Comment by throwaway04324

I'm not an American, but I have seen similar cases from my own country. The reactions varies a lot. Some people are well connected or are lucky enough to get media coverage, that forces the government to act.

Example:

1. A "stoner" didn't have enough money to pay a bribe in India after a "random" drug search (small amount of cannabis) and spent several years in prison and was sick most of the time due to the conditions. Almost no reaction from the government... in the end someone in the Indian government pardoned him for humanitarian reasons because he had suffered enough.

2. Two upper-class young girls smuggled several kg of heroin and was caught. The government moved heaven and earth to get them to serve prison time in their home country.