United States v. Ronald Lee Gordon

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Ronald Lee Gordon of aiding and abetting his co-defendant, Kenneth Wayne Stephens, in knowingly and intentionally manufacturing a controlled substance, phenylacetone (P-2-P), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (1988). On appeal he attacks his sentence, arguing that application of the Sentencing Guidelines Career Offender provision, United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (Nov. 1990), resulted in a 262 month sentence so disproportionate to the gravity of his crime that it violates the eighth amendment. He also argues that…