tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36515061768194951712024-03-14T04:13:15.768-05:00 The Injustice Must End (T.I.M.E.)Justice for Efrén Paredes, Jr.Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-41818632849223942532023-04-02T22:05:00.000-05:002023-04-02T22:05:09.170-05:00Evidence-Based Reasons Efrén Paredes Jr. Should Receive Term-of-Year Sentence<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BC9DcBXTT8SrJD_0ZjCrqkSw8taxJGIwY0Ho6QfVJQSVmdm1QOwG1q0MM6PSb30ZjSav1pmqIbRYXboY0UF9XkfUejP8QeBL564D3Cl7a6cwpCo2fdWtWQguF1J9lsaWT-0pJABAQgUKYTRECVc1NO7P0ZREn4AAW7FINPdY0HQGCfDuDqY6ZZxb9A/s480/prisoner-looking-prison-room-window-footage-106816191_iconl.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BC9DcBXTT8SrJD_0ZjCrqkSw8taxJGIwY0Ho6QfVJQSVmdm1QOwG1q0MM6PSb30ZjSav1pmqIbRYXboY0UF9XkfUejP8QeBL564D3Cl7a6cwpCo2fdWtWQguF1J9lsaWT-0pJABAQgUKYTRECVc1NO7P0ZREn4AAW7FINPdY0HQGCfDuDqY6ZZxb9A/s320/prisoner-looking-prison-room-window-footage-106816191_iconl.webp" width="320" /></a></div>by Necalli Ollin<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén Paredes Jr. is a 50-year-old Latinx man serving a life
without parole (LWOP) sentence for a 1989 homicide and robbery that occurred in
Berrien County, Michigan. He was arrested for the crime at age 15 and
subsequently convicted by a Berrien County jury. To date he has spent 34 years
(i.e., two-thirds of his life) behind bars.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Minors sentenced to LWOP are commonly referred to as
"juvenile lifers."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory LWOP
sentences for justice-involved children are unconstitutional and granted
sentencing courts discretion to begin resentencing minors to term-of-year
sentences or LWOP. A LWOP sentence was no longer the only default sentence
minors could receive for a capital offense.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Each state responded differently to the high court's ruling
and in Michigan minors became eligible for a term-of-year sentence with a
minimum sentence ranging from 25-40 years and a maximum sentence of 60 years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While LWOP was still an option the U.S. Supreme Court made
clear that the extreme sentences could only be imposed on minors who are
irreparably corrupt or permanently incorrigible, meaning they must be incapable
of change and rehabilitation for the remainder of their lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2021 Efrén was resentenced as a result of the 2012 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling banning mandatory LWOP sentences for minors. At his resentencing
hearing Berrien County Trial Court Judge Charles LaSata resentenced Efrén to
LWOP a second time despite compelling anecdotal and documented evidence of his
capacity for change and rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On March 16, 2023 the Michigan Court of Appeals vacated the
LWOP sentence and remanded Efrén's case for resentencing for a third time. The
court cited LaSata's abuse of discretion as one of the reasons for its ruling.
August 18, 2022 the appellate court cited judicial abuse of discretion in
another case involving a juvenile lifer which LaSata presided over as well
(i.e., People v. Mark Abbatoy, MCOA Docket No. 357766). Resentencing was also
ordered in that case for a third time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After two sentencing hearings that have been vacated in
Efrén's case during the past 34 years the question now is what common sense,
evidence-based reasons exist that he should receive a term-of-year sentence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In recent years the Michigan Department of Corrections
(MDOC) and psychologists have administered a series of actuarial risk
assessment instruments to Efrén to determine his risk of violence, recidivism,
and supervision levels, if he were to be released.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to participating in actuarial risk assessment
instrument testing Efrén has also voluntarily participated in monthly therapy
sessions with psychologists and licensed mental health social workers during
the past thirteen years. He has interfaced with these professionals 156 times
at the time of this writing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">All of Efrén's therapy session reports have consistently
indicated that his mental health is good, he is continually working to better
himself, and he is creating and adhering to positive, realistic goals he sets
to improve his life. Half of all citizens will experience a mental health issue
in their lives, but only 13% will seek professional help. Efrén's willingness
to seek help reflects his ability to recognize personal struggles and address
them in a responsible way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In her academic article titled, "Punishing Risk,"
Erin Collins, University of Richmond School of Law assistant professor, writes:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Actuarial risk assessment tools are surveys that guide
the inquirer through a series of questions about the presence or absence of
recidivism risk factors in the subject. The inquirer allocates the subject a
certain number of points for each factor, each of which is weighted according
to the strength of its correlation with recidivism. Based on the total score,
the subject is identified as having a 'low,' 'moderate,' or 'high' risk of
recidivism."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She adds, "Thus, in the context of the criminal justice
system, actuarial risk assessment is the process of using characteristics that
statistically correlate with recidivism to predict who will or will not behave
criminally in the future." (Erin Collins, "Punishing Risk," 107
Geo. L.J. 57, 64 (2018)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Actuarial risk assessment instruments have been found to
outperform human judgment in virtually all decision-making situations. Research
shows that 88% of releasing authorities nationally use risk assessment
instruments and judges in several states are using them for sentencing as well.
