<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The title of this post is the title of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/24/topeka-sam-christopher-2x-presidential-pardons-criminal-justice/">this <em>Washington Post</em> commentary</a> authored by Christopher 2X and Topeka K. Sam. Here are excerpts:</p> <blockquote> <p>In this holiday season, in a year of racial unrest, record gun violence in our cities, and a devastating pandemic, we received a blessing — a presidential pardon for our drug convictions.</p> <p>We are extremely grateful. We’re fortunate to have many friends who have supported our work for justice, second chances and nonviolence since we left prison. They vouched for us even though a pardon wasn’t something we requested for ourselves.</p> <p>The blessing of a pardon, however, comes with a stark reminder of so many thousands who are not as fortunate as we are. They are still stuck in a still flawed justice system that prizes the punitive over the rehabilitative — and they should not be. For every one of us, there are thousands who are powerless and voiceless, who do not deserve the harsh punishment and treatment they’ve received in our criminal justice system, and whose names will never appear before a president for a pardon.</p> <p>Because pardons alone can’t solve what needs fixing.... We incarcerate too many Black people, with horrible impacts on Black communities and families that last for generations — including distrust of government and police, and an inability for many to see the humanity in each other, even at early ages. To young Black people, understandably, and tragically, the government is the demon.</p> <p>It doesn’t have to be that way, and if we want safer, more just communities, it’s unsustainable. But if we are ever going to coexist in peace so all children can reach their potential, we must reverse our history of racial injustice — a history, and a present, in which Black and Brown people have been excluded from the economy and society....</p> <p>We’re grateful to be pardoned for our convictions. We strived, when we left prison, to atone for the pain we inflicted on our family and friends, which gave us the motivation to work for justice and peace.</p> <p>We plan to use our pardons as an example to others that there is such a thing as redemption in this country. But we intend to keep fighting for change, in our laws and across society. We must keep working intentionally and with determination to build a more equitable, just society, one in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect.</p> </blockquote><P>I am hopeful (though not optimistic) that Prez-elect Joe Biden will have the good sense to nominate to the US Sentencing Commission at least on person with direct expereince with the federal criminal justice system as a defendant. The commentary has me thinking that it could be especially meaningful and valuable for Biden to nominate to the uSSC persons like Christopher 2X and Topeka K. Sam who received pardons from Prez Trump.</div> Via RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247011 http://www.rssmix.com/
Comments
Post a Comment