Two Thoughts

Friday afternoon the U.S. Supreme Court, without opinion, rejected California’s final attempt to ignore implementation of a massive inmate release by year-end (9600 inmates) because of the state’s unsafe and unsanitary prison conditions. In 2011, the Court found the California prison system in violation of the constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and ordered the release of over 30,000 inmates to reduce the state’s massive overcrowding to 115% of capacity.

            

For the past 2 years, California’s Governor and DOC director have refused to comply with the orders of the highest court in the nation and begin to operate constitutionally sound prisons.

           

How ironic that the department tasked with enforcing sentences against those who break the law does so in violation of the law. Who – I wonder – goes to prison for that?

            

And second, PVC Bradley Manning was court-marshaled this week for delivering millions of pages of documents concerning this nation’s war in Iraq to Wikileaks. He did so because he felt the nation was engaged in an immoral military action.

            

At the close of the Second World War the victorious allies prosecuted thousands of enemy officers for war crimes, crimes they defended on the grounds that they were following orders. The Nuremburg Court found that no soldier could lawfully ignore his conscience and simply “follow orders.” Or, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his “letter from Birmingham Jail,” when man’s law conflicts with God’s law, you must nonviolently oppose it and accept the consequences.

            

You may not like what PVC Manning did, but at least you should respect him.

Election at the Prison

This past week, the prison population held elections for the “IRG” – the “Inmate Representative Group.” Each building elects a representative to discuss policies and procedures with the administration. The IRG then chooses a chair who argues on behalf of the group during discussions with the warden. For almost four years, I had successfully avoided any involvement with IRG. I found it cliquish and its suggestions not well thought out or relevant to life behind the fence. Frankly, I didn’t care that the IRG argued for “Texas Beef” ramen noodles versus “Cajun Chicken.”

            

Then a funny thing happened the other night. A group of the Muslim guys in the building brought up the IRG elections at the evening meal breaking the Ramadan fast. One of the Muslims spoke up and urged his Sunni brothers to “pay attention to the teachings” in the Koran which specifically calls on Muslims to support those who are “just” and have “wisdom.”

            

Unknown to me, this Muslim inmate gave my name to the building counselor as a candidate for our building’s IRG rep. Less than five minutes after ballots were collected I was called in the counselor’s office. “Are you willing to serve?” she asked. I had apparently won in a landslide. Two days later, the newly constituted IRG met and I was elected chair. (I told the reps in attendance I preferred the treasurer position which drew a loud laugh).

            

So what does it mean? Inmates are not allowed to organize.  DOC policy expressly forbids inmates from acting in concert. There can be no organized work stoppages, or protests, or even petitions. Ironically, it happens quite regularly. In California, over 12,000 high custody inmates went on a hunger strike a few months ago to draw attention to the fact that the state had ignored the orders of the United States Supreme Court – to release 30,000 plus inmates by year-end due to the shameful, unconstitutional conditions in the California prison system.

            

In Georgia, thousands of inmates participated in a work stoppage to call attention to that state’s slave-like treatment of its inmate workforce. In both cases, change occurred. But, not without inmate organizers being placed in solitary.

            

Candidly, there will be no such action at a place like this. With few exceptions – those rare inmates here who carry life sentences with the release date: “12/28/9999” – prisoners here are relatively short on their time. No one is willing to consider the moral imperatives that go along with incarceration.

           

Even more bluntly, the notion of loyalty, of standing together, standing for principle is in even shorter supply. Character is a rare commodity in a place like this. It’s usually, “What can I get?”

            

But there are things that can be done. You won’t ever drive the hustles and scams out of prison. You won’t ever convince the vast majority of those held behind bars that they are being treated fairly. You won’t convince a majority of those here to change and re-enter society as law abiding citizens because they are repeatedly lied to by staff here and programs are long on words and short on effect.

            

I had always thought I would avoid inmate governance because it didn’t amount to anything. Then, my Muslim friend told me just by speaking to the warden, and the chief of security maybe small things could change. Maybe the toxic atmosphere that pervades prison life could lesson just a bit. I told him I’d do my best.

            

I’m not sure if I’m as just or wise as the Muslim community here thinks. But, I know this is no way to run a prison. The current system does nothing but waste lives. It’s not even punishment really. The punishment is in your mind as you contemplate all you’ve lost. Trouble is, when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing left to lose.

