Innocent people are convicted every day. The magnitude of the number is staggering. There are tens of thousands, over a hundred thousand people serving life sentences for nonviolent crimes that were their first offense. Is this fair?
Sharanda Jones
Alice Marie Johnson
Obama pardoned 212, reduced the sentence of 1715 including 568 of those serving life sentences.
How do you feel about this? Do you leave it up to the law makers thinking that they are the only ones with enough intelligence or information to make these decisions? What if they are wrong? What if it were your family member?
Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 11 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
Baking In A Tornado https://www.BakingI
The Lieber Family Blog http://thelieberfamily.com
The Bergham Chronicles
The Blogging 911 http://theblogging911.com/blog
Cognitive Script https://cognitivescript.blogsp
Never Ever Give Up Hope https://batteredhope.blogspot.
My Brand of Crazy https://sarahsbrandcrazy.blogs
Climaxed
Part-Time Working Hockey Mom https://thethreegerbers.blogsp
Southern Belle Charm http://www.southernbellechar
Paradoxical Suds
There have been movies made about certain cases. I've seen on the six o'clock news where someone is granted clemency and released from prison after serving over twenty years. Innocent people. Sitting behind bars for days, weeks, months and years, all the while knowing they are innocent but crushed by the system.
Then we have those who are guilty. Some poor smuck ran a light and hit a parked car. Left the scene. No one was hurt. But they find him, he is arrested and after months in jail goes to trial. He's never been in any type of trouble before but all of a sudden his two wrong decisions land him in prison. Due to enhancements that are added during his trial, he ends up being found guilty. Jury goes home. Months later the judge passes his final judgment. His sentencing time. LIFE without parole. What? What happened? Was he wrong for drinking and driving? Yes. Did he make a stupid move by leaving the scene? Yes. Was anyone hurt? no. So why this harsh sentence?
It is appalling. How do we stop it? Stand up for ourselves. Research the politicians running for office. Vote for those who are really "for the people" and vote against bonds because there is always a hidden agenda inside that slips through the cracks.
Write letters to your congressman, state representatives and local authorities. Don't bury your head in the sand because it doesn't affect you. One day it might, then what?
I try very hard to keep my opinions to myself and not discuss politics or religion however, this subject was thrust upon me. I wasn't sure how to handle it. I read about several cases, did my research and decided to handle it this way.
Thank you Jenniy for bringing this to my attention. Did I know about some of these cases yes, but the number of cases, no.
Your “Secret Subject” is:
You've been tasked with choosing one person who has been convicted of a crime and presenting their case to the President for potential pardon or commutation a la Kim Kardashian West in recent news. Who do you choose and how do you present the case?
It was submitted by: https://climaxedtheblog.blogsp
As I was saying in Rabia's post, I'd love to contribute to make the "justice" system "just" because it seems to be awfully flawed at times.
ReplyDeleteGood points in your case. The case also lacked deliberateness, plus it looks like the defendant had no prior convictions.
I agree, there is no way to understand the injustice of sentences. I think the best thing we can do is make our voices heard, and vote for those who understand the issue.
ReplyDeleteThe legal system is a mess. When my husband was 16 years old he broke into a house. He was sentenced to five years with no prior record. Someone else molests a child and gets a year. I'm not saying my husband (who was just a kid) didn't deserve to get in trouble, but it shouldn't be about who has the most money.
ReplyDeleteMy husband went to prison because a friend with an ax to grind chose criminal court instead of civil. The only witness to the truth committed suicide just before we went to court. It almost destroyed our lives and even though it happened in 1974, we still suffer from the ramifications today. The reason the judge decided to sentence my husband was the lamest I ever heard "I want to make him an example to deter others from doing the same thing!" were his words. On the other hand, because of what we went through, we have helped countless people around the world and even more when my book was published. It was a stepping stone to better things.
ReplyDeleteIt's something I face all the time doing what I do with prisoners. Some have actual innocence claims and some made stupid decisions. In 11 years, I have met one person who I thought was a true sociopath and never needed to be out of prison. Just 1 in dozens of people I have chosen randomly, you know? And every time we turn around there is another person who spent decades behind bars because we got it wrong. Setting them free after all that time doesn't give them the chance to raise their kids or have kids at all or get married or have a job history to make it in the world they are released into... I really commend what Kim Kardashian is doing despite all the criticism she received. She's shining a light on some much needed issues, and with her platform, that can only be good. I'm glad the subject helped shine a light for you too!
ReplyDelete