The practice of using actuarial risk assessment tools to guide sentencing
decisions has come to be known as "actuarial sentencing" or
"evidence-based sentencing."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the actuarial risk assessment instruments Efrén has
been administered by an MDOC psychologist is the Inventory of Offender Risk,
Needs, and Strengths (IORNS). According to the test results Efrén's overall
risk index is low. The results indicate that he has good mechanisms for
regulating his behavior and managing anger, few treatment and supervision
needs, and greater strengths and fewer risks/needs than 94% of prisoners. The
test results also indicate he was honest and the results were valid.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The IORNS is the only actuarial risk assessment instrument
that assesses all three factors (i.e., static, dynamic, and protective factors)
important to recidivism. It provides a more comprehensive risk assessment than
is currently available through concomitant assessment. The instrument consists
of four indexes, eight scales, 14 subscales, and two validity scales.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another actuarial risk assessment instrument Efrén has been
administered is the Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative
Sanctions (COMPAS). The COMPAS test results indicate his risk of violence,
recidivism, and supervision levels are all low.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">COMPAS is a comprehensive risks and needs assessment
instrument widely used by Corrections departments and sentencing bodies across
the nation, which takes into account both static information (such as the
prisoner's past criminal offenses) and dynamic data (such as the prisoner's
evolving attitudes and mental condition). The software generates a score
ranking the offender's statistical likelihood of violence, recidivism, success
on parole, and other factors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>The COMPAS is a fourth generation risk assessment tool.
Fourth generation of risk assessments seeks to "[m]aximize the offender's
ability to learn from a rehabilitative intervention by providing cognitive
behavioral treatment and tailoring the intervention to the learning style,
motivation, abilities and strengths of the offender." (James Bonta &
D. A. Andrews, "Risk-Need-Responsivity Model for Offender Assessment and
Rehabilitation" 1 Public Safety Canada (2007)).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">MDOC case managers also formulate a Transition
Accountability Plan (TAP) for each incarcerated person to assist her/his
reentry into society, and to assist the Parole Board in rendering parole
decisions. The TAP instrument analyzes the person's risk factors, sets goals to
decrease those risks, and establishes a plan for the person to reach their
goals. Efrén's TAP results also reflect that his risk of violence, recidivism,
and supervision levels are all low.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the actuarial risk assessment instruments
Efrén has been administered he has also been given the Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) by an MDOC psychologist in recent years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The MMPI-2 test results indicate Efrén has tendencies toward
moralistic thinking, is sincere, and socially responsible. He prizes
agreeableness, trust, and avoidance of conflict. The results also indicate he
is receptive to treatment and wants to work on himself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The MMPI-2 is, by far, the most common of all the psychological
assessments employed, and can be a valuable tool in the assessment of those
charged with or convicted of murder. (Kenneth S. Pope, Joyce Seelen & James
Neal Butcher, "The MMPI-2, and the MMPI-A in Court: A Practical Guide for
Expert Witnesses and Attorneys" 9 (2d ed. 1999)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to Dr. Richard Vickers, a licensed psychologist in
private practice in New York who has administered and interpreted over 3,000
MMPI tests, the MMPI-2 is "highly reliable" and "well
represented in the peer-reviewed literature, with approximately 250 MMPI-2
studies published per year" and its "Retest coefficients for 8 of the
10 basic scales surpass .80, and validity coefficients can approach 100%."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Juvenile lifers who have been released in Michigan also have
an unprecedented less than one percent recidivism rate. This number ranks the
lowest rate of all demographics of people released from prison. The national
average recidivism rate for all people released from prison is 68%.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"In terms of risk to public safety, juvenile lifers can
be considered low-impact releases." (Tarika Daftary-Kapur, Ph.D. &
Tina M. Zottoli, Ph.D., "Re-sentencing of Juvenile Lifers: The
Philadelphia Experience," 10, Montclair State University (2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén has been married ten years. He is also a proud and
caring parent of two adult daughters and a school age daughter. During that
time he has maintained a positive relationship with them and has actively
assisted his wife foster a path of success for his youngest daughter's middle
school educational experience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The "association of marriage with lower crime among men
has been widely reported in both quantitative and qualitative studies."
(Nat'l Research Council of the Nat'l Acads., "Parole, Desistance from
Crime, and Community Integration" 21 (2007)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Research also shows that marriage and parenthood play a
significant role in rehabilitation. "Marriage has the potential to
radically change routine activities[.] ... [It] entails obligations that tend
to reduce leisure activities outside of the family. ... Involvement in work and
marriage reorders short-term situational inducements to crime and, over time,
redirects long-term commitments to conformity." (John H. Laub & Robert
J. Sampson, "Understanding Desistance from Crime," 28 Crime &
Just. 1, 50-51 (2001)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In her book titled, "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole
and Prisoner Reentry," author Joan Petersilia writes:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Reviews of prisoners' family relationships yield two
consistent findings: male prisoners who maintain strong family ties during
imprisonment have higher rates of post-release success, and men who assume
husband and parenting roles upon release have higher rates of success than
those who do not."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Throughout the course of his incarceration Efrén has
consistently yielded decades of anecdotal and documented evidence of change and
rehabilitation. He has perpetually educated himself and completed every
vocational, educational, and counseling programs available to him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén has also helped transform the lives of others inside
and outside of prison. He has used the knowledge and skills he has acquired to
assist both incarcerated peers and citizens in society use critical thinking,
emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution to empower themselves to become
better human beings and sound consequential thinkers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2021 the Michigan Court of Appeals stated, "In the
usual sense, 'rehabilitation' involves the successful completion of vocational,
educational, OR counseling programs designed to enable a prisoner to lead a
useful life, free from crime, when released." (emphasis added) (People v.
Bennett, 335 Mich. App. 409, 426 (2021)). The evidence of Efrén's body of
accomplishments support that he has achieved rehabilitation according to this
standard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the same ruling the Michigan Court of Appeals stated that
trial courts must "consider whether the defendant 'was and would remain
WHOLLY incapable of rehabilitation for THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE [i.e.,
permanently incorrigible or irreparably corrupt.]'" (quoting People v.
