to FFUP blog list
" I been in prison since I was 16 years old and since I been in prison I have changed my way of thinking and I have changed my behavioral patterns."
As a mentally matured adult I don’t believe that I should be let off the hook for my crimes as a juvenile. I believe that everyone should be punished for any and all criminal activity in which he or she involve themselves in whether he or she be a juvenile or an adult, however I strongly believe in second chances! I don't believe that a 15 year old or a l6 year old juvenile should be sent to prison for life as if a juvenile can't change his or her ways of thinking. . Juveniles can change and I believe that all juveniles should be given a second chance to prove that their destructive behavior could be transformed into positive constructive behavior if given the chance to prove it.
Read his story.
Needs calls and letters from voters
H.R.2289 Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act or 2009
This is a bill that was introduced to the US senate last year and has been sitting there will 4 sponsors and little publicity. We need to press for passage by asking our legislators to be sponsors. IF we get enough support this year , it will be reintroduced in the next session even if it does not pass this session..
The following summary was written by the Congressional Research Service:
5/6/2009--Introduced.
Requires states to: (1) enact laws and adopt policies to grant child offenders who are serving a life sentence a meaningful opportunity for parole or supervised release at least once during their first 15 years of incarceration and at least once every three years thereafter; and (2) provide notice of such laws and policies to the public and to victims of child offenders. Defines "child offender who is serving a life sentence" as an individual who is convicted of a criminal offense before attaining the age of 18 and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or a term exceeding 15 years. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) establish and implement a system of early release for each child offender who is under a life sentence in a federal prison; and (2) award grants to states to improve legal representation and other services for child defendants charged with an offense carrying a possible sentence of life in prison.
Sponsor:Rep. Robert (Bobby) Scott [D-VA3] ;U.S. Representative, Virginia's 3rd District
This is a national bill and voters in All states should let their representaives know they support it.
Read the stories here of a few of thousands of prisoners who would benefit from this bill and call or email your representative in Washington.
WHO IS MY REPRESENTATIVE
WHO ARE MY SENATORS
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
WHO ARE MY SENATORS?
postal addresses, emails, phones for each state
http://thomas.loc.gov
Office of Legislative Information
and Status
Clerk of the House
U.S. Congress
Washington, D.C. 20515-6601
(202) 225-1772
sentenced as a mentally ill kid, now a fine artist and has written a guide other outh. See his blogs
Darren morris, artist and story
Study Guide for Urban Youth
general Delivery
LA State Prison
Angola, LA 70712
Green Bay Correctional Institution
PO Box 19033
Green Bay, Wi 54307
GBCI
PO Box 19033
Green Bay, WI 54307
P.O. Box351 ;Waupun, WI 53963
essay:"I have a question. What constitutes an 'adult offense' v. a juvenile offense?"
KMCI ;PO Box 282
Plymouth, WI 53073
by: Mr. Todd Jones, #333660
P.O. Box 900 (CCI)
Portage, Wi 53901
Prison is:
A place where you write letters and can't think of anything to say... A place where you wait for letters that come less and less often ... A place where you gradually stop writing all together. A place where you lost respect for the law because you see it raw, naked, bent, ignored and blown out of proportion to suit the people who enforce it... A place where it is proven that absolute power corrupts absolutely. A place where you wait for a visit that doesn't happen... and although you know the real reason, you have to accept the lies. A place where you learn that nobody needs you... you are the forgotten man, and the world goes on without you... A place where you discover that all of the talents and abilities you have are worthless, for you are a man in green. A place where you receive your divorce papers and you learn the meaning of the words "Till Death Do us part"... for the outside world you are a dead man. A place that doesn't exist in the minds of friends, for they cannot put it on an envelope, nor can they find it in a car... A place that exists only in a time warp, for you are only remembered in past tense... and that's probably appropriate, for you can see no future. A place where days blend into weeks, months merge into years, and eons pass without feeling the touch of a human hand unless it is raised in anger... A place where a kind word and an affectionate touch are only memories. A place where basic humanity is ignored, discarded, and eventually forgotten... A place where men are stripped of their clothes as well as their dignity, and herded like the beast society believes them to be. A place where you go to bed early, even if you are not tired; you walk in circles, even though you have nowhere to go; and you pull the covers over head, even though you're not cold. A place where escape is possible, but only through reading, dreaming, or just plain going mad. Can a man survive prison and resume a useful life? If he can overcome the degradation that is heaped upon him, society will continue to remind him that he is tainted. Does he deserve what he got? Of course! And smug society can be assured that it bas done the right and proper thing. Until... circumstances, errors, accidents, or a mistake in the judicial system flips the table and they find themselves in the shoes of the man in the cell next door!!!!