triggered traps in America's criminal court system that would later contribute to his federal life sentence.

First strike
SECOND
strike
THIRD
strike
Age 17 - Troy possessed 1 gram of cocaine worth $10.
Sentence:
Boot Camp
Part Two

A Slap on the Wrist for Drug Dealing Cops

Between 1993 and 1996, five Chicago Heights police officers, the mayor and the deputy police chief all went to federal prison for drug dealing, extortion, bribery, money laundering and corruption.

In the early 1990s, the only thing more potent than the poverty in Chicago Heights was its corrupt police force. The same year that Chicago Heights officers arrested 17-year-old Troy Lawrence for selling $10 cocaine bags, the Chicago Heights police force accepted tens of thousands of dollars of bribe money to protect major drug kingpins. Chicago Heights police corruption even infected its highest ranks. Five Chicago Heights police officers were convicted of drug conspiracy, money laundering, and fabricating evidence.

Deputy police chief Sam Mangialardi landed in his own federal drug and corruption case in 1993 for accepting $10,000 per month from a drug kingpin. Police Chief Mangialardi was found guilty of extortion and narcotics conspiracy. Federal Judge Wayne Anderson sentenced the disgraced Chicago Heights police chief to just 10 years in prison.

First
strike
SECOND strike
THIRD
strike
Age 17 - Troy possessed $10 bags of cocaine.
Sentence:
Boot Camp
Part Three

A Profoundly Sad Thing

“Under the law, I don’t think I have any discretion but to sentence Troy Lawrence to life in prison. I find this to be a profoundly sad thing.”
- Federal Judge Wayne Anderson
Federal Judge Wayne Anderson (Ret.)

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.

In Troy's case, Judge Anderson was powerless from the bench and unable to impose a fair sentence. The federal prosecutor argued Troy’s teen drug convictions at age 17 required him to receive a mandatory life sentence. America's 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.”

First
strike
SECOND
strike
THIRD strike
Troy sold drugs around 5th Avenue in Chicago Heights, Illinois
Sentence:
Life in prison
Part Four

A Positive Force in a High Security Prison

“Troy Lawrence would quickly become a productive member of society”
- Associate Warden of Florence Federal Prison
Troy with his children during a prison visit

Troy has been locked away for over 16 years. He has taken all educational and vocational programs available to him. He has completed over 2000 hours of rehabilitation courses. He has taken college classes by mail.

For his rehabilitation, Troy has received unprecedented support from U.S.P. Florence’s Assistant Warden E.A. Earwin who supports Troy’s release from prison. Warden Earwin describes Troy as a “mature,” “positive force” who serves as a “model of consistency” for other prisoners.

It seems that Troy Lawrence took far less than the lifetime sentence imposed upon him to transform into a positive force. He hopes the American court system transforms during his lifetime as well.