Garay, 320 Mich. App. 29, 49 (2017)) (Bennett, 335 Mich. at 418).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It added, "'Irreparable corruption,' is the ONLY ground
[the U.S. Supreme Court] specifically identified for imposing a
life-without-parole sentence [for a juvenile]. See [Miller v. Alabama], 567
U.S. at 479." (emphasis added) (Bennett, 335 Mich. App. at 420). ...
"'[C]ourts are not allowed to sentence juveniles who are not irreparably
corrupt to life without parole.'" (People v. Skinner, 502 Mich 89, 125 (2018))
(Bennett, 335 Mich. App. at 434).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A year later in July 2022 the Michigan Supreme Court ruled
that sentencing courts must now begin their analysis of juvenile lifer cases
from the premise that the person before them, like most children, has engaged
in criminality because of transient immaturity, not irreparable corruption.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The state's high court added that when a prosecutor seeks to
impose a LWOP sentence on a person for a crime committed when s/he was a minor,
the prosecutor bears the burden to rebut a presumption that LWOP is a
disproportionate sentence. The standard for the rebuttal is clear and
convincing evidence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The court concluded by stating, "If the prosecutor
cannot shoulder [the] burden [of proof that LWOP is a disproportionate sentence
for a minor] BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, the trial court MUST sentence
the defendant to a term of years." (emphasis added) (People v. Taylor,
Mich. Sup. Ct. No. 154994, Decided July 28, 2022, slip op., at 20-21).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén is not a candidate to receive a LWOP sentence
according to well-established court precedent. His robust body of
accomplishments spanning decades, lived experience as a husband and father,
outpouring of support he has from a broad network of family members and
friends, and actuarial risk assessment results that reflect his low risk of
violence and recidivism, comprise substantial and compelling evidence-based
reasons to conclude Efrén can be safely reintegrated back into society. He
would not be a menace to society nor would he pose a danger or risk to public
safety.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For all the aforementioned reasons Efrén should be
resentenced to a term of years which will allow him to be afforded meaningful,
realistic, and attainable release consideration by the Michigan Parole Board at
some point in the future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p>[To view a list of Efrén's accomplishments during his
incarceration visit https://EfrensWords.home.blog/Efrens-Accomplishments/. You
can also learn more about Efrén by visiting http://fb.com/Free.Efren.]</p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-86821921663052923632023-01-18T08:00:00.005-05:002023-01-23T09:30:09.146-05:00Mich. Appellate Courts Curb Death in Prison Sentences for Minors<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTGTSJTkbk9hwhQOonSwlpXWzjXWxqPxUzGVPPSymoYcDbROwBy2nJFO7iVD1YsAJ5KVhSP8kAgkeS6z3s0BDzreNBNWqRheTxqm0ZhzZ_ofbxoNSwM1Cvi9Ti_qq4r0u6Ll9EmS8us6RnpeC1artqoGpHgSsToCpRcEb30wQx4aAm8BIprP5lvrI6w/s540/360_F_416114208_RLlRt12Nn8IY91qSK1Pd82TppAlIpqz7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTGTSJTkbk9hwhQOonSwlpXWzjXWxqPxUzGVPPSymoYcDbROwBy2nJFO7iVD1YsAJ5KVhSP8kAgkeS6z3s0BDzreNBNWqRheTxqm0ZhzZ_ofbxoNSwM1Cvi9Ti_qq4r0u6Ll9EmS8us6RnpeC1artqoGpHgSsToCpRcEb30wQx4aAm8BIprP5lvrI6w/s320/360_F_416114208_RLlRt12Nn8IY91qSK1Pd82TppAlIpqz7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">by Efrén Paredes, Jr.<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">A decade after the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life without parole (LWOP) sentences for justice-involved children under age 18 ("juvenile lifers"), Michigan appellate courts are course-correcting years of arbitrary sentencing outcomes which have been an affront to the rule of law.</span></p><div><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">LWOP sentences are often referred to as a "death in prison" or "death by incarceration" sentences because a person who receives the extreme punishment is condemned to die in prison unless her/his sentence is commuted by the Governor which is unlikely to occur in most cases.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In multiple rulings during December 2022 the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) vacated the LWOP sentences of ten juvenile lifers and remanded them back to the trial court for resentencing. The MSC rulings stated in relevant part:</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">"A court may not impose a sentence of life without parole on a defendant who was under 18 years of age at the time of his crime unless the prosecution has overcome its burden to rebut the presumption, BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE, that life without parole is a disproportionate sentence." (emphasis in original text)</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The MSC's "clear and convincing evidence" statement is a reference to a precedent-setting decision it issued in the summer of 2022 in the case of People v. Robert Taylor. [1]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The number of minors resentenced to LWOP in Michigan continues to decline as trial court judges overwhelmingly reject death in prison sentences. It is also declining because the small percentage of extreme sentences that are imposed by sentencing bodies are being vacated by appellate courts.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">U.S. SUPREME COURT STEPS IN</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory LWOP sentences for minors under age 18 in its landmark Miller v. Alabama ruling. [2] The court reached its conclusion based on a robust body of social sciences and neurodevelopmental research which confirm that the human brain doesn't fully develop until the mid-20's and people's character and identity formation continues to change throughout their lives.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Researchers have found that the areas of the adolescent brain that are underdeveloped are responsible for impulse control, problem solving, resisting peer-pressure, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis of risky behavior. Teenagers focus on short-term consequences. They also lack the cognitive and psychosocial development to accurately predict future outcomes. Individually or collectively these traits can lead to engaging in criminal misdeeds.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In reaching its decision the U.S. Supreme Court replaced the mandatory component of sentencing children convicted of homicide crimes with a discretionary option. The change provides sentencing bodies discretion to impose term-of-year or LWOP sentences.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Term-of-year sentences allow people to be released one day if they are able to survive decades of incarceration.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The U.S. Supreme Court made it emphatically clear, however, that only minors who are "irreparably corrupt" (i.e., forever incapable of change and rehabilitation for the remainder of their lives) are candidates to receive a death in prison sentence. Any child who demonstrates the capacity for change and rehabilitation must be sentenced to a term of years.