The Coveted Commandment: CONVICTED FOR A CRIME I DID NOT COMMIT © 2014 by Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr.

A Perspective on America's Criminal Justice System and

It’s Incarceration of the Innocent[1]

1. This post is based on information gathered from the Innocence Project[2]. The Innocence Project was begun by Attorneys, Barry Scheck[3] and Peter Neufeld[4] in 1992, at the Benjamin Cordoza School of Law.[5] Through its efforts, approximately 314 men and women have been released from various prison facilities. Most of those who have been released have been as a result of exoneration by DNA.[6] There are more statistics, but those statistics seem to fall far short in the area of pointing out that our Criminal Justice System has a tremendous problem, and that is, that it focuses more on incarceration and less on rehabilitation, and to that end, has become a system of suppression, not justice. What can be done about it?

2. NOTHING!

3. Nothing! Because, as long as American citizens, we are content to believe that our Criminal Justice System, with all of its flaws, is still the best there is.

4. Nothing! Because the majority of those who fall victim to the so-called justice system aren’t perceived to be of value, that if they happen to fall victim to America’s justice system, that in the long run, it fairs out. Why? Because maybe the perception is that we have fewer that never made it to prison who are guilty, who are roaming around free. Yes, it all fairs out well.

5. Nothing! That is the context of our response to a system that imprisons more people in a country that purports to be about freedom than any other country we know, particularly in our Western- dare I say it- Civilization. Well, maybe our freedom should have an asterisk behind it, because the few people who have managed to get free from behind America’s jails and prisons can attest to the fact that their freedoms and rights were violated, and that their freedoms and rights were undermined.

6. Nothing! That would appear to be the best alternative to revising America’s prison system, because justice does not appear to live here anymore, if it’s main objective is to imprison, at all costs or, regardless of the cost.

7. ALTERNATIVES-We can suggest alternatives to imprisoning people, but we have to at least correct the current wrongs. We have to also acknowledge the wrongs. We have people, in America, who are American citizens, who but for the fact that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time in their lives, find themselves in our jails and prisons. And unfortunately, DNA fingerprinting may not clear them. Many of those who are unquestionably innocent, lack the funds, or connections necessary for someone to not only open their cell doors, but to even look at their cases. Why?

8. Because, we have a Criminal Justice System that has placed so high a price on justice, that one would appear to be guilty simply because of one’s economic status, in America.

9. But let us not bash the American Criminal Justice system, we are here to make suggestions. We have to make suggestions. We have to make it known, that our system of Criminal Justice is in a state of flux. And that despite the presumption that there maybe an insignificant number of men and women behind bars who are presumably innocent, that that number could only have grown in the growth of our country over 200 years. Why?

10. Because we are not quick to point out America’s flaws. We are slow to point out her flaws, and quick to condemn anyone who dares to say that America is imperfect. Almost to the point, if not directly to the point, as to accuse anyone who dares to call America out for any form of injustice, as treasonous. I dare to disagree, and point to America’s own birth as a reason to look at how she has grown. America has grown because she wanted to be a just nation, in contrast to her ancestral beginnings, out of Great Britain.[7]

11. America, cannot continue to conduct herself without regard to her citizens, even the least among them, as though justice is only reserved for the rich, the elite, or the well –connected. America cannot expect to continue to go on with business as usual. She has to commit to being a just nation lest she would fall weak to indifference and elitism. America is a better country than that!

12. America cannot continue to point the finger of inhumanity at her counter-parts of China, [8]North Korea,[9] Cuba,[10] or Russia,[11]. America can only for so long, turn a blind eye to her own short comings, while holding the world at large accountable for their actions. And all because, America places a price on freedom as though it were oil from the sands of Kuwait, or Iraq, subject to increase on the verge of any disagreement, but unlikely to decrease when tempers are at rest.

13. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? Well, what would we like to do? What are our options? I am sure that we would like to free all of the innocent people who have been locked up in our jails and prisons. But, there are those who would contend that that would cause more problems than it would solve. Their contention would be that we would have people who are impacted by the system acting like the criminals that the system has made them out to be. What other options do we have?

14. The first thing to conclude is that we have options. That we have options to free innocent people on one hand, and to stop imprisoning innocent people on the other. Can both be done simultaneously? Of course! We are America! We can do anything, we want to. The proof is in the fact that we have locked up innocent people for crimes that they haven’t committed. But, on the other hand, who are we, if not Americans, if we can’t set them free?

15. Our options begin and stop with the Criminal Justice System. From its concept of over 200 years ago, here in America, was it not for our Criminal Justice System to operate under the auspices of allowing one guilty to go free rather than imprison one thousand of those who could be innocent of a crime? Or was that just an attempt at mapping out a system whose overall intent was to ensure justice would not come to bear in America. And what about justice?

16. IS THE IDEA OF JUSTICE A MOVING TARGET? And has that target, justice, by its elusiveness, become so hard to narrow down, that rather than improve on the Criminal Justice System, as Americans, we are content to have in name only, a system that falls far short of ever achieving its goals? And what about justice?

