MOTS: Students share thoughts on the El Chapo trial

Credit: Chris Stevenson/The Independent

Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, escaped from jail and is currently on trial. He was well known as a drug lord which put him in jail the first time.

Hailey Robinson and Christina Taxiarchis
December 9, 2018

Students speak out their opinions on the trial for Joaquín Guzmán Loera, also known as “El Chapo”, the Mexican drug lord. His history of violence, as well as his involvement in the Sinaloa drug cartel for over 20 years, ultimately led up to his capture and trial.

Will Carr, sophomore “If he’s done all these bad things, I think there’s no reason why El Chapo shouldn’t go back to jail.”
Julia Pak, junior “I think El Chapo should go to jail for a long time because a person who caused so much harm shouldn’t be on the loose.”
Billy Cossart, sophomore “If he killed people and then left jail and was captured, of course he should go back for his time and for an extended time because he left jail. I don’t understand why someone would think he shouldn’t go back to jail.”
Maddie Olstein, junior “[It’s] very bad, he’s killing people. But good for him [that] he figured out a way to escape. Maybe he’s trying to turn it around, I don’t know. He’s just trying to make a living in this hard economy.”
Brian Carmichael, senior “I feel like he was given a chance to live a good life and he ruined his opportunity by trying to escape from prison and such. So, I feel like he should go back to jail and serve the rest of his life in a dark cell.”

Jason Haims, sophomore “When it comes to the El Chapo trial, I think it’s pretty interesting because there’s a lot of media attention in the courtroom and everything, [which] might be influencing people differently in the courtroom. I heard the jurors have to stay anonymous because they’re afraid the cartel will literally kill them so that definitely puts extra pressure on them to maybe rule differently.”
Gavin Moser, junior “[The trial] is pretty interesting; there’s lots of debate about it. [He should] definitely go back to jail because he was dealing drugs illegally.”

Olivia Poulin, sophomore “I think that he should go back to jail; he’s done some pretty awful things, including breaking out of jail.”