Election at the Prison

This past week, the prison population held elections for the “IRG” – the “Inmate Representative Group.” Each building elects a representative to discuss policies and procedures with the administration. The IRG then chooses a chair who argues on behalf of the group during discussions with the warden. For almost four years, I had successfully avoided any involvement with IRG. I found it cliquish and its suggestions not well thought out or relevant to life behind the fence. Frankly, I didn’t care that the IRG argued for “Texas Beef” ramen noodles versus “Cajun Chicken.”

            

Then a funny thing happened the other night. A group of the Muslim guys in the building brought up the IRG elections at the evening meal breaking the Ramadan fast. One of the Muslims spoke up and urged his Sunni brothers to “pay attention to the teachings” in the Koran which specifically calls on Muslims to support those who are “just” and have “wisdom.”

            

Unknown to me, this Muslim inmate gave my name to the building counselor as a candidate for our building’s IRG rep. Less than five minutes after ballots were collected I was called in the counselor’s office. “Are you willing to serve?” she asked. I had apparently won in a landslide. Two days later, the newly constituted IRG met and I was elected chair. (I told the reps in attendance I preferred the treasurer position which drew a loud laugh).

            

So what does it mean? Inmates are not allowed to organize.  DOC policy expressly forbids inmates from acting in concert. There can be no organized work stoppages, or protests, or even petitions. Ironically, it happens quite regularly. In California, over 12,000 high custody inmates went on a hunger strike a few months ago to draw attention to the fact that the state had ignored the orders of the United States Supreme Court – to release 30,000 plus inmates by year-end due to the shameful, unconstitutional conditions in the California prison system.

            

In Georgia, thousands of inmates participated in a work stoppage to call attention to that state’s slave-like treatment of its inmate workforce. In both cases, change occurred. But, not without inmate organizers being placed in solitary.

            

Candidly, there will be no such action at a place like this. With few exceptions – those rare inmates here who carry life sentences with the release date: “12/28/9999” – prisoners here are relatively short on their time. No one is willing to consider the moral imperatives that go along with incarceration.

           

Even more bluntly, the notion of loyalty, of standing together, standing for principle is in even shorter supply. Character is a rare commodity in a place like this. It’s usually, “What can I get?”

            

But there are things that can be done. You won’t ever drive the hustles and scams out of prison. You won’t ever convince the vast majority of those held behind bars that they are being treated fairly. You won’t convince a majority of those here to change and re-enter society as law abiding citizens because they are repeatedly lied to by staff here and programs are long on words and short on effect.

            

I had always thought I would avoid inmate governance because it didn’t amount to anything. Then, my Muslim friend told me just by speaking to the warden, and the chief of security maybe small things could change. Maybe the toxic atmosphere that pervades prison life could lesson just a bit. I told him I’d do my best.

            

I’m not sure if I’m as just or wise as the Muslim community here thinks. But, I know this is no way to run a prison. The current system does nothing but waste lives. It’s not even punishment really. The punishment is in your mind as you contemplate all you’ve lost. Trouble is, when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing left to lose.

In the News - July 2013

As I write this blog, over 12,000 inmates in the California prison system are on a hunger strike. They strike for more humane treatment and decent living conditions, better food, eased overcrowding, improved medical care.

            Two years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that California’s prison system violated the constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. At the time, California’s prisons were at 157% of capacity. On average, two inmates were dying each week. It was a corrections system devoid of correction making a mockery of the state’s justice system.

            The court ordered California to reduce the prison population by approximately 30,000 inmates within eighteen months. Since then, California has thumbed their noses at the court, transferring thousands of state inmates to local jail control rather than releasing them. California DOC has crippled local law enforcement who are now burdened with caring for too many incarcerated state inmates.

            The state of California daily violates the constitutional rights of its incarcerated. What, I ask, does that say about our respect for the “rule of law?” And, what does it say about the men behind bars who continue to press their case for lawful incarceration conditions?

            Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said you should judge a man when things are at their worst. Dr. King would be proud of the hunger strikers.

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            At Guantanamo Bay, a number of Muslim prisoners, also on a hunger strike, are being force fed on instruction of the Obama Justice Department. More disturbing, these force feedings are occurring during the Ramadan fast period.