17. Is justice only defined by race? That when a person of color is merely accused, that justice is served? That when a person is indicted, tried, and released, that justice failed. That when, all too often, a person of color has been tried and convicted, served his/her time, that the conviction will continue to serve as an extension of justice throughout his/her life, even as they walk freely on the streets of America. And what about justice?

18. IS JUSTICE ONLY DEFINED BY ECONOMICS? That when a person of meager means is forced to become a casualty of the system, through detainment, arrests, indictments, or trial, that the system exercises its greatest power of all, by burying the poor below its powerful financial paw. That the Criminal Justice System, with its seemingly endless budget, can spare no expense in imprisoning the weakest among us, but can find not one dollar ($1.00) to change its system of unfairness. Never mind the undue burden that crushes the poor, or those of color, instead, we are concerned about the undue burden that may befall the Criminal Justice system. What are our options?

19. Our options are few, but powerful, if we choose to exercise them. Our options are limited, but important. Our options, however, if initiated today, will take beyond our life-time to have an impact. So, if we expect to see a change within 10 or 20 years, you can just forget about it right now. But, if you think that it is worth it, you can start today. How?

20. One phone call to a legislator, congressman or senator; one email to the same; one letter to the same, one conversation with someone whom you know can make a difference; one text message to a friend; or one blog post to those whom you know share your passion and concern for justice. Now, imagine if 10, 100, 1000, or 1,000,000 people did that today, and each day for the next 20 years. Is it possible that the wheels of justice could be reversed, or grind to a halt to look at how our Criminal Justice System gets wrong, when innocent people are convicted for a crime that they didn’t commit?

21. Is it possible that one letter, text, or conversation that one of us made, save one life from ruin because they were too poor to fight a powerful system that has an unlimited budget to crush them? Is it possible that one person among us, who would lend their name to fight a cause greater than themselves, would ask that the Criminal Justice System of the United States of America, would re-evaluate how, on its best day, it works to imprison people because of the color of their skin, and then, because of that imprisonment, but not because of their guilt, consider justice to be served? Who among us, one time only, will take it upon themselves to take on a system that has reached its peak with respect to true justice, that has defined justice not by right or wrong, but by the contradiction of its very name? Justice!

22. Who among us, will be that one, who will say to our American Criminal Justice system, that true justice is a bar too high, and that we will settle for the statistically few innocent lives that fall between the cracks in an effort to imprison the presumably thousands of suspected guilty who are deserving to be imprisoned, if not killed, in the name of justice?

23. And better yet, who, within the Criminal Justice System, of America, will stand up and say: “Let us stop this madness!”? Who, as defense lawyers; prosecutors; judges; juries; police officers; law-makers; council representatives; mayors, sheriffs; deputies and citizens will take part in taking freedom from American citizens, who but for the fact that they are poor, were in the wrong place at the wrong time, are caught up in a system that implies that: getting it right is not the order of the day”. That: “If you want justice, you have to pay for it!” That: “If you can’t pay for justice in America, you are guilty!”

24. IN CONCLUSION: The Innocence Project, a noble program that it is, with whatever monies that it is able to pull together from whatever sources will not be the end-all answer to freeing innocent men and women who are locked up in America’s jails and prisons. Their purpose, as best that I can tell is single-fold: to exonerate those who have been convicted through the use of DNA testing. The Innocence Project, while not necessarily a lone-wolf in the pursuit of undoing injustice in America, is just a snapshot of the need to address untold injustices exacted by America’s Criminal Justice System. There are untold men and women who have been locked up in our prisons, and the need to get it right, is not at the top of the agenda of many of our political leaders.

25. We know that our political leaders risk the image of being “too soft on crime”, or “a bleeding heart liberal” if they challenging a system determined to be set in its ways of injustice. An image many of our leaders cannot afford to earn if they wish to remain politically viable, and continue to progress in the world of politics. But imagine how great it would be, if any one of or group of our political leaders would risk standing up for a cause greater than themselves, whereby, those who would benefit from their efforts have yet to know that their names are rising on the list of those soon to be released from America’s jails and prisons.

26. Imagine, if you will, a political leader, whose greatest achievement is to take on the Criminal Justice System and all who hold it so dear. A system who has acquiesced to the contentment, that getting it right is a bar too high to achieve, and that if, for whatever reason, a few thousand innocent people are the victims of our American Criminal (In)Justice System, then so be it. Imagine that leader’s legacy, that he/she fought for those who could not vote, nor defend themselves against such a system that worked to suppress rather than provide justice as promised by the Constitution of the United States of America. That that leader believed enough in the mission of the Criminal Justice system to work to make it right, in America.

27. Unfortunately, we cannot at this moment, point to such a leader. So, the injustices in America’s Criminal Justice System continue, for now. But I hope that each one of us will feel compelled to write that one letter; send that one text; send that one email; call that one law-maker; write that one blog, or call that one political leader, knowing that we are one of the millions who took on a cause bigger than ourselves, as opposed to, one in a million, who thought the cause was too set in stone to change, waged too deep to uproot, or, not worth the cost to make it right.

Disclaimer: All information is deemed to be from reliable sources but not guaranteed. No information should be considered as legal counseling or any other any other relationship not so designated as of this posting. The Coveted Commandment Blog and The Coveted Commandment are copyrighted by Wayne Dan Lewis, Sr. © 2014.