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">It would be four more years before the U.S. Supreme Court would make the Miller ruling retroactive in 2016 in the case of Montgomery v. Louisiana, [3] making it applicable to all cases including those which had previously exhausted their direct appeals.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">WHAT THE NUMBERS SHOW</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Since 2016 when juvenile lifer resentencing hearings began 287 of the total 363 Michigan juvenile lifers have received term-of-year sentences. The minimum sentence allowed ranges from a substantial 25 to 40 years. The maximum portion of the sentence is a mandatory 60 years (e.g., 25-60 years, 30-60 years, 40-60 years, etc.).</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The average term-of-year sentence received has been 32.5 years and the average person has been nearly 45-years-old at the time of resentencing.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Seventy-six people still await having their LWOP sentences reviewed for resentencing consideration. There are also currently 11 remaining Michigan juvenile lifers originally sentenced to death in prison who received the sentence for a second time after their cases were considered for resentencing.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The latter individuals await an appeals court to vacate their sentences so they can be properly resentenced for a third time to a term of years.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Despite 79% of Michigan juvenile lifers who committed crimes between ages 14-17 being resentenced thus far Michigan has the shameful distinction of leading the nation as the state with the highest number of minors sentenced to LWOP.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">As a soon to be 50-year-old juvenile lifer who has been incarcerated in Michigan since age 15 I've observed the enormous capacity for transformative change and rehabilitation incarcerated people possess. I know this not only through the prism of my own lived experiences as a husband and parent, but also through my personal interactions with thousands of other incarcerated people during the nearly 34 years I have spent behind bars.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Whether it's successfully completing self-help or rehabilitative educational, vocational, or counseling programs during their time caged in carceral exile, juvenile lifers are constantly evolving. Some more than others, and some quicker than others.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">During times they struggle with their transformation it often occurs when they lack support, connection with the outside world, and/or struggle to find purpose and hope amid recurring thoughts of being condemned to breathe their last gasp of air alone behind prison walls.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Some of their beliefs have been reinforced by the painful reality that since 2012 seven juvenile lifers have died in prison while awaiting the opportunity to be released. Two of them died after being resentenced to a term of years.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Sentencing minors to death in prison is divorced from the reality that people can and do change. No adult is the same person they were in their teenage years. According to Mihailis E. Diamantis, author of the article, "Limiting Identity in Criminal Law:"</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">"Identity development never ceases: the persons adolescents will become are not the persons they will remain. The process of self-identification and redefinition lasts a lifetime." [4]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I've come to learn it's important not to define people by a single event in the spectrum of life -- neither by their worst mistake nor greatest success. Human beings are a culmination of their lived experiences. It makes more sense to measure people by the totality of their choices and experiences rather than a snapshot in time.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">THE LIVES OF FREED JUVENILE LIFERS</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Five months ago the MSC stated, "A steady line of precedent from the Supreme Court could not be clearer -- persons under 18, as a group, are less culpable than adults, more prone to outside influence, and more likely to be rehabilitated. For these reasons and others, juveniles are 'less deserving of the most severe punishments.'" [5]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">When we examine the lives of the 172 juvenile lifers who have been released from prison their recidivism rate ranks the lowest of any demographic released from Michigan prison at less than 1%. The national recidivism rate for all people released from prison is 68%. [6]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">According to Preston Shipp, Senior Policy Counsel at the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth, "Nationwide, 935 formerly life-sentenced children and counting have been released back to society based on changes in the law." He adds, "They are now home, thriving, raising families, working, mentoring at-risk youth, and finding creative, imaginative ways to serve their communities."</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">This can be attributed not only to their capacity for change and rehabilitation, but also to the fact that in each instance it is the first time they will be afforded the opportunity to experience freedom for the first time in their adult lives.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">They acknowledge the mercy bestowed upon them. They also bear the emotional and psychological scars of spending decades of their lives condemned to die in prison. To eschew returning to this horrific life they commit to becoming a better version of themselves by making prosocial choices and striving to become thoughtful, sound consequential thinkers.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">A 2022 report titled, "White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Policy Makers," found "[i]t is currently not possible to reliably predict an individual adolescent's future developmental trajectory based upon current presentation and past history." Additionally, "It is also currently scientifically impossible to reliably predict how much or how quickly an individual will change with age based on their presumed brain development, history, or current behavioral profiles." [7]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Juvenile lifers have repeatedly proven this research to be true. They have demonstrated they can change and do better if afforded the opportunity, even when sentencing courts originally misjudge them and make erroneous predictions that they will be forever irredeemable.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">DISPARATE CONSEQUENCES OF EXTREME YOUTH SENTENCES</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Twenty-five states across the country and the District of Columbia have banned death in prison sentences for justice-involved children. Nine other states have no one serving the sentence who was convicted as a minor. [8] This leaves Michigan among the 16 outliers who still impose the sentences.