Transcript
LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IS THE DEATH PENALTY, WITHIN GENOCIDE by Herukhuti - WOMMB Institute A sentence to natural life without parole is a death sentence by incarceration and should be abolished. The prisoner with a natural life sentence is reduced to mere survival analogous to the life of most reptiles and animals (even domesticated animals have a sense of inclusion, duty and responsibility). We are Human Beings! And what separates humans from animals and other lower life forms are our advanced psycho-spiritual-cerebral faculties our soul. Our capacity for self-interpretation, complex speech and communication; advanced cognition and reasoning; mastering our instinctive and impulsive natures; creative imagination; seeking to give our utmost to universal well-being, loving truly and compassionately are among the dening qualities that make us Human. The brain, senses, and body are not specific to human beings. The Soul Is! However, it must be cultivated and conditioned properly. For most of us, coming to prison was the result of our soul's (character) being under-conditioned (and/or negatively conditioned), by volition or otherwise, in response to environmental conditions. The Departments of Corrections is supposed to correct this aberration. They are supposed to provide environments and conditions that cultivate self-condence, high standards, compassion, reason, respect for others, health consciousness, honesty, self-control, efcient communication skills and the overall complete maturation of the prisoner. But they dont. Our prisons do the exact opposite. They destroy these ideal qualities of the Soul. Thus destroying the Soul and killing the Human Being. Because the Soul is the Human Being! Not the body. A lifetime of exposure to prison conditions IS MURDER! Life without parole is anti-life, anti-human. It fosters shame, fear, hate, self-contempt, sensory deprivation, hopelessness, and depression. Most of the time it destroys whatever faith in God (or religion) the prisoner may have had left. Life without parole destroys the possibilities of a duty to children and spouses. And, as if this destruction of the Soul/Human isn't nefarious enough, this type of sentencing simultaneously assaults and mortally injures the physical dimension of the prisoner. Even when the prison is in full compliance with the Federal and State laws, and its own Prison policies/ regulations, the prisoner's whole Being is in grave jeopardy. The fact that we're in America and supposedly have it better than other prisoners, in other countries, does not disguise the reality from keen observers and those of us enduring this mayhem. Just as white slavery, sex trafficking and snuff lm production and distribution are alive in this blameless nation, Human torture and murder are sanctioned by our justice system under the banners of due punishment and righteousness. The dead Soul/Human is now bound to a body that has to experience some of the worst conditions imaginable. These conditions are sustained in various degrees of intensity and manifest into different forms. It is not only likely, but probable, that a prisoner will be a victim of diabetes, heart & liver problems, strokes, kidney and respiratory problems, MRSA and staph infections, AIDS, hepatitis and a variety of insect or pest bites/stings. This is all due to inadequate diet and health care; and the lack of proper sanitation of linen and clothing. There is little application of any disinfectants for cleaning our cells or showers or recreation areas. A total disregard for personal hygiene whereby shower-taking is sometimes restricted to one in a seven-day period. And for those, fortunate enough to have funds for procuring these items, the prices are extremely high on everything, thus curtailing these needed purchases (on a regular basis) for any normal maintenance routine, for the necessity of supplementing other equally needed purchases (such as food, stamps/paper/pen (for mental/emotional stability) and personal hygiene products). A lifetime of exposure to these draconian conditions is truly a ruthless and violent death sentence. The prisons commit these crimes against humanity with impunity because they make prots and in turn, it makes society feel like we don't have it too good'...meaning Society only gets the 'Establishment's' version of the facts. Prisons create wealth (jobs) for once stagnated rural areas. We prisoners also endure an environment lled with racial tension and hostility that the Administration and staff and ofcers intentionally nurture and maintain, in order to create a division amongst prisoners so that they're less of a target of aggression. The officers and staff are under-trained and under-qualied, so they abuse their authority; resulting in the murder, beatings, bribery and general exploitation of prisoners. When prisoners attempt to exercise their rights and 'take the mature, non-violent approach to solving problems (i.e. the Grievance System), we are thwarted at every turn. The system is structured so that the prison and staff have loop holes and justifications for not meeting time-frames and deadlines. Prison ofcials control the ow of the paperwork and handle all investigations. There's no objective, non-affiliated party in the equation. They all have a vested interest in not being culpable for any violations against prisoner's rights or privileges. They are all colleagues and look out for one another; so grievances 'come up missing or 'it's your word against the respectable, virtuous 'ofcers' word. ***And family members are excluded from investigating or making a statement in the matter.**** These harsh and brutal realities cause many prisoners to turn to drugs, unprotected sex, and suicide to cope with the pain and frustration. Some go insane or develop a 'I don't care attitude. All of these reactions result in predatory, violent behavior; prisoners rationalizing that they have nothing to lose or live for anyway. Life without parole destroys the faith, hope, natural resilience and sense of purpose most prisoners should have. It perpetuates a 'defeatist' attitude; this is cruel and unusual punishment. It amounts to TORTURE pure and simple. Torture is dened as Extreme anguish of the mind or body. The U.S. Government doesn't allow the torture of terrorists or enemy combatants; yet it is tolerated for American citizens in a civilian context. This contradiction is call Hypocrisy! To make bad matters worse, the public is paying for this inadequate, ineicient system of failure and cruelty. It is in the public's interest to become fully engaged with prison policy making and implementing legislation concerning prison sentencing. We need the public to mobilize in an effort to inform our law-makers of the fact that new laws and policies are needed, that will be effective in our criminal/justice