WHEN A GRAINY VIDEO IS BETTER THAN A WITNESS
By
Dortell Williams
(Approx. 650 words – non-fiction)

The case had all the elements of a whodunit – but CSI style. A 1998 robbery murder. Forensic evidence was strewn all about the Los Angeles area mini-mart storeroom.

The broken glass, displaced boxes, and an upended table told only part of the story. A scuffle - a violent scuffle – had occurred. The treasure of micro-evidence would surely tell the rest of the story; pools of blood, fingerprints (forty-eight, as a matter of fact), and even hair samples were found at the scene. It was a “eureka” moment for the crime scene investigators – or so they thought.

In the end it was all fruitless.

Their was a grainy video of one of the assailants, but he was out of range; capturing only his lower extremities.

Detectives were forced to rely on the age-old traditional methods of homicide investigation: interviews, witness surveys, calls for anonymous tips and clues apart from forensic science.

The surviving victim, a female store clerk, described the robbers as two black men. The killer was distinctive and indelible. A big man weighing about two hundred and eight pounds and about six-two with striking grey eyes.

The detectives were determined. They rounded up dozens of suspects and interviewed dozens more “persons of interest.” Anonymous tips clogged the phone lines, yet, when all was said and done, they had nothing.

The case lay dormant for close to five years until a tip led to Moses Lee Turner. The thirty-eight-year-old father of ten (he started when he was eleven-years-old) adamantly denies any involvement. “They railroaded me, man…my attorney dumped me,” Turner says energetically.

Turner, darkly toned with wired-rimmed glasses; a martial artist and talented oil painter was found guilty by a racially diverse jury of twelve on each and every count. He is now two years and some months into a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Case closed? Not quite.

A quick review of Turner’s trial transcripts reveals that there seems to be more evidence of his innocence than his guilt.

According to court records of the trial, when asked if Turner was one of the two assailants the state’s main witness – the female store clerk – said emphatically, “No.”

Turner, who is barely five-six in stature, with dark brown eyes, sat relieved that the witness was consistent in her testimony. Of the forty-eight fingerprints collected at the scene, not one was a match to Turner. Likewise with the hair samples found. Oddly, the state refused to present any blood evidence – for or against Turner. It was lost they claimed. Still, it had been established that the blood found was from more than one source.

So what was it that gave the state’s case such weight with the jury? Such weight that they were willing to overlook the apparent incompetence that caused the loss of crucial evidence? For one, they didn’t know and second: The grainy video.

The poor quality of the video was bolstered by the testimony of Turner’s parole agent. An agent recently assigned to supervise him following his release from custody stemming from an arrest for possession of drugs (for personal use) and a gun. “That stuff actually belonged to my brother, but I took the case because he was facing a strike,” Turner volunteered.

His parole officer testified that he believed the stride and nature of the person walking in the grainy video matched that of Turner’s. And such was the anemic evidence that outweighed all of the other evidence. Evidence that effectively ruled him out – or at least should have.

It is exactly this type of malpractice that led The Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel of July 2006 to conclude that the Los Angeles criminal justice system lacks sufficient checks to prevent such egregious cases of injustice.

Turner is vigorously pursuing the appeal of his case, but when the courts exercise such blatant endorsements of injustice there’s little room for hope. Meanwhile, a division of The Innocence Project has taken an interest in his case and that has helped his faith. Yet he reserves an obstinate doubt in a criminal justice system that has for too long trampled over the rights of the indigent. There’s no question that if Turner had the financial means he wouldn’t be here.

For now, his biggest hope and most fervent source of strength; in his own words, is the prospect of being able “to see and finish raising my kids.”



Sources:

(AP) “County Police More Likely to Search Black, Hispanic Drivers,” Antelope Valley Press, July 13, 2006: A6 (Re: The Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel)

The People of the State of California v. Moses Lee Turner, Superior Court No. BA179907

Reporter’s Transcripts: Volumes 11 through 14, pp. 2401-3000 (Witness said Turner was not one of the assailants – p. 2473; No fingerprints – pp. 2793-2798; No forensic evidence matched Turner – pp. 2805-2807.

November 2006

THE LAST REQUEST OF A CONDEMNED MAN:
IT’S A GOOD THING
By
Dortell Williams
(Approx. 250 words non-fiction)

The era was the 1940s. The scene, California’s death row; the actors: Carl Dobbins, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Jordon and thousands of faceless helping hands.