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Glaring racial sentencing disparities also exist between children of color and their white counterparts.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Prior to the landmark 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning mandatory LWOP sentences for minors, though children of color comprised 27% of the child population in Michigan they were 71% of the children sentenced to death-by-incarceration. [9] Since that time eleven of the new juvenile lifers sentenced to LWOP in Michigan -- or 73% -- have been children of color, reflecting no regard for decreasing racial sentencing disparities.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">As a directly impacted person of color I know this all too well. As of December 29, 2022 I am the only Latino of the 11 remaining juvenile lifers resentenced to death in prison in Michigan who awaits being resentenced to a term of years.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Discriminatory sentences for similarly situated people violate the Equal Protection Clauses of the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions [10] and offend internationally recognized human rights treaties. Racialized harms committed by the criminal legal system against people of color are also largely responsible for fueling the scourge of mass incarceration.</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">A two-tiered legal system produces inequitable results by othering members of out-groups from marginalized and underserved communities. "The only surefire way to eliminate racial bias and arbitrariness in [Miller v. Alabama] sentencing is for states to ... eliminate life without parole for children[,]" according to Kathryn E. Miller, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School. [11]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">RECOGNIZING CHILDREN AREN'T ADULTS</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">July 28, 2022 the MSC issued a ruling in People v. Parks, Docket No. 162086, which raised the age of minors entitled to the protections afforded in Miller v. Alabama to include persons 18 years of age. The high court is also asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to consider whether the state should raise the age to include late-adolescents up to 21-years-old which is widely supported by evolving brain science. [12]</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The recent move by the MSC is an indicator that the high court is breaking away from decades-old beliefs about human evolution and making decisions informed by a dearth of evidence-based, twenty-first century scientific results.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Children receive a panoply of legal protections because society widely recognizes they are too developmentally immature to make the same responsible decisions as adults (e.g., purchase alcohol, vote, join the military, etc.). Their protections shouldn't abruptly end when they make irresponsible mistakes.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It is a universally recognized unmistakable fact that children are not adults. They are also a product of their environment they are typically unable to extricate themselves from no matter how pernicious it may be to them.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In the interest of public safety children rightly deserve to be held accountable for the harm they commit. However, the penalty should be proportional and developmentally aligned to their diminished culpability and still unformed character.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The criminal legal system should never treat minors as though they are miniature adults nor should children be subjected to the harshest punishments adult offenders are eligible to receive.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">FORWARD-THINKING CONSIDERATIONS</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Weaponizing public fear to demonize children and justify harsh sentencing policies has proven to be an ineffective approach to deter people from committing crime. This is especially true as it relates to young people.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Society should invest more money and resources dealing with the root of the crime problem than on its symptoms if we are serious about preventing harm. Investments in education and community-based programs such as counseling, mentorships, and after-school programs provide far greater preventive measures against crime the earlier they are made available than the threat of warehousing bodies in cages.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In a 2017 Harvard Law Review article President Barack Obama wrote:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">"How we treat citizens who make mistakes (even serious mistakes), pay their debt to society, and deserve a second chance reflects who we are as a people and reveals a lot about our character and commitment to our founding principles. ... [It] speaks to who we are as a society and is a statement about our values -- about our dedication to fairness, equality, and justice, and about how to protect our families and communities from harm, heal after loss and trauma, and lift back up those among us who have earned a chance at redemption." [13]</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We would do well to meet this moment by utilizing the wisdom of President Obama as a torch to lead us out of a benighted era of extreme sentencing policies against justice-involved children into an enlightened era that recognizes "youth matters in sentencing." [14]</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Archaic policies that eternally banish people to cages for youthful mistakes or bad behavior are antithetical to decency and human dignity. Promoting justice for minors means choosing life-affirming options like healing and restoration over destructive forces like hate and vengeance.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that only minors who demonstrate they are irreparably corrupt (i.e., forever incapable of change and rehabilitation) are candidates to receive death in prison sentences. However, asking sentencing judges to predict who is forever incapable of change and rehabilitation is an impossible task, as stated earlier.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rather than ask sentencing bodies to engage in conjecture that will yield capricious results I invite the Michigan legislature to abolish death behind bars sentences for justice-involved children and join the majority of U.S. states which have replaced it with term-of-year sentencing options.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This humane policy change will provide minors with a meaningful, realistic, and achievable opportunity for release consideration later in their adult lives based on demonstrated change and rehabilitation. It's a common sense approach to justice for children that acknowledges all stakeholders in the legal process by creating space for both accountability and the possibility of redemption.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most importantly it promotes equity, a hallmark of our criminal legal system we should strive to uphold each day.