Time constraints

Brother Taquarius Ford first skillfully rolls out the prison sentencing conundrum. Ford then points to the mistake of extinguishing federal parole in a time when incarcerated people numbered 500,000 nationwide, breaking down the domino effect of this one act on what we see today in our 2.4 million incarcerated population. The post Time constraints appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Time constraints
“Let There Be Freedom! Parole Now!” – Art: Arkee Chaney, A71362, P.O. Box 1700, Galesburg IL 61401

by Brother Taquarius Ford

The guy doing five years cries because of time,
The guy doing 10 years wishes he had five,
The guy doing 20 years wishes he had 10,
And the guy doing 30 years sees no end,
The guy doing life says, “At least you have a release date. 
“I got the same charges as you, but I was convicted in a different state.” 
Injustice!

This is a prime example of why the mandatory minimum sentencing scheme does not work, will never work and has never worked. Just as children learn at different paces, likewise the rehabilitation process varies for every prisoner. 

In 1986, before federal parole was extinguished, there were 500,000 prisoners nationwide. Why so few compared to now? Because the prisoners had incentives. They knew that in order to be granted an early release by the parole commission they would have to meaningfully program, get an education and stay out of trouble. 

Hence, if they chose to buck the system, they ended up serving their full time behind bars. However, if those individuals decided to re-think, re-educate and rehabilitate themselves, then they’d be given an opportunity to serve out the rest of their time at home. 

With federal parole, prisoners had incentives. They knew that in order to be granted an early release by the parole commission they would have to meaningfully program, get an education and stay out of trouble. 

More than 80 percent of parolees never came back. Why was parole taken away? Today the recidivism rate is a staggering 70 percent. A total inversion of rehabilitation. Which in turn opened a wide door for mass federal incarceration, and subsequently many state legislators followed suit.

America warehouses over 2.5 million people yet has no federal parole. Many first-time offenders, like myself, are given disproportionate life sentences. Entire generations have been decimated because of this one congressional act. 

I encourage every reader of this great newspaper to write their congressmen, congresswomen, representatives and city officials. During the 2020 presidential debates, both sides, Democrat and Republican, realize and have stated publicly – bi-partisan – that the mandatory minimum sentencing scheme was a mistake. 

However, before those schemes became law, they single handedly revoked federal parole. Instead of barriers, we must build bridges. 

As long as you have a pulse, you have a purpose. I’m praying for you all. In love and in peace. 

Brother Taquarius.

Learn more from Brother Taquarius Ford at www.ClemencyForTaquarius.com. And send our brother some love and light: Taquarius Ford, 02166-104, Butner FCI 2, P.O. Box 1500, Butner, NC 27509.

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