Dobbins had been convicted of shooting three women while in the haze of a drug and alcohol binge. Two of the women died. He was sentenced to death.

During a visit, before his execution, Dobbins asked Mr. Pacesetters, Ms. Jordon expressed her desire to give hope to the hopeless because “hope is the oxygen for the soul.”

She estimates that there are 65,000 to 100,000 homeless who need such hope; and defines homelessness as having no shelter, no security and no safety – “owning nothing or having nothing.” She also says 40 percent of the homeless are women and children, a growing trend, and a good number of the homeless are mentally ill and/or suffering from drug addiction.

Ms. Jordon is motivated by, among other things, the secret sweet satisfaction one gets from giving to others and the biblical mandate in Isaiah 58:7: “Feed the hungry, provide for the homeless [and] clothe the naked…”

To learn more about these “prisoners of penury” and how you can get involved, please contact the Fred Jordon Mission and help rescue a needy soul; experience that secret sweet satisfaction of helping others that Ms. Jordon told us about.

www.fjm.org

Sources:
Ray Gonzales, Pacesetters, KTLA-5, November 19, 2006
www.fjm.org

Date: November 2006

THE MEANING OF OVERCROWDING

by

Dortell Williams

(Approximately 200 words Non-Fiction)

The word overcrowding associated with California prisons and jails has become such common place that it’s hardly shocking to the senses anymore – even for the most patriotic of citizens who still hold value to yesterday’s higher mores.

Perhaps its time to reiterate the definition of overcrowding, not with Webster’s but, with blood, death and souls:

Overcrowding means an average of one prisoner death a week in the medical ward – due to apathetic neglect – and the highest suicide rate in the nation: 22 deaths per 100, 000, compared to an average of 13 per 100,000 around the nation.

Overcrowding translates into constant stress and frustration, and escalates into occasional rioting.

Overcrowding, in general means sleeping outside in the elements – as if in some underdeveloped country – or in a gym or dayroom not designed for anything close to humane housing.

Overcrowding means undue and constant tormenting strain and tension. Overcrowding means excruciatingly long lines for taxpaying family and friends desiring to visit.

Overcrowding means public safety put at grave risk because thousands of prisoners are released daily who had no access to the rehabilitation, drug treatment or meaningful job training you’d think would be a given in facilities bearing the name “corrections” and “rehabilitation.”

Overcrowding means failure, pain, embarrassment and danger for everyone – directly or indirectly, inside or outside.

Overcrowding in California means an ineffective $9 billion debacle rolling and increasing in steam ahead.

Overcrowding in a word means: in humanity.
October 2006

Sources:
www.cdcr.ca.gov (Department of Corrections’ website).

Don Thompson (AP) “California Inmate Suicides Climb, Security Changes Blamed,” www.monterreyherald.com, August 6, 2005.

Jennifer Warren, “State Prisons Chief Resigns After Two Months on the Job,” Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2006: Al.

WHEN NOT GUILTY MEANS PRISON TIME
by
Dortell Williams
(Approximately 1,000 words - Non-Fiction)

Imagine a few sheriff's deputies flanked by Child Protective Custody representatives showing up at your door demanding to take your child for something your ex-spouse may or may not have done. You refuse, having no idea what they are talking about. Now imagine an army of Sheriff's deputies arriving later, suited for what seems like war, guns drawn knocking down your door and forcefully taking your child, and you for something you know nothing about nor
had anything to do with. Still imagine having to endure a weak circumstantial trial for which you are found not quilt of the main charges but guilty of a supporting misdemeanor charge.The judge disagrees and overturns the guilty findings, describing it as incoherent. The prosecutor appeals and the appellate court sides with the prosecutor - you get a life sentence for a misdemeanor. That would be quite a stretch of the imagination for some, but according to a fellow prisoner, "It could happen to anyone".

That is how Anthony Hammonds a lively thirty- four year old sums it up as he enthusiastically volunteered the circumstances of his sentence of twenty five years to life. It was not that Ant, as we call him, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was safely tucked away in the warmth of his Victorville CA home attending to his five-year-year old son when the drama went down.

His quiet afternoon peace was abruptly broken by a simple knock on his walnut colored front door: followed by an authoritative "Its's the San Bernardino Sheriffs and C.P.S"! (Child Protective Services). Ant's coffee brown eyes were intense now as he related his story. As he spoke, camly and sure, his naturally contagious smile melted into his light oak-colored round face. "I opened the door and they were demanding my son", he stated in a deflated voice. "I refused and they left", he continued. However, his relief was short lived. They returned in full force riot gear and all. They violently broke through his front door and gave the neighbors a live and- in your -face episode of COPS on scene. This time they not only wanted little Antione, but now they wanted Ant too.