            A Federal Judge has skewered the force feeding policy. It is important to remember none of the men currently being held at Guantanamo have been convicted of any crime. The United States Government has lost two major Supreme Court actions involving detention of “enemy combatants.”

            Benjamin Franklin reminded his founding father brethren that “surrendering your liberty in the name of security leaves you with neither.” I wonder what old Ben would say about the power of the federal government to hold a foreign national for more than ten years without charge and trial?

A Letter to the Director

Dear Readers: 
Effective January 1, new dorm rules were instituted at Lunenburg.  Many of these rules are quite trivial.  They concern issues drilled down to the minutiae, such as how many books are allowed on your shelf, where laundry bags must be stowed, and the like.  Most are a mere annoyance and inconvenience.  But, in many aspects, that describes prison.  The rules make little sense and bear even less relationship to the security of the institution or the mission of the institution which is namely to serve as a re-entry facility for offenders preparing to return to society , housed in a humane environment, with emphasis placed on programs which foster rehabilitation. 

Prison is a difficult environment made even more difficult when those in charge act in an arbitrary and capricious manner, flouting not only the law but basic human decency.  Such is the case currently at this facility.  If the Governor and his DOC Director are serious about breaking the cycle of recidivism amongst the incarcerated then it begins here, at the institution level.

Week after week I seek to give people a snapshot of the insanity, the silliness that passes for prison.  But, you can never forget no matter how much I gloss it over, prison is a dangerous place.  You deprive someone of basic rights in the name of security and then you add to that by being disrespectful and disingenuous, and the results will not be pretty.

Malcolm Young, founding executive director of the Sentencing Project, recently wrote the following: 

“Except among highly committed corrections staff, advocates and a handful of political leaders, it is difficult to discern direct evidence of a genuine consensus favoring reductions in prison populations.  So far, neither the dollar nor human costs of a massive system of incarceration and its racial and class impacts, have ignited a widespread, energized, political or social movement opposite of that which resulted in mass incarceration.  This has to be a concern if there is any chance of reversing four decades of prison expansion.”

The simple truth is there is no reason for many of us currently incarcerated to remain so.  It is a waste of precious resources and exists because of the illogical conclusion that long, harsh sentences effectively punish crime.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  I remain hopeful that with the appointment of Harold Clarke to lead Virginia DOC, real, dramatic and effective change will occur in the Commonwealth’s prison and sentencing philosophy and many of us will be restored to society sooner, rather than later.  But hope, I fear, is fleeting.  The mindset of the administrators of the facilities must change and Mr. Clarke himself must become an advocate for real change including early release credits tied to inmate performance.  It’s a difficult task, but not impossible.  The following letter is being sent to DOC Director Clarke.

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Dear Mr. Clarke –

I hope you are enjoying the New Year.  I am currently incarcerated at Lunenburg Corrections Center in Victoria Virginia which, as you know, is a level two facility and one of ten “re-entry facilities” as designated by Governor McDonnell’s Offender Re-Entry Initiative.  I write you directly to make you aware of recent policy implementations made by your administrative leadership here.  Ultimately, you, as Director, are responsible for the policies and actions of those in charge here.  And, many of the policies implemented run counter to the purpose and goals behind both the Governor’s directive and your publicly stated views on corrections.

As you know, the United States Supreme Court in its last term handed down the decision of Brown vs. Plata specifically finding the California corrections system to be in violation of the 8^th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.  The Court found California’s system to be plagued by substantial overcrowding and gross mismanagement leading to inadequate medical treatment and rehabilitative services for the offender population.  Those same issues confront Virginia’s prison system. Simply put, with the tireless exception of the dedicated employees of DCE – and their offender aides – there is little “correcting” going on here.

As you know, both Virginia administrative code and A.C.A. (American Correction Association) regulations indicate that Lunenburg is excessively crowded.  I live in a building (side A) dedicated to college programs (I work as both an adult basic education and college tutor).  Ninety-six men – four rows of twenty-four double bunks – are packed into our side.  We have less than ten square feet of personal space – another ACA violation.  We share three urinals, five sinks, and four showers – also a violation.  There are typically only two officers assigned to our side and its mirror image side next door.  That’s two officers for almost two hundred inmates.  At least once a week the water turns dirty brown.

Lunenburg, as a re-entry facility, is supposed to be preparing men to return to “the real world”.  Instead of providing offenders more freedom, more responsibility, this administration does just the opposite.  For example, new dorm rules were recently implemented allowing only one inmate at a time access to the bathroom during “quiet hours” (midnight until 5:00 am).  Imagine as an adult man having to ask permission to urinate in the early morning.  As you know, the 8^th Amendment to the Constitution (as interpreted by Federal Courts) considers denial of access to bathroom facilities cruel and unusual punishment.  The “new rule” bears no reasonable basis to security (rules are already in place to prohibit homosexual activity and tobacco and drug use).  Officers can enforce these rules instead of this new rule which your own officers acknowledge does nothing other than raise the stress level in the buildings.

The recent emphasis on enforcing DOC’s grooming policy (clean shaven with the exception of a neat moustache) has generated considerable pushback most notably because many of your own officers arrive at work unshaven and in dirty uniforms.  There is a noticeable lack of physical fitness and professionalism in your officer corps including numerous Sergeants who cuss and holler at inmates.

Finally, the current administration has used the disciplinary hearing process as a Kangaroo court.  Officers routinely write inaccurate, unsustainable charges that fail to comply with the procedures set out in DOP 861.1 and which are required as part of the due process guarantees an inmate is afforded.  As a former attorney, I can assure you, given your officers lack of knowledge on proper charge writing, almost every charge could and should be dismissed.  I do not object to enforcement of the rules.  But enforcement must be proper and favoritism not shown.  Too often, inmates who provide useful information to the officers have officers “look the other way”.

More disturbing, the warden and assistant warden use convictions of minor infractions (series 200 charges) to arbitrarily reduce an inmate’s good time earning level.  At a time when good time earning should be increased, for those actively seeking to rehabilitate and improve themselves, the administration here is trying to take what little number of days we earn already.  This, in fact, violates DOC’s own DOP (830.3) regarding earned credit level adjustments.

And finally, with education – primarily a college education – being the primary determiner in breaking the cycle of recidivism, why are you not advocating DOC funds for continuing the regular associate degree college program?  As you know, federal grant money for associate degree college education is expiring.  Without state funding – or a private foundation intervening – forty young men, who I can personally attest are diligently studying and attending classes in less than ideal circumstances, will see their college educations stop.  With the loss of an opportunity to earn a degree in here comes bitterness and hopelessness.

Mr. Clarke, I have noted your excellent progressive record in prison reform in your prior positions.  I also believe you are a man of deep personal faith.  I humbly ask you to prayerfully consider what I’ve written.  Come see for yourself what truly is going on here.  Come to Lunenburg and talk to those of us who are doing our best to help others and restore ourselves to our communities.

I believe you know full well Virginia’s corrections paradigm is at a crossroads.  Many of us presently held, can – and should – be given the opportunity for early release.  Resources could then be earmarked to 1) provide secure and humane incarceration to the community, and 2) provide adequate program and treatment services to ensure soon to be released offenders no longer re-offend.

I thank you for taking the time to read this letter.  You are in my prayers.

Very truly yours,

Lawrence H. Bidwell

Wired

This week CNN reported that the United States government was setting aside millions of dollars to develop “portable Internet connectivity” for people fighting for freedom in repressive societies.

Watching “The Arab Spring” and the power of the Internet to bring images of uprising and repression to the world, the United States government rightly concluded the Internet matters.  What’s the first thing the Libyan and Syrian regimes did when protest broke out?  Shut down access to the web.

So American engineers are now designing briefcase servers capable of being snuck into a country and giving access to the Internet.  As the spokesman for the U.S. agency in charge of the project said, “Freedom is directly tied to the internet”.

Good quote.  Here’s another to consider: 

“Freedom’s just another word for

nothin left to lose
nothin’s worth nothin if it ain’t free.”    ~ Janis Joplin

How ironic that we applaud people protesting in the streets demanding the overthrow of their governments, “breaking the laws” of their societies and we recognize “these people need to be connected to the outside world” yet in almost every prison in this country, inmates are denied access to the “wired” world.  Everyday prisoners in this country are subjected to deplorable conditions, inhumane treatment, poor medical and mental health care.  They are jammed into spaces most people wouldn’t consider adequate for their family pet.  Those are not my words, that’s the word from the United States Supreme Court.

And connection to the outside world?  Forget it.  Inmates are denied basic contact with family and friends, let alone access to the web.  Try teaching a class on computer components when you, as the instructor, are prohibited from bringing components in.  “See that picture of the hard drive fellas?  They look almost like that.”

I love that people are transfixed by ordinary citizens taking to the streets throughout the Arab world demanding basic human rights.  Somehow, that message doesn’t carry through to our own country where one of every four inmates is serving a sentence for drug possession or minor distribution.

“Nothin’s worth nothin if it ain’t free.”  A friend asked me recently if I ever worried about repercussions from this blog.  I told him, “I’d lost the love of my life, my kids have no contact with me, I was sent to hell known as receiving where I saw unspeakable evil being tolerated by incompetent staff.  They took my physical freedom but they can’t take my mind and my faith.”  So no, I don’t worry.  They can’t do anymore to me than has been already done.

Here’s the bottom line.  If we’re going to care about freedom in Damascus and Tripoli, it’s high time we care about freedom in Lewisburg and Attica and Lunenburg.  “Freedom’s just another word for nothin left to lose.”  Sing it Janice.

Supreme Fallout

There are waves beginning to roll toward state shores following the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Brown v. Plata holding that California’s correction system violates the 8^th Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

The majority decision clearly states that if a state insists on incarcerating a person, they must have adequate bed space for the incarcerated and provide at minimum, adequate medical care.  In other words, if you support locking people up for breaking the law, you have to also expect the state to follow the law when operating its prisons.  California has bed space for 80,000; they choose to imprison upwards of 155,000.  No rational person would today argue for separate “white only” water fountains (the norm, the law, back in the segregated south into the early 1960’s).  No rational person can likewise support a system that allows a state to keep so many people incarcerated with no adequate living space, medical or mental health care under the guise of “public safety”. 

There is a bigger wave coming.  It is a tsunami called the Federal budget deficit.  A bipartisan Congressional Committee is looking at slashing $5 trillion in Federal spending. And, spending on corrections only lags behind Medicaid spending at the state level. 

Bob Dylan had it right:

            “You better start swimming
             Or you’ll sink like a stone
             For the times they are a changin.”

In 2009 and 2010 forty states cut spending on corrections, including Virginia.  As Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (D) noted when recently signing a bill into law allowing the state to release certain nonviolent offenders, “We underestimate the number of non-violent offenders we have in our systems”.

Alabama is considering a law allowing non-violent offenders to “check in” at centers while living and working from home to alleviate overcrowding in a system currently at 190% of capacity.

Other states, such as North Dakota are placing additional resources into education and training – the two primary determining factors in recidivism rates.

As The Washington Post noted in its recent editorial discussing the Supreme Court’s decision (aptly titled “Cruelty in California”):

“Budget shortfalls and overcrowding have forced states across the country to reconsider their approach to law and order and the enormous costs associated with incarceration.  The Supreme Court’s decision – and its implicit warning…if states fail to take steps to provide the type of decent and humane prison conditions demanded by the Constitution, the courts may now step in to ensure that they do.”

And where is Governor McDonnell during this discussion?  I’ll tell you where he’s not; he’s not visiting his prisons; he’s not questioning his wardens to ensure they are behind his re-entry initiative, an initiative that is long on words and short on action; he’s not coming out with any “faith based” standards that show he believes the Gospel’s call to minister to the prisoners.  No, Virginia is doing nothing and the inmate population (per DOC itself) hovers at 137% capacity, the recidivism rate remains constant and $1 billion in taxpayer money will be wasted this year supporting a system in dire need of repair.
Meanwhile, a $100 million, 1000 bed prison sits empty in Grayson County.  Why?  Because the Commonwealth can’t afford the $25 million per year to operate it.

Virginia likes to think of itself as a leading state.  Its high time Governor McDonnell acts like the leader he promised to be.  As the story of Exodus so beautifully detailed, over and over the Lord said “be courageous”.  Be courageous Governor McDonnell and institute sentence reform with good time/early release available to inmates working to rehabilitate.  Be courageous and let nonviolent offenders go to house arrest or “check in centers”.  Be courageous and change the system.  Your legacy, our future, depends on it!

God Bless Justice Stevens

I have a friend in here – “Cali” (from Los Angeles) who I’ve been working with the past few months. Cali is three years into a twenty-six year sentence. You would expect that to receive that many years Cali must have murdered someone in cold blood or abused and violated children. If you thought that, you’d be wrong. Cali received that extremely harsh sentence for (1) intent to distribute marijuana, and (2) conspiracy to distribute.



