DOJ set to execute 5 federal prisoners before Inauguration Day

Brandon Bernard, a Black man, was 18 when he Christopher Vialva and others were convicted for the 1999 murder of a pair of youth ministers in Texas. Vialva, who was 19 at the time of the crime, was executed in September after exhausting his appeals. Bernard’s last request for a stay of execution to the Supreme Court was denied last Thursday. He’s scheduled to die on December 10 and will be the youngest person in nearly 70 years whom the US will execute for a crime committed while a teenager. written by Chris Cillizza.

As I was reading this article by Chris Cillizza it stopped me in my tracks. Are they really doing this now. The orange one and his cronies at DOJ have come up with a horrible act of cruelty to finish out his term. Only a person this cold could do this unconscionable thing just before Christmas and on MLK birthday is a slap in his face no less, but then we have been slapping MLK in the face since he been gone with our watered down celebrations of him, using his most powerful speech I have a dream, while still locking up and killing more black people in history. Add to the fact that MLK drive is always in the hood, tore down, boarded up, with no trees and grass and streets filled with potholes. And yet all it takes for a black man to be locked up is a white woman to say that he has done something to her and there are no questions asked, no investigation, and he dies, no justice.

Everyday there is a crime committed against a black man and that crime is guilty until proven innocent, especially if they don’t have a high paying lawyer, who’s well recognized in the community and distinguished, their chances are slim to none. When you have over 555,000 people locked up who haven’t been convicted or sentenced, because they can’t afford proper representation or bail it becomes a cry for help to the justice system.

A public defender/pretender is just not good enough when he’s up against 3 or 4 top prosecutors who are clueless to the plight of the poor man or just don’t care as long as they get those billable hours to pay for that yacht, vacation homes or a new car The public defender is usually overworked and underpaid with a heart to help, but just can’t because he/she has too many cases and not enough help or time to really commit to each case. They need time to develop a good case, hunt down clues, get witnesses and everything else it entails, but that costs money that they are not privy to.

That’s why there is a need for the Innocence Project. They should have their own law firm as many people as they have got out and thank God, because too many people locked up are innocent, but what happens if they have already been executed.

The movie and book Just Mercy shows a prime example of why we shouldn’t be putting people to death.

Another good movie which is a documentary about a chaplain who witnessed hundreds of executions and saw the effects it had on the prisoners, the families, the communities, and the executioner. It’s called At The Death House Door.

How America perfected the art of demonizing Black men.

‘A child cannot, thank Heaven, know how vast and how merciless is the nature of power, with what unbelievable cruelty people treat each other. He reacts to the fear in his parents’ voices because his parents hold up the world for him and he has no protection without them.’ — James Baldwin, ‘Letter from a Region in My Mind’ (1962)

When Cephas Williams, a London-based artist, visited the House of Lords last year, he went through all the usual security procedures and was asked to take a seat. Williams, a Black man, was then approached by a white woman who asked him why he was sitting there. She asked him to move and, believing that he was sitting in a restricted area, he agreed.

“I got up to leave, and she immediately went from 0 to 100,” Williams said. “She said, ‘Why are you raising your voice?’ ” She approached the armed security guards, a white man and a Black woman. Williams said he was calm throughout. “I wanted to report what just happened, but they said, ‘There’s no point. She’s one of the most senior people in the House.’ ”

‘Whether it’s your skin color or the place, they reserve the right to police you and police your presence.’— Rich Benjamin, author of ‘Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America’

These are just a few of the reasons black people are marching and why there is a urgent, dire, and necessary need to have Black lives matter in this country. When you see that there are over 200 black men killed by police for DWB(driving while black) or wwb (walking while black) or ewb (eating while black) and even swb (sleeping while black) then the picture becomes crystal clear and daunting to say the least, and you say I don’t see color, or I have black friends, I’m not racist, or why does everything have to be about race because quite possibly it is.

Harsh punishments for petty crimes is another reason there are so many of our black men locked up. We are over-policed and under represented. This causes the men incarcerated to have a felony record which makes it hard to get a job and that’s why recidivism is so high.

Locked up and they won’t let me out was a hit song by Akon and he knew about being locked up since he had been locked up multiple times during a 3 year time frame. https://amzn.to/39P0zYW https://amzn.to/2IooTWm clean version

Statistics show 1 out of every 3 black boys will be in prison, with over 2 million people locked up we need to ask ourselves what Dr Phil would have said “how’s that working for you”. Covid in prison is like a silent killer just waiting around the corner at the next Tv show. Now you have this invisible killer like on the science fiction channel, because you can’t see it like they can see the other inmate with a shank, or the guard and his gang.

Mass incarceration is not helping the community, the people, the families, the world, or society as a whole. It’s only causing major problems down the road, it’s like passing the buck eventually somebody has to do something. At this juncture we have a chance to really make some positive life changing, meat in the bread type of changes that will have an enormous impact on our lives , our children’s lives and grandchildren.

This is America and not the America we have now, or the America song by Childish Gambino. http://smarturl.it/tc1gA

https://amzn.to/3lYppbk

We want an America with mercy, compassion, love, unity, justice, and peace for EVERYBODY. So let’s get this right and acknowledge our part using these racist tactics and barbaric measures against people of color, specifically black men. You say you want to help well, before you can help you have to admit you are wrong. You have to fix the situation completely and not put a band aid on a gaping hole. You have to change the way you see black people. You have to stop acting like you know what we need when you don’t. You have to open your eyes to the possibility that you are racist by your actions. Words are empty if they don’t have any action behind it to convey the message. Change the policies and the laws to fit the crime and not the color of a persons skin or how much money they have. There are plenty of people who need real help and direction who want to work and become a productive citizen they just need a chance.

Stop putting unnecessary obstacles in their way just to prove a point. Stop changing the rules to fit your financial circumstances and start caring for somebody other then me and my two. Admit that this world was built by immigrants and black people and stop making them feel like its a privilege to live here and just be grateful for the crumbs that fall from your gigantic privileged table, because if we don’t change this world and start loving each other and loving God. God will make sure that all of us old people STUCK IN OUR WAYS won’t be here, like he did in the bible when he destroyed everybody in the flood, because they wouldn’t listen to anybody. they thought they knew everything because they was so technologically advanced. Sound familiar. You love everything about us just NOT US.