With two prior felonies in the hole already, Ant suddenly found himself subject to Californians notorious Three Strike Law. My eyes widen as I learned that Ant had prior convictions. Ant did't carry himself like a two-time loser. I could not imagine him as a career criminal always polite, decked with mannerisms that indicated a good upbringing alomg with a warm character that invited wholesome trust.

Ant's swift perception keyed in on my surprise and he immediately explained; "It was just two fights", what the state calls assaults. His first assault charge was for defending himself following an unprovoked attack during his high school years. Ant's second assault charge, of which he emitted a bit of a smile upon mentioning, was for beating up his little sisters over aged boyfriend. He didn't take lightly that his fifteen year old sister had been seduced by a twenty six year old man. When Ant confronted the depraved man about the illicit affair, the man already in the wrong got belligerent. Ant commenced to beating the crap out of him right there on the spot. "It could have happened to anyone", he said again.

As a result a result of the raid on his home, Ant found himself facing five counts of manufacturing methamphetmines and one count of child endangering.

According to court records I later perused, Ant's estranged wife, we will call her Ms. Jackson was renting the rear dwelling of a Victorville duplex on Verde Streer. The front of the pecan toned -structure was rented by another couple who used to feud quite frequently according to court documents. The couple were the landlords of the place. Apparently having had enough of the drug life, the landlords wife, (Susan Burch Not her real name) called the police on her husband. An ensuing raid and search of the property yielded a stash of five separate chemical containers used to manfacture meth. The color-coded containers were each housed in a storage shed behind the rear apartments - considered a common area accessible to both sets of occupants. Yet keys fitting the shed was found in possession of the couple residing in the front of the duplex.

Still a dinner plate thought to have traces of meth on its surface, but never tested or confirmed was found on top of the refrigerator in the rear dwelling, where Ms. Jackson and an unnamed five- year- old boy were present.

Ant's attorney David Elder, vigorously argued before the jury that Ant not only had nothing to do with the illegalities happening at the duplex he was not aware of any illicit activities there. He was not, did not live there and had no control over what his ex-wife might have been involved in, stated Elder. Elder also pointed out that Ant had no prior history with drugs, although his ex-wife's landlords did (and the containers behind the storage shed was pratically painted with the landlord's fingerprints.)

Still, the prosecutor, Richard Golden counter argued that Ant "Should have known that the drugs were there". His theory was that Ant visited on weekends, while picking up or dropping off his son, he should have what was going on. The prosecutor also emphaized that the apartment was in Ant's name which was not the truth.

"Did the neighbors know?" I interjected, fury sweeping from my voice. "How are you suppose to know what's going on miles away at your former residence? You were not intimate with your ex anymore, I continued. Ant's bright eyes morphed form their normal conversational gaze to intense golf-ball -sized orbs when I compared the scenario to the recent White House leak scandal: "It would be more likely that President Bush had greater opportunity to know his top advisor Karl Rove, and Rove's aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby were involved in the outting of CIA operative Valarie Plame." After all, these men worked directly under president Bush.

Ant's case is just one example of the type of expensive, wasteful prosecutions that exposes the Three Strike Law for what it is. The authorities had not initially sought Ant until they learned he had a record. Such prosecutions are also a bulls eye for those circumstantial evidence cases are just down right unreliable. Prosecutors are allowed to use almost completely unfettered theories, inferences and conjecture to make a case. As long as these elements follow the line of actual evidence, they can simply fill in the blanks with good story telling.

President Bush's assertion that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction is an international example of what can go wrong in such cases. The WhiteHouse relied on circumstantial evidence to launch a pre-emptive war that turned out to be totally baseless.

In Ant's case the injutice was exacerbated when the prosecutor failed to mention that the boy found in the home during the raids was not his son, yet that is what the jury went into deliberation believing. To make matters worse, as with any Three Strike case the jury wasn't apprised that Ant was facing a quarter-century behind bars should they find him quilty.

Fortunately the jury refused to buy into the prosecutors theories, or otherwise weak case regarding the drugs. The jury acquitted Ant and Ms. Jackson of the entire array of drug charges. Obivously confused by the prosecutor's failure to clarify which boy was present during the raid, they found the estranged couple quilty of endangering their child.

