Recently, Attorney Jellison successfully shortened a client's cumulative 30 year sentence by ten years, moving his first parole date up by five years. This client was convicted of two non-violent property-based crimes in the space of six months. Middlesex County tried those cases separately and sought “habitual offender” indictments in both cases. The second trial judge ran the client's mandatory maximum sentences consecutively, leading to a cumulative 30 year sentence. Without the habitual offender statute, guidelines would suggest no more than 6 years of incarceration. Three strikes laws are draconian, and should be examined and abandoned in Massachusetts. It is all too easy for black and brown people who have struggled with poverty and addiction over a lifetime to qualify for devastating and disproportionate sentences. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court provided all relief possible after reviewing the client's offense, age, and current medical condition.