Is the Bureau of Prisons Operating Above the Law Ignoring the Attorney General, Congress and the President of the United States of America?
By Charles Fisher and Randy Fisher @HHSYC
To my Christian brothers and sisters in Washington, D.C. who have been elected to serve the people and do God’s work in accordance to the Holy Bible that you placed your hand on while being sworn into office, you have a lot to answer for when it comes to the Criminal Justice System. As we approach another holiday season, a period when everyone enjoys being with family and friends, there are thousands that will never have that experience for the rest of their life because of a criminal justice system that is influenced by profit and not the spirit of the law. According to the 13th Amendment slavery has been abolished, except when an individual is incarcerated (Read the constitution and see for yourself my friend). There are policy makers in Washington and all over the country that feel that slavery should have never been abolished and have fought to create covert ways to keep the “profit making system” intact. Some of those ways are cloaked under “Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws,” a policy that sometimes puts profit over human life by taking away the power of the judge to dispense real justice.
When a country goes about 148 years without having an open conversation about slavery, one of the darkest moments in U.S. history, it’s like witnessing a murder and not reporting the crime. Just like in prison there were Black, White, Indian and Asian slaves—color did not matter, it was all about the money. There are those in the “Bible Belt, Tea Party Members and supporters of the Confederate Flag” that are still loyal to the policy of slavery. These are the same people that pledge an allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation “Under God.” Yes, “Under God,” you see we are supposed to be a Christian nation, but it appears that there are those out there that are not behaving like true Christians and their hypocritical actions and/or inactions speak for themselves because no one wants to touch Prison & Sentencing Reform.
In an effort to address the unfair Mandatory Minimum laws that continue to destroy the lives of thousands of non-violent offenders and their families the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council and P.O.G. Marketing & Media have partnered with the ACLU and community groups to shine some light on a very dark policy that is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. A Living Death: Life Without Parole For Non Violent Offenders is a shocking new report released by the ACLU to educate America on what is going on behind bars. Jennifer Turner, who we have grown to know and respect for her tireless commitment to the cause, did an outstanding job breaking down the unfair sentencing policies within our criminal justice system, while offering solutions to the problem.
We continue to lose billions of dollars because no one in Congress is aware or perhaps wants to address “Prison and Sentencing Reform.” It appears just like the issue of gun control, the criminal justice lobbyists have absolute power over a failing unjust system. After you read the report you can make your own assessment of an outdated secret system that operates similar to the days of slavery.
Years ago the Hip-Hop Community stepped up to the plate and played a major role towards reforming the tough Draconian NYS Rockefeller Drug Laws, which also destroyed the lives of millions and again cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council was on the frontline producing a CD, DVD and hosting educational forums to enlighten young citizens and the community about the dangers and consequences of the laws.
Our Republican Congress wants to cut waste and spending and we applaud them for their 
position of fiscal accountability, but we would urge them to take a long look at just how wasteful our government is when it comes to the criminal justice system. Justice can sometimes be blind, but our Congress, Senate and Executive Branch are supposed to be the “Sharpest Knives in the draw.” Nothing is supposed to get past them because we all believe they are concerned about our safety, health and national debt so the next generation can enjoy what we have today. If both parties are serious about cutting wasteful spending they should work to clean up a poisonous system that only works for those that have an invested interest in the “Prison Industrial Complex” where it appears that the failure to properly rehabilitate an inmate for reentry, which leads to recidivism, is the key to bigger profits. When almost 7 out of 10 who go to prison return again you have to ask yourself if the system is working, and if so, for whom? The investors or taxpaying citizens?
It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that prison profit is based upon the number of beds the courts and law enforcement agencies can fill. When you reduce recidivism, the system and its vendors lose profit; it is just that simple. That is why justice is blind; it has nothing to do with the law, only the money that can be earned when citizens are locked up for long periods of time regardless of how small the crime. The longer the incarceration period the bigger the profit margin. Wake up America, don’t be a part of a system where like Judas, you can to take away a person’s freedom for 30 pieces of silver. You know what happened to Judas (Ezekiel 3:18 and St. Like 12: 47).
A few months ago Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal prosecutors would now have more discretion in the sentencing of non-violent drug offenders. There are currently more than 100,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons for drug offenses, (47%) making up nearly half of all federal prisoners. The Federal Prison System is the largest in the world.
AG Eric Holder
Stated Eric Holder “We will start by fundamentally rethinking the notion of mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related crimes. Some statutes that mandate inflexible sentences — regardless of the individual conduct at issue in a particular case — reduce the discretion available to prosecutors, judges, and juries,” said the former federal prosecutor. “Because they oftentimes generate unfairly long sentences, they breed disrespect for the system. When applied indiscriminately, they do not serve public safety. They — and some of the enforcement priorities we have set — have had a destabilizing effect on particular communities, largely poor and of color. And, applied inappropriately, they are ultimately counterproductive.”