It was then that Judge Jules Fleuret threw out the groundless verdict, reasoning that it can't rain without clouds. In other words, Judge Fleuret explained that if the estranged couple was not quilty of the manufacturing charges then they couldn't be held liable for the child endangering charge which stemmed directly form the drug charge.

The case was over and Ant was a free man-or so he thought. The prosecutor immediately went over Judge Flueret's head and appealed to the Fourth District Appellate Court. Ant was ordered back to the San Bernardino County Jail where he waited fifteen long months in legal limbo with technically no charges pending against him. Finally, a decision came down: The three judge panel sides with the prosecutor opining that despite their aquittal for the drug charges the estranged pair should have known that the chemicals and manifested dope was potentially dangerous to the child. The misdemeanor child endangerment conviction was reinstated against Ant and Ms. Jackson. The court ignored the fact that Ant was not even there during the bust nor did he live there. Ms. jackson walked! For Ant the misdemeanor was tantamount to a felony and he was given twenty-five years to life due to his "violent" criminal history. Under the onerous Three Strike law misdemeanors can be converted into felonies at the prosecutors whim after two prior felonies.

"Daddy, are you ever comming home, huh?" demanded his now thirteen-year- old Antione during a recent visit. The irony in this story is that the system, and specifically Child Protective Services are supposed to act in the best interest of the child. Like most backward thinking government agencies, it seems the best interest of the child meant breaking the apparent close and loving bond shared between father and son.

Ironically, the night following my conversation with Ant I watched a televised news story that further emphazied the injustice in Ant's case.

Vikki Vargas, of our local KNBC-4 News reported that a large sting operation at a nearby swapment concluded with the arrest of several high-end fashion counterfeiters. Vargas ended her report by stating that buyers who may have purchased some of the counterfeit items need not worry about complicity- unless they knew before hand that the items purchased were fake. After that eerie reminder of Ant's story and the Valerie Plame case, in comparison to Ant's case. I am more confused than ever by what it means TO KNOW.

Sources:

Vikki Vargas, KNBC-4 News, October 13, 2005

People v. Anthony Hammonds, Case No. FVI-09361 (San Bernardino Superior Court)

Anthony Hammonds CDCR #T-52558

A THING OR TWO ABOUT ME (MUSINGS)
By Dortell Williams
(Approximately 2300 words)

I feel for people less fortunate than I, such as those with HIV/AIDS, the so-called handicapped, substance addicts and the homeless, to name a few. I am particularly sensitive to victims of crime, aren’t we all in one form or another? I don’t believe in being “politically correct” if that entails calling black and white other black and white or being less than honest or sincere. I have always been tactful, respectful and polite. To compromise truth for placation is immoral in my eyes. I miss my sweet and dear late.

The beach is my favorite spot in the world, besides various islands, known or unknown to me. To clarify the latter: curiosity is a catalyst for me. The unknown is mysterious and colorful, pristine beauty of the playa atmosphere allures me. I also love fish and the world of water. I think tropical anything and exotic and I enjoy all water activities.

I encourage women in sports, if that is their desire. I can be a perfectionist, although I can settle for simple organization and efficiency. I like eating fish and especially sea food. I believe in adoption and wish we had more. I despise divorce and wish we had less.

My favorite singer- or at least one of them – is Anita Baker. My favorite fruit is cantaloupe, though cherries, grapes and other finger-tip fruits arouse my appetite.

I adore women who know how to carry their femininity. I like the Road Runner and Tasmanian Devil, along with other Looney Tunes animated characters. I enjoy viewing cartoons with the children and hate the new format that last hours at a time. Four of five minutes each of Bugs Bunny and Friends laden with classical music in the background was clever enough for me. I believe strongly in education. I am in love with the animated queen Jessica Rabbit. I believe the female mind is equal to that of a male.

I respect and enjoy the fables Aesop and the stories of Dr. Seuss. I am extremely proud to be Black. I love the different color hues of my people and the strength we have exhibited in the midst of so much adversity. African and African American history is over flowing with drama. I relish Jazz (progressive and contemporary) and appreciate the array of founding artists such as Coltrane, “The Duke”, and many others. I also like Reggae, Gospel, Maringae, Calypso, and can appreciate any other type music save for vocal opera and heavy metal.

