Conservative, Reagan appointed judge TS Ellis, really struggles with long mandatory sentences, as was evident two weeks ago in his deliberations about a drug dealer, when the judge said;

“This situation presents me with something I have no discretion to change and the only thing I can do is express my displeasure,” Ellis said last week as he sentenced Frederick Turner, 37, to a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine. “I chafe a bit at that, but I follow the law. If I thought it was blatantly immoral, I’d have to resign. It’s wrong, but not immoral.”

40 years –  mandatory minimum!

This is  the judge who just sentenced Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort to less than four years for colluding with foreign entities and cheating the American people of over thirty million dollars. The “recommended” sentence was 19 -24 years. I guess he made up for the “wrong but not immoral” sentence of the drug dealer