Lock them up and throw away the keys

LOCK THEM-UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEYS By G.K.Vega In association with, GKVEGABOOKS.com For months now I’ve been consciously searching for representation of myself in the media, especially in television. I know I’d recognize this self because of certain distinctive, though not unique, features: I am a forty-one-year-old man crippled by incarceration; although I can still reach out to society with the aid of a phone, more and more of the time I utilize pen and paper. Because of these appliances and my peculiar situation, it’s hard to make my state of affairs known. So, when I tell you I haven’t noticed any man like me on television, you can believe me. Actually, last week I did see a man incarcerated portrayed on one of the crime dramas that offer a murder-of-the-week like the daily special at your local diner. In fact, that was the whole point of the show: that this convicted man apparently murdered his neighbor out of jealousy towards his wife. The officers tell a story, and the family continues to suffer for the loss of their loved one. Understandably, I assure you, losing a family member hurts. At the end of the day, everyone is trammeled one way or the other. The tv shows are banking from such cases. They give a new meaning to the saying, “crime pays”. What happened the wrongful convictions and the men fighting to prove their innocence? The governor will convince you a defendant has no right to speak out and put forth a legitimate claim of injustice. Not with me buddy! The United States Postal Service has made more money off me in 22 years than Amazon itself. I’m kidding! I have, however, mailed documents proving this wrongful conviction to everyone and their grandmothers. Did you receive your yet? Capitation into one of those boring shows who use the media influence to captivate the mind of easily convinced individuals is hardly the sort of representation I had in mind. Even if offered money, it would not be what I’m looking for. Such a television show, as well as boring documentaries, excludes the complexities that round out what an inmate must go through in order to make an attempt at proving his innocence. It’s not about handcuffs and a jail cell full of coaches as the determining factor of one who is in police custody. Take it from me, doing time looms pretty large in one’s life. But it will never devour me wholly. I’m not, for instance, Mr., a walking, talking embodiment of the average person who repeatedly comes in and out of jail without embarrassment. In most ways, I'm like the turtle competing against the rabbit. I will make a way! I’m just like every other man of my age, nationality, and socioeconomic background. I worry about my relatives, so I reach out to them. I drink alcohol from time to time. Just not the normal blend sold at your local store. I smear my wrinkling skin with lotions from another part of the world no one has heard off. I wash my clothing by hand, don’t have the benefit of a normal washing machine. I eat pizza. It may look and taste like its two days old, but we call it pizza. I’m sure I can still drive a car, operate a smartphone, love my wife and be a productive citizen. I once asked a new channel reporter why his produces didn’t include wrongful convictions in his spots. His response seemed direct enough: “We don’t want to give people the idea that our justice system has fallen apart.” But tell me truly now: If you saw me walking out of the county jail after being exonerated, would you think I’m the only one among millions? I think the reporters excuse masked a deeper and more anxious rationale: To depict wrongfully convicted people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something wrong with the judicial system, that it may occur to anybody. If it is effaced completely, or at least isolated as a separate “problem,” so that it remains at a safe distance from other human issues, then the viewer won't feel threatened by his own mental vulnerability. Squeeze a little more juice from that orange and it would then become “political.” A lot of “good old boys” who have held seats for decades, will surely lose massive votes. The excessive use of force in Floyd’s case caused a nation-wide outrage. Thousands got together and marched for justice. Where’s the unity for those who have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life without parole? (Slow death) I have been waiting for the past 22 years and counting...