He and a co-defendant were staying at a hotel near Virginia Beach in two rooms reserved by a local friend. The rooms were at opposite ends of the hall. In one room (the co-defendant’s) twelve pounds of weed were found. In Cali’s room $200,000 in cash.


I could write a legal brief on the problems with Cali’s prosecution (in fact, I did): the prosecution’s star witness was the hotel manager, a woman who was an admitted drug user and was paid a percentage of the cash taken from Cali’s room (under drug forfeiture statutes); the false statements contained in the police request for issuance of a search warrant, or the fact that no evidence was introduced that the cash in Cali’s possession came from drug sales (in fact, there was no evidence of any drug sales). For my purposes here, I’ll assume everything the police did was “by the book”.


But, was justice served? Cali’s co-defendant took a plea and got, hold on, three years. He’s already out. Cali on the other hand, has twenty-three more years to go for the exact same charges.


My experience in meeting guys like Cali in here has awakened me to a stark reality. For a country that professes to believe “in justice for all”, we fall terribly short of the mark. That’s where Justice John Paul Stevens comes in.


The 92 year old Stevens recently retired from service as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court ending a tenure as the third longest serving Justice in history. Justice Stevens, a moderate Republican appointed by President Ford soon found himself relegated to being a leading dissenter as the court swung even more to the right.


Stevens believed in “justice for all”. His life was built around that concept and for good reason. Stevens was raised in a prosperous Chicago family. His father built the largest hotel in the city. When Stevens was twelve, his father was arrested and convicted of embezzlement. Eventually his father’s conviction was overturned on appeal.


“I knew my father was a good man. I also knew, even at that age that the system could be wrong.” It was at that point Stevens decided he wanted to be a judge to guarantee justice was done.


Stevens has taken some very unpopular positions in cases involving the accused, especially in post 9/11 America where the general consensus in society has become that security from terrorists is more important than the rule of the law.


In Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, he argued that terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay were held in U.S. custody on U.S. soil and, therefore, guaranteed minimal constitutional protection. In Padilla v. U.S., he argued that Padilla – a United States citizen arrested on terrorism allegations and detained in a military brig for four years without access to courts or lawyers and without formal charges being brought, had his fundamental 4th, 5th, 6th and 14th amendment rights violated.


Even for those accused of being terrorists, without the guarantee of constitutional protection, he argued, this nation could too easily slip into “rule by tyrants”. That is a very powerful, and courageous, and lonely stand for anyone in this age of fear.


I’ve lost my freedom. I’ve seen the power of the state used personally. Conspiracy theories run rampant in prisons. If you want to understand why, just look honestly at the criminal justice system. The government has a virtually unlimited budget to prosecute. In its quest to close crime investigations (notice I didn’t say “solve crimes and bring justice”); the government will make deals, use false evidence, lie, cheat, or steal its way to a conviction. Don’t believe me? Look at the number of convictions that are set aside each year for police or prosecutorial misconduct.


The system is overwhelmed. And, because the system has a human face, it is subject to the prejudices and personality ups and downs of the judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Fact is, most defendants don’t create a favorable impression. They’re paraded on TV or in the paper when arrested and the general perception is “they must be guilty or the police wouldn’t be after them”.


But, that perception is exactly opposite what our system is founded on. The founding fathers knew the dangers inherent in a government able to convict on a whim. They understood that the most fundamental, God given right of all, was the right to be free. Depriving someone of their personal freedom was recognized as tyranny. The safeguards to shield an individual from the power of the state were deep and significant.


Yet, somehow middle America has forgotten that. Somehow “law abiding” citizens believe those “technicalities” are just there to protect the criminals. They couldn’t be further from the truth.


Guys like Cali come into this soul breaking, meat grinder each and every day. Some are innocent, others guilty yet the punishment way too severe. For the vast majority of “good citizens” it doesn’t matter. Thank God for the courageous few, like Justice Stevens, who understand justice and freedom are too precious to be pushed aside by a society convinced that safety and security are just one prison, one conviction, from reality, those lone voices who remind us over and over there is no safe haven, no perfectly secure place without justice and freedom.


Thank you Justice Stevens for your courage, your compassion, your sense of justice.