I don’t approve of hitting women and abhor abuse by the strong. As I experience incarceration and such limitation, I can relate and empathize with those who are oppressed, in pain, disadvantaged and deprived. I thank Jah ( the poetic form of God or Yahweh, Psalm 68:4) for the valleys and peaks of life, as I journey on.

I like large and small scale models and remote control cars and vehicles. I like kites and anything to do with the outdoors, i.e. mountains, forests, lakes, lagoons. I like all types of art except for obscenities and disguised as art. I like soccer on the beach, jogging on the beach and similar physical challenges. The mere aroma of the beach: the sand, the moisture’s waft, and the aqua-marine scent of paradise-like milieu just makes my hair stand in arousal.

I am affectionate and enjoy expressing those feelings to my intimate mate. I have an extremely passionate side that I am proud of. I am a “kid at heart” and love children – they are a gift from God. I do possess a serious side when it comes to making things happen and taking care of business; being responsible. I believe in growth and accomplishment –contribution. I am a positive person with a cheerful disposition. I absolutely adore my beloved daughter.

Learning simply fascinates me. I am a humble person by nature, but certainly can be provoked to roar up. I am an honest and straight-up person, at all times to my detriment. When I fall in love…I…fall…in…love. That has served as both a blessing and a curse. Yet I will never let the sour side of the experience ruin the beautiful utopia that true love holds for me in the future. I am a fighter and not easily won over by circumstances.

I love the rain as well as the sun, equally. I deeply appreciate nature and the work of Jah’s hands…I marvel at it! I like all sports-the competition of it. My favorite contact sports are: boxing, basketball, soccer and football.

I love the Spanish language and am enraptured by Anglo, Arab Asian and African accents spoken in English. I bask in writing and reading. The Bible is a favorite and most interesting book to me, I have read the Quran, The Torah, books on Hare Krishna, L.R. Hubbard’s and others. I like writing short stories, commentaries, poems, prose and letters to friends and family. My favorite type of letters are those I write to my soul mate: Sensual, flirtatious, and appreciative. I love all people- although they test me at times. I hate ignorance and the pain, pangs and poverty it brings.

I despise racism in any flavor. I think America is a selfish, opportunistic, hypocritical, and wasteful nation. I love America for its educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. I love America for its rich cultural diversity. I believe in family, unity and caring for others. Learning about other cultures and seeing how much we really are just people with only language and nationalistic attitudes to separate us. Meeting other people of other nationalities makes me feel closer to humanity.

I love diamonds as a favorite commodity, although I am aware that they are a man made and manipulated rarity controlled primarily by a few European brothers surnamed DeBeers. The marquise is my favorite cut. I like soul, Chinese, and Latin food. Sushi is another dish that I like to experiment with. I love to cook and bask in experimenting in the kitchen.

My favorite color is purple and it’s alluring cousins, ie. lilac, lavender, violet etc. Purple gives hope as I hate the red and blue wars of my young brothers (Bloods and Crips). When the two colors are united they make purple. It makes for a symbol of unity and it has a very antiques and royal history. I also like tropical colors and earth tones: turquoise, Tanzanian blue, forest green…

I relish the feelings and motivations of love, Floating aloft in the drift of an amorous breeze opens my emotional world of expression within, and cause a unique creativity to flow out with no labor involved: smooth, natural, incessant, and flowing.

Romance, whether in giving or receiving, thrills my heart. I live for it. I am generally calm, cool, and collected. I am often told that. I am also told that I have a reserved spirit. Few know that it is heightened by this prison (public) environment. I am proud and private. Yet I do possess an adventurous side. I believe there is a time and place for everything. I believe in family and friends over money and materials.

I like being different. I am far from a follower. I appreciate and respect truth. I admire people working together and the Olympics is a good example of what people can do despite language and hue differences. I am enchanted by the sincerity of the children and long for five (5) more of my own. I love both sons and daughters, equally. I hate racism.

I am enchanted by femininity expressed well. Body language is a favorite study of mine, although mine is at times awkward and funny. I am a bit old-fashioned and believe subtle, respectful, and patience ways of the past were more promising and less destructive than those of this day.

I do not judge. I have a knack for noticing the idiosyncrasies of others. I am a stickler for details. I like people to be themselves around me, whether I agree or disagree with their way. I am turned off by people who try to impress me or be other than themselves. It is pretentious. I like people who tell it like it is. I don’t always like what is being said, but do like being able to trust that person’s sincerity.

Favorite stones of mine are opal, onyx, and of course, amethyst. I love the smell of fresh coffee and like diverse exotic flavors, but borderline hypertension limits my intake. Experimenting with the various flavors of tea is also fulfilling to me. I like trying new things and really like living life to the fullest.

I would like to learn to fly a plane and a helicopter; play key boards and ski. I am thrilled by the Tom Cat F-series planes and the technology of the day excites me. I like miniatures: scale models, towns, people, bridges, boats, ships, and trains. I like alcoholic beverages and the various tastes and ways one can experiment, but think drunkenness is silly. How can one really enjoy himself out of his right mind? And how worthy can fun be when one can’t remember? I like the perfect practical advice of the Bible. I respect authority and hate unfinished projects.

I get real irritated when people consistently cut me off in conversation. We all do it, I know, but it’s only bothersome when it’s consistent. I get short when hungry, unless I am fasting. I have a very brief attention span if I don’t get my six hours rest the night prior. I need “space” when going through trials or changes in my life, or when I just get in from work- just a quarter-hour, or so, in my mental cave is usually sufficient. I am the type who needs time to re-group because I habitually analyze everything.

I enjoy reading. I read everything I can get my hands on, in spite of the challenges of confinement. Many people say that I am smart. But I simply read and absorb the contents of the literature I take in. I have a vast array of cognitive knowledge because I read. It gives me the ability to assimilate other people’s ideas, experiences and knowledge into my own. I think I can be rather slow, actually.

I can be stubborn and have been known to rebel in my youth. But these are traits I try to fetter because they offend Jah and others. For the most part I am humble, at times to my own embarrassment; people just don’t understand the motivations of sincerity or love. I like peace and getting along. I am much more productive in such an environment and I live to produce. I view mist things of this life vanity and too small to trip on anyway. I am very devoted. I absolutely hate oppression.

I find it extremely hard to get bored in this life. There are just too many beautiful things that Jah had made here that I know little or nothing about to get bored. I like being creative in things I have interest in, such as cooking, romancing my lover, recreation, and playing with children. I am touched by people showing affection toward one another.

I have been told many things about me. I have been told I am quiet. I have been described as a peace maker, humble, and even handsome.

I have been called various called names such as Still Will, causing me to assume it is in reference to my quiet nature. Others have written it “Steal Will” in compliment to my patience. Family members, and some friends have called me “Pretty Boy” or “Baby Boy” (youthful appearances run in my family). Latinos sometimes call me “Negro Bonito”, which is a compliment. In my youth I was called “Crazy D” due to my daring spirit. My dad used to call me “Dort” which is short for Dortell, my middle name. I hated when he called me that. It made me hate my entire middle name. However, in my maturity, I have come to appreciate the name Dortell, which I am told is French. I now go by my middle name because it is so much more unique than my very common first and last names abound.

I love the old Sinbad the Sailor movies, as well as Phillis Diller and Lucy. I like the black and white movie era and how those of that period focused on talented, captivating writing rather than gratuitous sex, violence, and special effects. I am deeply entertained by Laurel and Hardy and antics of the Little Rascals. I think television is too graphic these days and artistic and creative value, in many value, in many ways, has been diluted. I have a real problem with vain and empty promises. I believe most of us need to learn to be more responsible for what we say to others; mean what you say and say what you mean, advise the sages. I hate stereotyping and generalizing others. I think it is…well, ignorant.

People and especially our trusted friends are one of the three mirrors in life. The other two are the Bible, which tells and shows our nature. The last is the physical mirror, which reflects our appearance.

Jah, is my strength and victory and I am happy that He is in my life. With that I will I conclude, though there is so much more I could add. I have written this verbal introspection over a sporadic span of five months. Every time I would think of something new to add I’d just jot it down until finally I had this compilation. Any comments or feedback is welcome. O value the ideas, views, and opinions of others.


1996/1997

Note: Though this entry is over ten years old, I am pretty much the same person, only matured.

AMERICA'S SECRET TERROR INCUBATORS
by
Dortell Williams
(approx. 500 words non-fiction)

Imagine... sitting beside a tall, disheveled, long-haired and bespectacled man on a plane - who has a bomb in his shoe! Prosecutors say Richard Reid, also known as The Shoe Bomber, was not only sporting such improvised exploding kicks, but he was also attempting to ignite them when he was arrested in 2001. His failed attempt to kill hundreds of other, by making as animated bomb of himself, earned his an eternal sentence of life without the possibility of parole in prison; the same place - only in Britain - where he allegedly was converted to such radicalism.

