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It's hard to reconcile Trump's talk about the death penalty for drug trafficking with this initiative. They ought to name it the Drug Dealer Revolving Door Act. The details of the case that involved the perp cited here are pretty damning. This guy was a big time dealer:

1. For several years, petitioner, a 24-year-old, traf ficked in large quantities of high-grade marijuana. He also distributed cocaine and other narcotics. During that time, petitioner affiliated himself with Varrio Loco Town (VLT), a violent street gang. Consistent with his gang affiliation and participation in the drug trade, peti tioner repeatedly armed himself with firearms. Gov't C.A. Br. 4.
a. In April 2002, Ronnie Lazalde began working as a confidential informant for the Salt Lake City Metro Gang Unit, a joint state and federal drug task force. Jason Mazuran, a gang unit detective, learned from sev eral of his informants that petitioner had distributed large quantities of drugs over an extended period of time. Because Lazalde was a member of the same gang as petitioner, Mazuran believed that Lazalde was well- positioned to purchase drugs from petitioner. Gov't C.A. Br. 4-5.
On May 10, 2002, Lazalde met with petitioner at Mazuran's directive. During the meeting, petitioner discussed his drug dealing operation and showed Lazalde a 10-millimeter Glock pistol that he carried in an ankle holster. Petitioner told Lazalde that he had a supplier in California who could provide large quantities of marijuana and cocaine. Thereafter, Lazalde arranged to purchase marijuana from petitioner. On May 21, June 4, and June 18, 2002, Lazalde made three controlled pur chases of approximately one-half of a pound of mari juana from petitioner, amounts that Mazuran had dic tated, even though petitioner normally sold much larger quantities. The controlled buys occurred in a store parking lot that was close to petitioner's residence on Fort Union Boulevard. Gov't C.A. Br. 5-6.
Petitioner displayed firearms during two of the transactions. At the May 21, 2002, transaction, Lazalde entered petitioner's black BMW and observed lodged between the seat and the center console the same 10- millimeter Glock pistol that petitioner had shown him at their May 10, 2002, meeting. Lazalde suspected that petitioner may have deliberately positioned the gun in that location to intimidate him (Lazalde) and prevent him from attempting to rob petitioner. At the June 4, 2002, transaction, petitioner was carrying the Glock pis tol in an ankle holster. As Lazalde approached peti tioner to complete the transaction, petitioner lifted his pant leg and displayed the gun to Lazalde. During sub sequent debriefings, Lazalde told Mazuran that peti tioner had carried a firearm to both buys and that, dur ing the second buy, petitioner had brandished the gun. Gov't C.A. Br. 5-6.
b. On July 11, 2002, police officers arrested peti tioner during an unrelated incident at an apartment complex. At the time of his arrest, petitioner was carry ing a stolen 10-millimeter Glock pistol, loaded with 13 hollow point rounds, in a holster on his ankle, and more than $4300 in cash in his pocket. Petitioner later ad vised Lazalde of his arrest, and Lazalde immediately reported those facts to Mazuran. Gov't C.A. Br. 6.
c. On November 13, 2002, a federal grand jury in the District of Utah returned a five-count indictment ag- ainst petitioner charging him with three counts of dis- tributing marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1); carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug traf ficking crime, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 924(c); and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial num ber, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(k). Pet. App. 4.
d. Two days after his indictment, Mazuran served an arrest warrant on petitioner at his apartment. During a subsequent search, Mazuran recovered more than three pounds of marijuana in a bedroom closet and two bulletproof vests. Mazuran also found a briefcase with more than $22,000 in United States currency, as well as documentation of monies owed to petitioner by other drug dealers (pay/owe sheets), and a fully loaded Glock 17 pistol. Mazuran also seized a safe from the apart ment, and a subsequent search of the safe uncovered two other loaded pistols, a large number of prescription pain pills for which petitioner had no prescription, opiate suckers, and more pay/owe sheets. One of the pistols, a Walther, that was found in the safe had been stolen from a third party. Agents also found a new Lexus sedan parked in the garage, which was later determined to have been purchased with more than $30,000 in drug proceeds. Gov't C.A. Br. 7; Pet. App. 4.
e. On December 16, 2002, federal agents assigned to the Task Force obtained a search warrant for petition- er's other residence on Fort Union Boulevard, which led to the discovery of the black BMW used in two of the controlled buys with Lazalde. The trunk of the vehicle contained a pound of marijuana and a Smith and Wesson revolver. A search of the residence itself led to the dis covery of a safe in the master bedroom that contained $20,000 in cash and smelled of marijuana. Scales and drug packaging materials were found in the kitchen. Still further investigation of the premises led to the dis covery of body armor, an assault rifle, 26 large duffel bags and several large suitcases (each of which was ca pable of holding at least 50 pounds of marijuana) con taining marijuana residue, and more pay/owe sheets. Agents also seized photographs, taken years before the drug distribution charged in the indictment, depicting petitioner displaying firearms while holding large am- ounts of cash and illegal drugs. Gov't C.A. Br. 7-9.
f. On December 17, 2002, the day after the search of petitioner's Fort Union Boulevard residence, petitioner and his lawyer met with investigators. During that meeting, one of the purposes of which was to decide whether petitioner was willing to cooperate with author ities, petitioner admitted that he had been dealing mari juana and cocaine, and that he was able to obtain large quantities of any substance. No agreement was reached, however, because the agents suspected that petitioner had not been truthful about the source of his supply. Gov't C.A. Br. 11.