system. Our world view, as a society, has to shift to a more humane, people-centered and scally-smart' position. We have to change how we interpret and implement the constitution and law. Laws need to be introduced that prohibit the 'double-dipping' into the taxpayers pocket i.e. Families of prisoners pay taxes as well as send funds to their sons/daughters, spouses, fathers/mothers. These said funds are not given in its entirety to the prisoners (as the gifts they are intended to be for), but percentages are taken out and set aside for the various restitution set up by the state. These are not wages earned by the prisoner and the family is being penalized also (by association) for crimes they did not commit. This adds to the mental degradation patterns set up by prisons. Telephone prices are extremely high; are these contracts between the prison and the phone company considered monopolies? This is meant to isolate the prisoner by destroying communication to the family/world causing emotional distress. The food store prices are equally outrageous. The taxes pay for the food (which is not giving even the required caloric amounts), yet even to supplement the diet, the costs are high, seemingly for prot motives more than is necessary. All of these negative prison laws/policies/guidelines are for the duration of the prisoner's life AND especially the family(s) lifetime (who are equally punished; without justification). They could be considered privileges, if they were constructed in a positive manner, without bias. Presently, our justice system is rooted in revenge, brute impulse and punishment. When a person is sentenced to life without parole, it is not an act of mercy to spare the prisoner the supposedly more cruel punishment of death by execution (death penalty). The decision to sentence a human being to life in prison without parole, has dual intentions: 1) to satisfy the victim's family's thirst for revenge and 2) to re-affirm a nominal adherence to a hypocritical, cultural doctrine of morality, godliness and due-process. But, retaliation and nominal morality should have no place in our judicial system. Death by incarceration does not bring back what the victim(s) have lost and does not even give honest satisfaction to the victim(s) of the crime. It ignores the fact that thousands of prisoners with life sentences profoundly transform their characters and behavior, and educate themselves towards being of utmost service to society. Our current punitive and judicial practices fail to take account of the thousands of children of prisoners (with life sentences), who statistically repeat the criminal cycles of their parents because of the psychological damage and despair that occurs as a result of knowing their parent(s) are never coming home. Current sentencing laws also ignore the economic irresponsibility of public tax mismanagement and waste on warehousing prisoners for life, who are going to need more expensive medical treatment as they age. Not investing money in rehabilitation and education of prisoners is shortsightedness and careless. The policy makers, directors and wardens are knowingly sending humans home, who have been damaged by warehousing tactics, and communities suffer. We need to turn towards rehabilitative and redemptive penal sentencing; laws that focus on human ethics, human rights, education, skill training and cost-effectiveness. It costs too much money to warehouse prisoners for life when they can be released after rehabilitation, to raise and support their own children and add to the economy and social well-being. Society has to realize that they are direct stakeholders in what's going on in our prisons, policy making and legislation that regulates sentencing. Society needs to pay attention to the genuine statistics related to the justice and punitive systems and how they torture and kill people. The public should be outraged about their tax dollars funding prisoner abuse and the returning of these prisoners to society in worse shape than when they rst entered the prison system (in some cases). Law makers, law enforcement, and prison officials manipulate the facts and induce fear into the public in order to get votes and funding for their agendas, to have stiffer penalties and build more prisons etc. Without prisoners and criminals, they wouldn't have jobs or be in high demand. Do they really have an incentive to stop crime, stop drug trafficking, or rehabilitate offenders? No, they don't. In fact, it makes more sense for them to lie and exaggerate facts for job security. They also know that we prisoners are isolated and don't have a voice or credibility to express the truth and affect change for our benet. I recommend and endorse a 25-year maximum sentencing (or 50 years of age) before eligibility for parole as a feasible alternative to the life without parole sentencing, until we can eventually abolish prisons as they currently exist, in favor of community controlled responses to crime. In tandem with this '25-yrs/50-yrs old sentencing mandate, a regimen of authentic and successful mentoring programs, life-skills classes, home economics, and basic business courses, drug and alcohol rehabilitation/awareness courses, 'Honor' programs, nutrition and exercise education, rst aid/CPR classes, entrepreneur training, parenting and spouse skills classes, among other relevant proven programming. Also designed, developed, and facilitated by underdeveloped/at risk communities. This would provide a people-centered, humane and socio-economical conscious system of corrections. These methods transform behavior and cultivate all the characteristics that exemplify Human excellence. I'm not suggesting that prisoners should be coddled and rewarded for crimes. That would be ridiculous and irresponsible. But, abusing and warehousing prisoners aren't the answer. This is a waste of money and puts public safety at risk in the long run. Of course, there may be those prisoners who, after attempts have been made to educate and transform them, will simply choose the path of spiritual death and failure. And maybe those prisoners should not have a release date but, not as a rst option. We need a chance at redemption. And it is in the interest of our core ideas as a people, that life without parole sentencing be abolished and to start reconsidering our approaches to dealing with justice and sentencing. We are an advanced civilization and we need a comparable method of treating Human Beings that have committed crimes. Methods that focus on the conditions and environments that cause or nurture criminal tendencies and develop the personalities to resist and defy those tendencies. Please lend your ideas and general support to end this Other Death Penalty, and begin building life affirming social systems. With Sincerity, (Herukhuti - WOMMB Institute) You may contact me at the address stated below:
