After all, he had been arrested for the possession and distribution of marijuana twice before. Once in 1984, and again in 1991. Both carried relatively light sentences compared to what he was facing. Though he didn't know it at the time, he was about to become the latest victim of the drug war, as well as Missouri's draconian "3 strikes" law.

Unbeknownst to him, the two men on the other half of the deal had been recently arrested, and agreed to sell out their "co-conspirators" in exchange for leniency. Mizanskey ended up with the short end of the stick, and due to his prior history was facing the longest sentence. The prosecutor offered him 25 years in prison if he pleaded guilty, but he refused. After losing the trial, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

All this for a man accused of a victimless crime, and no history of violence whatsoever. Mizanskey, who is now 61, has spent more than 20 years in prison. And what he has witnessed during this time really puts things in perspective. By his own count, he has seen over 200 rapists and murderers come and go (and sometimes come back again) from his cell block.