Security experts now fear that US prisons are potential perspectives like those convicted terrorist Reid adopted.
In spite of the fact that five years have passed since Reid's arrest, and there has only been one alleged incident of attempted in - custody recruiting (where a California prisoner allegedly tried to convert others to a radical and murderous line of thinking), the possibilities are endless.

Prisons have long been concrete and steel incubators for radical and subversive thought, fueled and nourished by rampant idleness, acute boredom and neglect in our nation's prisons.
California, which has virtually no rehabilitation or treatment programs for the majority of its prisoners, is a good example of bad policy. For three decades, California prisons have birthed or cultivated some of the most notorious gangs in US history - and then spread (or deported) them to other states and countries.

Now, in the menacing face of terrorism, experts propose initiating preventive measures to impede the odorous waft of potential radicalism in US prisons across the board.
Meanwhile, California incarcerates more people then any other state, many for non-violent offenses; needlessly exposing its non-violent citizens to such latent radicalism. California has already failed us dismally with its unbridled gang problem. Kids are killing kids in unprecedented numbers, spawned by gang violence. The failure lies in the state's backward and failed attempt to arrest its way out of the growing crisis, instead of focusing on prevention programs.

Likewise, the US as a whole incarcerates more people than any other modern nation, many, also for non-violent offenses. If California is a prelude (or omen) to the future of US prison policy, then without real and meaningful education, drug treatment, job training, pre-release and other reforming programs, this country is in for an extended and punctuated bloody fight like never seen before.

The US government and its individual states must develop programs for those who've made mistakes. There are scores of prisoners who desperately want to change their lives, but don't know how. These prisoners are offered little or no opportunity, or guidance from penal institutions although these facilities have almost complete control over their in-custody lives. If security experts really want to prevent radicalism in US prisons then they must push to proactively change the hearts and minds of its prisoners right here at home - before the radicals do.

Sources:
Alexandra Marks, " Islamic Radicals in Prison: How many?" Christian Science Monitor, September 20, 2006: p.3

MAKING MATTERS WORSE: WADDLING IN THE MESS

by

Dortell Williams

400 words ( non-fiction)

It reminds me of when petro-rich G. W. Bush announced "America is addicted to oil," yet he - the Supreme a

(and extreme) Commander-in-Chief - failed to effectively push for or provide adequate funding for alternatives.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, /Bush's political- party mate in California, seems to be of the same political inclination: Got a mess? Wade and waddle in it, instead of cleaning it up.

As a long-term prisoner in California's chaos-saddled clink, I was especially attentive to the then campaigning actor's 2003 promise to clean up California's troubled prison system. The subject was hoisted as a prominent theme in his Gray Davis recall election campaign.

California is host to the biggest penal and jail systems, respectively, in the nation. Primarily because of misdirected and ignominious state policies like the Three Strikes law, which calls for the indefinite lock-up of misdemeanor shoplifters, and worse: mentally ill and drug addicted people who should be patients instead of prisoners.

When Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to reduce the overcrowding - he belatedly acknowledged after threats of a federal takeover - he misrepresented the facts of Proposition 66 which would have amended the Three Strikes law. No, instead of heading off predictable overflow problem, he hyper-inflated the amount of non-violent prisoners who would have been re-sentenced and screened for release under the amendment.

Meanwhile, California's 70 percent recidivism rate is the highest in the U.S., coupled with a repressive Board of Parole Hearing panel who releases only an annual 2 percent trickle of thousands of reformed lifers - lending absolutely no hope despite our accomplishments and demonstrations of personal rehabilitation that would be praised in other states. And as the governor silently and idly watched on, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson seized control of the medical wing of the prison system in and emergency response to frequent preventable inmate deaths.

As before, now that political season is in full swing, prison reform is suddenly important again.

It was under Schwarzenegger's watch that the first correctional officer was murdered in over twenty years due to the inappropriate housing of a mentally ill prisoner. The prison budget also swelled from $6 billion annually to 8 billion in the unprecedented span of 12 months with Schwarzenegger in command. Experts assign blame on rampant overtime by the prison guards, mismanagement and a generous contract give away for the prison guards that included a 37 percent pay raise, over 5 years ( whiled other state employees only saw a 3 percent raise for the same period), along with frequent cost overruns - all while the state was experiencing a financial meltdown.

