Watching this coverage really bothered the hell out of me. How the hell is it that a piece of crap rapist like Brock Turner will go to JAIL for 3 months, and one of these folks will spend LIFE in FEDERAL PRISON for stealing a jacket? How does Ethan Couch get probation, when responsible for the death of 4 people, while a man gets LIFE for facilitating the sale of $10 worth of weed? How is it that some MURDERERS get parole, and in some cases freedom after 10 years, yet some of these folks are doing LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE for non violent offenses?
For a long time I have been meaning to study and understand the prison complex. This three strikes rule, though there was a time I might have defended it, at this stage in my life seems extremely unfair. Especially when compared to the examples I mentioned above. I stand with Democracy Now, and the ACLU in moving to help expose how these 3,200 individuals have been jailed for LIFE due to these ridiculous laws.
From Democracy Now Youtube Channel: A shocking new study by the American Civil Liberties Union has found that more than 3,200 people nationwide are serving life terms without parole for nonviolent offenses. Of those prisoners, 80 percent are behind bars for drug-related convictions. Sixty-five percent are African American, 18 percent are white, and 16 percent are Latino — evidence of what the ACLU calls “extreme racial disparities.” The crimes that led to life sentences include stealing gas from a truck, shoplifting, possessing a crack pipe, facilitating a $10 sale of marijuana, and attempting to cash a stolen check. We speak with Jennifer Turner, human rights researcher and author of the new ACLU report, “A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.”
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
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