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is Co-Chair of the Michigan Poor People's Campaign. He is also a social justice changemaker who works at the intersection of decarceration, racial justice, and conflict resolution. You can read more of his writings or listen to his interviews by visiting <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://fb.com/Free.Efren&source=gmail&ust=1674569860982000&usg=AOvVaw32XiYJwzAHN1oT19MdjYqE" href="http://fb.com/Free.Efren" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a>.)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">______________________________<wbr></wbr>________</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Notes</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[1] - People v. Robert Taylor, MSC Docket No. 154994, decided July 28, 2022.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[2] - Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[3] - Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. 190 (2016).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[4] - Mihailis E. Diamantis, "Limiting Identity in Criminal Law," 60 B.C. L. Rev. 2011, 2077 (2019).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[5] - People v. Robert Taylor, supra note 1, slip op at 17.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[6] - J.J. Prescott, Benjamin Pyle & Sonja Starr, "Understanding Violent-Crime Recidivism," 95 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1643, 1667 (2020).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[7] - Catherine Insel & Stephanie Tabashneck, "White Paper on the Science of Late Adolescence: A Guide for Judges, Attorneys, and Policy Makers" 39, Ctr. for Law, Brain, & Behavior (2022), <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/3JLArOR&source=gmail&ust=1674569860982000&usg=AOvVaw2xQs-N-8K8MS3GBDHfWDMA" href="https://bit.ly/3JLArOR" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/3JLArOR</a>.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[8] - Josh Rovner, "Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview," The Sentencing Project, (May 24, 2021), <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/juvenile-life-without-parole/&source=gmail&ust=1674569860982000&usg=AOvVaw2CZXOz_l2BBmZNq3DN1gTw" href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/juvenile-life-without-parole/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.sentencingproject.<wbr></wbr>org/publications/juvenile-<wbr></wbr>life-without-parole/</a>.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[9] - Connie de la Vega & Michelle Leighton, "Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison: Global Law and Practice," 42 U.S.F. L. Rev. 983, 994 (2008).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[10] - Avery Katz, "'Black First, Children Second': Why Juvenile Life Without Parole Violates the Equal Protection Clause," 106 Minn. L. Rev. 2693, 2733-2737 (2022).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[11] - Kathryn E. Miller, "Resurrecting Arbitrariness," 107 Cornell L. Rev. 1319, 1357 (2022).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[12] - Insel & Tabashneck , supra note 7, at 7.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[13] - Barack Obama, "The President's Role in Advancing Criminal Justice Reform," 130 Harv. L. Rev. 811, 812, 866 (2017).</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">[14] - Jones v. Mississippi, 141 S. Ct. 1307, 1314-16 (2020).</span><div class="yj6qo" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-70117473030164012132022-01-01T16:00:00.002-05:002023-06-02T10:11:50.292-05:00Efrén Paredes Jr. Interview Series About Being Re-sentenced to Die in Prison<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4nLNDGjQUsPQMGHjLa9m0YbrE28Q5rG5wStTRgRMqlEmptY4UqPyyjcmyTDAhOhOoYDjxphoKmLB4aF8j-TjiX1Uof8F3yU5MbHX1DzbEcQ9YVCECBb1wf8lAeXDKCeAp8CAo702NPw7eIue9hqWMnL4MczoCy7nQ7b86wbDSmtwZUUDkGPgG63pe4w=s800" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="800" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4nLNDGjQUsPQMGHjLa9m0YbrE28Q5rG5wStTRgRMqlEmptY4UqPyyjcmyTDAhOhOoYDjxphoKmLB4aF8j-TjiX1Uof8F3yU5MbHX1DzbEcQ9YVCECBb1wf8lAeXDKCeAp8CAo702NPw7eIue9hqWMnL4MczoCy7nQ7b86wbDSmtwZUUDkGPgG63pe4w=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">by Necalli Ollin</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The Injustice Must End (TIME)</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">During the last month Efrén Paredes, Jr. responded to questions regarding being resentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for a homicide and robbery he was convicted of when he was a minor. He also addressed a range of other questions about the Berrien County criminal legal system, racial injustice, and the current national conversation about crime and punishment.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Efrén is a 48-year-old Latinx man who was arrested at age 15 and subsequently convicted for the 1989 shooting death of a grocery store manager and robbery of the store in Berrien County, Michigan. He originally received two LWOP sentences for the murder and a parolable life sentence for the armed robbery. Since his arrest he has maintained he did not commit the crime.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the myriad daily challenges he has faced being caged in Michigan prisons for over three decades Efrén continues to evince compelling evidence of his perpetual growth and change. The interview provides insight into his thinking and is a testament to his resilience and refusal to be broken by a system designed to crush the human spirit.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The interview is a must-read for anyone who has an incarcerated loved one serving a LWOP sentence for a crime they were convicted of when they were a minor. Policymakers and members of the general public can benefit from reading the interview to better understand why draconian LWOP sentences for minors is a failed, inhumane policy. It is also a great resource for scholars and educators who are studying and teaching about any of the subjects discussed.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Readers are encouraged to share this message in your social media network. Links to the four-part interview series appear below.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Part One of Interview</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/293227882806887?__cft__[0]=AZULvOqL1Khb_yhjPo_MZDnHXdPULp6U1qrvEZEleMtzGg2Y-RszJHNU2nrLwWWocOK349j53C9QZqVEAd6rf_WT2fhHhFflm1hnIRVsTuQF2N7M4h84qciFIv3wl0SDe5VUviTCRhczbJ0EgV9rQvPr&__tn__=-UK-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/293227882806887</a></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Part Two of Interview</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/296451485817860?__cft__[0]=AZULvOqL1Khb_yhjPo_MZDnHXdPULp6U1qrvEZEleMtzGg2Y-RszJHNU2nrLwWWocOK349j53C9QZqVEAd6rf_WT2fhHhFflm1hnIRVsTuQF2N7M4h84qciFIv3wl0SDe5VUviTCRhczbJ0EgV9rQvPr&__tn__=-UK-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/296451485817860</a></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Part Three of Interview</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/303323548463987?