Mike Parson might not have done Britt Reid any favors by commuting his sentence | Opinion

Addiction is a monster.

It can destroy lives — not just the addict, but the people around them. Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid and his family already know that bitter truth: They lost their son, Garrett, to a heroin overdose in 2012. A year later, Reid came to Kansas City to start his run as the most successful head coach in team history. And for most of that time he kept his other troubled adult son, Britt, close by as an assistant coach.

That lasted until February 2021, when the younger Reid — who was driving while intoxicated — crashed into a parked car and badly injured a 5-year-old girl, Ariel Young. She’ll be living with the consequences the rest of her life.

Britt Reid, though, has been given a reprieve from his own consequences. On Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson commuted Reid’s three-year prison sentence for the accident. He will now serve out the rest of his punishment amid the comforts of home, until October 2025.

We’re not sure Parson actually did Britt Reid a favor, however.

Among people who deal with and treat addiction, there is a concept known as “enabling.” It refers to when friends and family of an addicted person shield them from the consequences of their behavior with well-intentioned acts that end up making it easier for that bad behavior to continue. What seems loving or merciful can in such circumstances deepen and prolong a crisis.

“Enabling can take many forms,” say the folks at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, who run America’s most famous addiction treatment center. You can enable an addicted person by paying off their debts, fixing their tickets or — and this seems relevant — by “bailing them out of jail.”

We can probably add “commuted their prison sentence” to the list.

The reason for our concern: Britt Reid already has a history of troubling behavior. In 2007, he was sentenced to jail on gun and drug charges after a road rage incident. Authorities found illegal and prescription drugs throughout the Pennsylvania home where both Reid brothers lived with their parents. (Garrett was sentenced around the same time for smashing into a car while high on heroin.)

“It sounds more or less like a drug emporium there, with the drugs all over the house,” a judge told Britt Reid at the time, “and you’re an addict.”

Which means the 2021 accident that injured Ariel wasn’t a one-off. Given that history, it makes sense that the younger Reid received a stiff punishment for his irresponsible and injurious behavior.

“Whatever my sentence is,” he said at the 2022 sentencing hearing, “I understand and accept responsibility for the decision I made that night.”

Now, though, the weight of that responsibility has been lifted from him. Classic enabling behavior by the governor.

Parson framed his decision in the context of addiction treatment. “Mr. Reid has completed his alcohol abuse treatment program and has served more prison time than most individuals convicted of similar offenses,” a spokesman said Friday.

Perhaps. We sincerely wish Britt Reid the best in his recovery. That is not an easy journey to make.

But the governor’s decision was wrong.

It was wrong because it smacked of favoritism — a sign that our justice system is rigged in favor of the powerful and well-connected. And it was wrong because it showed no sense of justice or mercy for Ariel Young, whose family received no advance notice that Parson would act.

“There simply can be no response that explains away the failure to notify victims of the offender,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker rightly pointed out on Saturday.

Parson’s decision was also wrong, though, because easing Britt Reid’s punishment might be the last thing he needs for his recovery to be successful. That’s even before you factor in the anger and scrutiny aroused by Parson’s high-profile commutation.

Mercy is a virtue. The governor’s decision appears to be anything but virtuous. We can only hope that Britt Reid earns this redemption. Missouri will be watching.