Continued Holder “A vicious cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. However, many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate this problem rather than alleviate it. Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long and for no good law enforcement reason. We cannot simply prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation.”
Wise words said by the Attorney General, but is Congress listening? Is the Senate aware of the problem? Do taxpaying citizens really care? So just like the Rockefeller Drug laws it is time for the Hip-Hop Community, Celebrities, elected officials, Clergy, business and community leaders to unite with the ACLU and help change the law. As committed concerned citizens we have an obligation to take the blindfolds off of a broken criminal justice system, as well as be a voice for the poor and disadvantaged doing life without parole for non-violent offenses.
We want to take our hat off to Jennifer and the entire team for this outstanding report which highlights exactly what is going on behind the walls of the “Prison Industrial Complex.” America is a country that prides itself on fairness, justice and democracy, but if you look at some of the stories in this report you would think we are living in an “Apartheid State.” Have we no conscience, pride or moral code of conduct? If we are “one nation under God” you can be sure that Jesus would not be happy with this broken and shameless policy.
All we have to say to “Moral Men and Women” in elected seats who are turning a blind eye to this issue from this day forward “let your conscience be your guide and may justice spare you for your silence.” This is not the type of behavior that should be practiced by the greatest country on earth. It is time for us to take a hard look at what Congress and the Bureau of Prisons is doing to our moral character and global reputation for being a fair and just nation. Even though we are only 5% of the world’s population we incarcerate 25% of the world prison population, more than any industrialized nation on earth.
We believe that if you commit a crime justice should be served, but it also has to be fair, morally just and cost effective. You can’t give life to every multiple shoplifter; jaywalker or pot smoker because the crime does not fit the time and that is common sense. We can’t continue to lock up citizens without looking for more cost-effective means, especially when the government seems to be shutting down every 3 months. Usually when a report of this magnitude is released the impact is only felt for a few weeks and then it is business as usual. But because this issue is near and dear to many we have committed to use our resources to make sure that the world is made aware of just what is going on behind closed doors in the American prison system.
For the next 6 months we will be highlighting various aspects of this ground breaking report with the hope that we can use its valuable content to move the needle and get Congress, the AG and the BOP to provide the type of answers and justice that makes this country the greatest on earth. If you want a copy of the full report go to: https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/111213a-lwop-complete-report.pdf. You can also click this petition to help us fight extreme sentencing policies.
In addition, if you want to support the “Hip-Hop 4 Law & Prison Reform” Campaign, an initiative launched by the Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council and their Hip-Hop Against Gun & Gang Violence Project, hit us up at: info@HHSYC.org. The campaign will be working with AG Holder’s “Smart On Crime” plan, which intends to lower the federal prison population. In a recent speech the AG stated he would order the Justice Department to expand the federal prison compassionate release program to include “elderly inmates who did not commit violent crimes and who have served significant time on their sentences.”
Through this initiative we hope that inmates like David Hyatt will soon be released. Mr. Hyatt is featured in the report and has been incarcerated for over 20 years. This is a man suffering from prostate cancer and has been denied release even after his sentencing judge David D. Dowd, Jr. stated that he would have no problem signing the order for his release if and when he is served. But for some strange reason the BOP is overriding the law that Congress created regarding Compassionate Release. We need to find out exactly what is going wrong when it comes to the guidelines created for the Compassionate Release program!
Charles Samuels, Jr.
For the record, Charles E. Samuels, Jr., was appointed Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on December 21, 2011. We want to know if he is defying President Obama, Congress and his boss AG Eric Holder by keeping non-violent, dying inmates behind bars against “Congressional policy” costing taxpayers millions of dollars, which only adds to the nation’s deficit. Did he strike some secret deal with private prison owners who need to keep inmates incarcerated to make a profit? Are the vendors who make a profit from private and government owned prisons working with the Bureau’s Chief to keep profits up and inmates locked down? We need to get answers to these questions because something does not appear right. We also intend to do a documentary on the report featuring a host of celebrities who read the document and are concerned about the issue. We will keep you up to date on the project.
Again we must stress it is up to law-abiding citizens to get to the bottom of this injustice and that is exactly what we attend to do so stand by for more details on Mr. Hyatt’s case and the 110 inmates featured in the report. We are also looking for America to be the just nation that our founding fathers intended for us to be. We are supposed to be role models for the world so it is time to play the part. If we want God to continue to have mercy on this nation, we must have compassion for the less fortunate. If you do the crime, you must do the time, but let’s be fair about the sentencing guidelines and let smart judges make the call because who is wiser than the judge?