__cft__[0]=AZULvOqL1Khb_yhjPo_MZDnHXdPULp6U1qrvEZEleMtzGg2Y-RszJHNU2nrLwWWocOK349j53C9QZqVEAd6rf_WT2fhHhFflm1hnIRVsTuQF2N7M4h84qciFIv3wl0SDe5VUviTCRhczbJ0EgV9rQvPr&__tn__=-UK-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/303323548463987</a></span></div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Part Four of Interview</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" href="https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/310489284414080?__cft__[0]=AZULvOqL1Khb_yhjPo_MZDnHXdPULp6U1qrvEZEleMtzGg2Y-RszJHNU2nrLwWWocOK349j53C9QZqVEAd6rf_WT2fhHhFflm1hnIRVsTuQF2N7M4h84qciFIv3wl0SDe5VUviTCRhczbJ0EgV9rQvPr&__tn__=-UK-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0">https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/posts/310489284414080</a></span></div></div>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-56126134800439676312021-09-29T11:32:00.021-05:002023-06-02T21:48:26.854-05:00Judge Upholds Veritable Death Sentence for Efrén Paredes, Jr., Arrested for Crime at Age 15<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qWXhSVQDhqZcCXdH-tRNK-Ecf8EqumIMKFJp5V4BqkffC-7GZk7_9gyu8G3Of-ihQJ8i0LbVpIzmguU5HQvbvATwjJxY4lagiL2U3cojyUcUFxB-E8miP94or7d8Nw_acQSVav_dIcDG/s542/lasata+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="542" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_qWXhSVQDhqZcCXdH-tRNK-Ecf8EqumIMKFJp5V4BqkffC-7GZk7_9gyu8G3Of-ihQJ8i0LbVpIzmguU5HQvbvATwjJxY4lagiL2U3cojyUcUFxB-E8miP94or7d8Nw_acQSVav_dIcDG/w282-h208/lasata+1.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> by Necalli Ollin</p><p>"Given the robust development of children's rights, it
is absurd to assert that, while juveniles have many rights, being treated as a
juvenile is not one of those rights." (Cara H. Drinan, Professor of Law,
The Catholic University of America, "The Miller Trilogy and the Persistence of Extreme Juvenile Sentences," 58 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1659,
1671 (2021)).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Friday, September 10, 2021, Berrien County Trial Court Judge
Charles LaSata upheld a life without parole (LWOP) sentence for Efrén Paredes,
Jr., a 48-year-old Latinx man, for a crime he was convicted of when he was a
minor ("juvenile lifer"). It was the first time in the past thirteen
months -- since August 2020 -- a Michigan judge had issued the sentence for a
juvenile offender. Previous to the ruling the state had been trending away from
the extreme sentence for minors. LaSata, a conservative Republican judge, has
served on the bench since 2004.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to statewide data, 251 of the 367 juvenile lifer
cases have been resolved as of September 9, 2021. Of that number, 94% have
received term of year sentences and only 6% have received a LWOP sentence
again. Statewide, juvenile lifers have received sentences averaging 30.5 years.
Nationwide the average sentence has been 25 years, according to the Campaign
for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén was originally arrested at age 15 for the March 8,
1989 shooting death and robbery of a grocery store manager in St. Joseph, a
small town in southwestern Michigan with a population of 9,214 people. He was
the first juvenile in Berrien County to be automatically transferred to circuit
court to be tried as an adult after passage of a 1988 Michigan law which
authorized prosecutors to do so without a waiver hearing. Only three months
after his arrest, Efrén was convicted by a jury composed of eleven white jurors
and one African-American juror. He was subsequently sentenced to two LWOP
sentences for one count of homicide and a parolable life sentence for one count
of armed robbery. Judge Zoe Burkholz presided over the trial and delivered the
sentence and, later, retired from the bench.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three other juveniles were also convicted in the case. Eric
Mui, a 17-year-old Asian-American, received two 18-45 year sentences for one
count of murder and armed robbery. Alex Mui, a 16-year-old Asian-American,
received an 18-45 year sentence for one count of armed robbery. Jason
Williamson, a 16-year-old white teen, received a six month sentence in a
juvenile facility for one count of armed robbery. All three received plea deals
from the prosecutor's office. Eric and Alex Mui were released from prison after
serving 16 years in prison and Williamson served six months. Efrén was the only
person charged in the case who went to trial.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">U.S. SUPREME COURT INTERVENES<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in 2012,
Miller v. Alabama, which banned mandatory LWOP sentences for juvenile
offenders. Four years later in the case Montgomery v. Louisiana, the high court
made the Miller ruling retroactive and applicable to juvenile offenders already
serving the sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court also ordered that all juvenile
offenders impacted by the ruling have their cases reviewed by a trial court judge
from the respective county they were convicted in for resentencing
consideration.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2016, then-Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic filed
a motion with the trial court seeking to reinstate a LWOP sentence in Efrén's
case. Sepic had originally prosecuted the case more than 32 years ago as an
assistant prosecutor.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2020, Sepic retired as the county prosecutor. After his
retirement, the newly elected county prosecutor, Steve Pierangeli, swore Sepic
in as an assistant prosecutor so he could continue working on Efrén's case. In
a December 30, 2020 interview with the local newspaper, The Herald-Palladium,
Sepic referred to Efrén's case as the most memorable of his career. He
expressed his fixation with the case despite there being a number of other cases
in the county during the past 32 years involving multiple homicides and other
charges.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">October 5-6, 2020, LaSata held a two-day hearing for Efrén
and his legal team to present evidence to the court as to why Efrén should
receive a term of year sentence rather than LWOP. At the hearing, several
witnesses testified on Efrén's behalf, presenting an abundance of compelling
anecdotal evidence of his growth, change, and rehabilitation. Other
documentation was presented showing a wide range of programs he has successfully
completed during his three decades of incarceration. Sepic was allowed to
present evidence at the hearing as to why he felt a LWOP sentence was
justified.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">ELIGIBILITY FOR LWOP SENTENCES<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court made clear in its Miller v. Alabama
ruling that "incorrigibility is inconsistent with youth." (Miller v.
Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 472-473 (2012) (quoting Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48,
72-73 (2010)). The Court later added "Miller [v. Alabama] determined that
sentencing a child to life without parole is excessive for all but the 'rare
juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption' or 'permanent
incorrigibility.'" (Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718, 733-734
(2016) (quoting Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 479-80 (2012)).
