Opinion ID: 6335605
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: K.’s mother addressed Major and stated:

Text: No. 20-2829 9 This is a loss that I will never recover from, pain that time does not heal or even ease. Every day I relive the experience of finding my daughter. I see her unseeing eyes. I feel the unnatural cold- ness of her body. I see mothers interacting with daughters, and I don’t have that any longer. I see grandchildren that I will never have, milestones that will never be reached, dreams and plans unfulfilled, a life extinguished. And for this reason, I hope that the Court would see fit to give you the maxi- mum sentence so that the likelihood of your participation in this act again would not hap- pen. Major began his statement by giving his condolences to A.K.’s mother, but quickly clarified, “I’m not even sure who’s at fault, but I understand that me, being a heroin dealer, that you would look at me as being at fault here…. I know that my actions could possibly did [sic] play a role or possibly did, but I just want you to know that I do send my condolences to you and your family.” Major then expressed his remorse to the court and stated that he only dealt drugs to feed his own addiction and to treat a medical condition that made it difficult for him to eat. Major then transitioned to minimizing his conduct. He described himself as “just a drug user who was getting high, to have some few friends to direct that high, and with their money I could get by with.” He also stated, “I never meant to sell nobody no fentanyl. I can’t believe that I’m honestly facing this much time when all I actually did was sell Dawn two dime, three dime bags of dope for $50. That’s what my conspiracy really consists of. Your Honor, I sold a friend 10 No. 20-2829 a bag of dope for $50 on two different occasions.” When the court clarified whether it was Major’s position that he never knew the heroin he purchased and resold had fentanyl in it, Major responded, “I mean, no, I didn’t. All I knew, I was getting heroin.” Before handing down Major’s sentence, the court stated: I’m glad you made a statement, Mr. Major, be- cause it confirms for me that I made the right decision on acceptance of responsibility … be- cause clearly the evidence is otherwise…. And I can only say after listening to you, Mr. Major, that I’m more comfortable with the decision—I think I was right anyway, but I’m way more comfortable with the decision I made now about acceptance. And I guess the only thing I can say is if you spend a lifetime of being untruthful, that you—there comes a point where you don’t even know where the truth would help you, okay? Given that Major had pushed fentanyl-laced heroin onto the streets of the community, deposited large sums of money in connection with his crimes, was a leader in the conspiracy, had a history of violence, played a part in the overdose death of A.K., and attempted to obstruct justice, the court decided that the statutory maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment was appropriate. Major now appeals this sentence. No. 20-2829 11