The problems within the juvenile and adult penal systems are so pervasive, not one, but two prison head bureaucrats have consecutively resigned within the last few months citing a lack of will by the governor to go beyond adding the euphonious title of rehabilitation to the California Department of Corrections.

Could his own tailored phrase "girlie men" apply here?

Recently the non-partisan Corrections Independent Review panel recommended releasing the the inevitable pressure from the bulging penal Crock Pot, stating: " The key to reforming the [prison] system lies in reducing the numbers"; common sense to you and I , but Schwarzenegger's response to this mess? Build two more prisons with money we don't have (using bonds and unnecessarily putting the state back in debt) so we can all be further financially and immorally drowned in this ever increasing cesspool of failure.

Sources:

Vikki Vargas, KNBC 4 News June 26, 2006 (Governor Calls Special Legislative Session for Prison Reform).

Adriene Alpert, News Conference, KNBC 4 June 25, 2006 (Federal special master John Hagar releases scathing report on prisons).

Jennifer Warren, "Prison Guard Turned Boss Presses for Reform, " Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2004: Al, A22

Dan Morain, "Doubt Cast on Guards' Contract, " Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2004: B1 B10.

Don Thompson, " Federal Judge Pans prison Guards' Contract, " Antelope Valley Press, July 21, 2004: A2

Senator Gloria Romero, Senate Bill 1547, February 2006, (Quote from Correction's Independent Review Panel).

THREE STRIKES: AMERICA'S NEXT TABOO?

by

Dortell Williams

300 words Non-fiction

America has a lot of taboo subjects. Religion and politics top the lists. These are subjects "you just don't talk about."

However, there are still other topics at which the mere mention evokes an acute cringe. Race relations, for example, is a subject many would rather avoid, especially when it leads to that of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The slave trade involved the systematic kidnapping of millions of Africans, for the purpose of work exploitation in this country. Families were separated; never to see one another again. The women were maliciously mistreated and viciously raped. The children in worked in such gruesome conditions, it would make today's child labor complaints trivial. The men savagely beaten, over worked and killed. Slavery is a repulsive American tragedy that we really don't like to discuss. The nauseating subject indeed a American taboo.

Jim Crow laws followed: separate but equal was the rule on paper, but in reality, the Negroes, as we were called, got the literal and the metaphorical pig scraps that the ruling class rejected. In education, health care, housing and in courts of law, Negroes were served the intestines of social services. That is how the rules and laws were written, and to the majority of White America these unfair and unequal edicts were perfectly fine.

Americans also shy away from the troubled conditions of today's Native American. High unemployment, rampant alcoholism and pervasive poverty plague the Native American. To most modern day Americans it is no secret that the Natives were here first. These remarkable people lived here for centuries without prisons or mass human killing devices. The Natives American was a family oriented soul - knit as one in community. These people were the epitome of environmentalists. They lived with the land; as part of the land, and were gracious servant stewards of the land.

Then came the colonialist; bringing with them destructive disease, cold-blooded murder and the cruelest of rape. They trampled over everything that came before them- respecting nothing- not even life.

These are the subjects that Americans does not like to talk about. We'd rather ignore this history; this giant in the room; this factual elephant that reveals a glimpse of why these and other minorities rate so dismally in the aftermath of such atrocities. The patterns of unique struggles of the formally ravished are unequivocally consistent. Meanwhile, most Americans wish this shameful history would simply and quietly go away.

Yet, how can it go away when we have so many current reminders of the past? As history repeats itself, over and over again, the one thing we can glean from it is a guide into the future.

California's Three Strike law is a reminder of a capricious yesterday. Come twenty-five years from now will Three Strikes be another of our unmentionables? A taboo subject desperately hid behind the shame of a law that has been statistically and numerically proven to be minority inclined? As an example, Blacks make up just seven percent of Californians population, yet, represent a devastating forty percent of the three-striker population.

Three Strikes is an unforgiving law that goes back in time and penalizes - for life - old offenses that occurred twenty, forty and fifty years age. Three Strikes is a law that incarcerates eternally, for petty and non-violent offenses.

Three Strides unnecessarily separates families - en mass - as did slavery. The onerous law is likened to the furtherance of colonialism. Three Strikes is horrendously unconscionable.

Three Strikes is a vicious and wicked law that I'm afraid will, if not reformed be America's next taboo.

Sources:

www.factsl.org

www.cdcr.ca.gov