Black Lives Really Do Matter
Photo by Jarele Taylor, Jarele Taylor Photography
Over the past few years, my heart has been touched by those who have been wrongly convicted and incarcerated. Some have been on death row and have served 25 to 30 years. Their lives have been stolen from them at the hand of crooked police, corrupt judges and a system that is badly broken. The justice system has two variables: one for White offenders and one for Black/Brown offenders. What if the Milwaukee police officer had been Black and put his knee on a Caucasian offender’s neck? We know that entire scenario would have played out differently.
George Floyd was murdered by a white Milwaukee police officer, who had his knee on his neck for over 9 minutes. Mr. Floyd allegedly had a counterfeit $20 bill. To date, it has not been proven that the bill was in his possession nor was counterfeit. But it was obviously enough to take a man’s life, leaving a family devastated and an entire nation mourning.
Ahmaud Arbery was innocently jogging in a rural Georgia neighborhood while three “vigilantes” saw the need to follow him and then viciously shoot him. He had no weapon and he was not a threat to these white men. The crime was “he walked through a vacant house”, not defacing any property nor stealing from the property…he just walked in and look around.
“So many others come to mind … innocent Black men or women who have experienced the wrath of this horrific hatred. There are too many to mention.”
My focus, at this time, is young Blacks who have been convicted and incarcerated “in error”, over the years, but cannot regain their youth, were not able to attend parents’ funerals, could not watch their children grow up and have virtually lost those years. It angers me, cutting to the fiber of my character and stirring up hatred in my in my very being. I try hard, but when I read the stories, I think of my beloved family members that could have easily been accused, convicted at the hand of this judicial system.
Allow me to introduce Cornelius Dupree of Houston, Texas who served 30 years for rape and was declared innocent in 2010. He was originally sentenced to 75 years, but because there was a lack of evidence, he was exonerated. The Innocence Project represented him and found his DNA did not match traces in this case.
The late Glenn Ford of Shreveport, Louisiana, wrongfully convicted of a 1983 murder, served nearly 30 years in solitary confinement and 20 years on death row. Brought before an all-white jury in 1984, his two court appointed attorneys had never tried a case and were not criminal attorneys. The local coroner testified that the fatal shot was fired by someone who was lefthanded. Mr. Ford was left-handed.
These wrongful arrests and convictions don’t only happen in the south. Let’s look at Anthony Wright in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who was wrongly imprisoned for 25 years. He was charged and then sentenced to life without parole for a 1991 rape and murder. Again, DNA, would prove his innocence.
Within that same city of “brotherly love”, Jimmy Dennis was recently found innocent after serving 25 years for murder of a 17-year-old girl. At 22 years old, he was sentenced to death, and had to experience the passing of his father, while incarcerated. An aspiring R&B singer, Mr. Dennis wrote more than 700 songs while in prison.
“The blatant injustice is a stench in our nostrils that is not easily disregarded. ”
How could this happen time after time without the system being held accountable? Is it not obvious that there is a pattern to this madness? Or does the judicial system, north or south, feel they are rightfully judging and convicted Blacks fairly. That could not be true.
In my times of “questioning,” I often wonder how many young Blacks are still housed like animals in our cruel penal system. How many of these may be innocent, with no hope, no one to fight for them and no way out. How many are on death row? But, the question that rings in the forefront of my consciousness… how many of our innocent brothers have been arrested, charged, imprisoned and then executed? Since 2002, there have been 12 executions of white defendants, while 178 of the executions were Black. At the present time, Blacks make up approximately 42% of those on death row, waiting to be executed. That is a just moderate estimate.
In the midst of this dark commentary, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), in Montgomery, Alabama, along with other prison reform organizations, have worked tirelessly to provide legal representation to those who may have been wrongly convicted. This includes poor prisoners without effective representation and others who may have been denied a fair trial. They are all committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States challenging racial and economic injustice, protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in this country.
The EJI’s success has been documented, not only in the widely acclaimed film “Just Mercy,” but also documenting the reversal of at least 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row. Attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder and director, has led the organization in winning major legal challenges, eliminating excessive sentencing, confronting abuse of incarcerated and the mentally ill. It has been a major task for Mr. Stevenson and his staff since 1989, as they challenge the death penalty and provide re-entry assistance to those formerly incarcerated.
At the time of this writing, the Federal government has halted executions in our country in order to further review protocols and standards; this was after the Trump administration carried out 13 executions in six months! Concerned citizens, the prison reform organizations, and the power of legislation are all necessary to modify these practices and change the narrative concerning the wrongly incarcerated.