"Permanent incorrigibility" in this context is defined as
"rare" juvenile offenders "who exhibit such irretrievable
depravity that rehabilitation is IMPOSSIBLE ..." and they are forever
incapable of change. (emphasis added) (Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718,
733-34 (2016)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to the U.S. Supreme Court, "The same
characteristics that render juveniles less culpable than adults -- their
immaturity, recklessness, and impetuosity -- make them less likely to consider
potential punishment." (Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 472 (2012)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"[O]rdinary adolescent development diminishes the
likelihood that a juvenile offender 'forever will be a danger to society.'
(Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460. 472 (2012) (quoting Graham v. Florida, 560
U.S. 48, 72 (2010)." (Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718, 733
(2016)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Court previously also stated that "[t]he evolving
nature of their identities undermines the conclusion that ANY juvenile [is]
'irretrievably depraved in character.'" (emphasis added) (Roper v.
Simmons, 125 S. Ct. 1183, 1195 (2005) (quoting Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S.
815, 835 (1988)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">SENTENCING DISPARITIES<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The September 10th LaSata ruling underscores glaringly
obvious racial bias and disparate treatment between the way he applied applicable
U.S. Supreme Court opinions in the cases of the two juvenile lifers on his
docket.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mark Abbatoy, a white male who was 17 at the time of his
arrest, was the other juvenile lifer whose case LaSata reviewed. A brief
overview of the details of the crimes Efrén and Abbatoy were convicted of is as
follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén was convicted of shooting a store manager four times
and robbing the store where he and the victim were both employed. The victim
was a 28-year-old white male named Richard Tetzlaff. There were no eyewitnesses
to the crime and no arrests were made in connection with the crime until a week
after it occurred. Sepic relied heavily on the testimony of 16-year-old Alex
Mui to convict Efrén. Mui, who admitted being involved in the crime, received a
plea deal from Sepic to drop his murder charge in exchange for agreeing to
testify against Efrén. Four alibi witnesses have attested to Efrén's
whereabouts at the time the crime was committed which is corroborated by
forensic evidence that disproves he committed the crime. In recent years new
witnesses have also provided sworn affidavits that Mui and others convicted in
the case admitted to lying about Efrén's involvement in the crime to evade
murder charges. Since his March 15, 1989 arrest Efrén has maintained his
innocence and denied any involvement in the crime.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The circumstances of the Abbatoy crime were that he and
another 17-year-old killed Abbatoy's mother in 1997 so they could steal her
car. According to a March 22, 2021 court hearing transcript in the Abbatoy
case, LaSata described the tragic event by stating: "Defendant [Abbatoy]
was incredibly brutal and depraved. The defendant beat [the victim] with a
shovel for ten to fifteen minutes. The defendant struck the victim at least ten
times with a shovel. ... Three to four blows [were] so forceful that they
fractured her skull embedding nine fragments of bone into her brain."
LaSata added that while the victim was being beaten, Abbatoy ripped the phone
from the wall so she couldn't call anyone for help.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When juxtaposing the Efrén and Abbatoy cases there are other
notable differences, such as the following:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Court records show Efrén had no juvenile adjudications prior
to the crime he is serving time in prison for. Abbatoy had three previous
juvenile adjudications. According to Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC)
records, Efrén has received 19 misconduct reports in 32.5 years (an average of
0.06 per year) while Abbatoy has accrued 51 misconduct reports in 24 years (an
average of 2.2 per year).MDOC data reflects that the average person
incarcerated in a Michigan prison averages 2.2 misconduct reports per year.
Abbatoy was in the average range and Efrén fell far below the range.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evidence was also presented in court by Efrén's legal team
that the average number of misconduct reports received by juvenile lifers from
Berrien County who have been resentenced is 34.5. One Berrien County juvenile
lifer received 80 misconduct reports and was not resentenced to LWOP.During
their mitigation court hearings, attorneys for Efrén and Abbatoy presented
anecdotal and documented evidence of accomplishments and rehabilitation during
their incarceration.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén's legal team was able to submit substantially more
evidence in this regard, however, because of his successful completion of more
educational, vocational, and counseling programs since he has been incarcerated
eight years longer than Abbatoy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both Efrén and Abbatoy are also housed in the lowest
security level allowed in the MDOC due to the sentences they are serving (i.e.,
Level 2). During Abbatoy's March 22 court hearing, LaSata specifically
referenced this on the record as one of the reasons he granted Abbatoy a term
of year sentence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">RECENT MICH. APPELLATE COURT RULING<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Attorneys in both Efrén's case and the Abbatoy case also
cited a published Michigan Court of Appeals ruling made earlier this year named
People v. Bennett, 2021 Mich. App. LEXIS 472. In 1972, David Bennett, age 17,
was convicted of stabbing a woman in Wayne County dozens of times resulting in
her death and sentenced to LWOP. Bennett was subsequently resentenced to LWOP
on June 5, 2020 by a Wayne County trial court judge who reviewed the case to
consider possible resentencing pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court Miller v.
Alabama ruling.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the trial court
ruling in the Bennett case on January 21, 2021. In doing so the appeals court
stated that trial courts must decide "whether [a] defendant 'was and would
remain WHOLLY incapable of rehabilitation for THE REMAINDER OF HIS
LIFE[.]'" (emphasis added) Failure to do so constitutes an abuse of
discretion subject to reversal. (People v. Bennett, at *9) (quoting People v.
Garay, 320 Mich. App. 29, 49 (2017)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Bennett ruling provided lower courts with clear guidance
about evaluating juvenile lifer cases for capacity for change and
rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to the Michigan Court of Appeals,
"'rehabilitation' involves the successful completion of vocational,
education, OR counseling programs designed to enable a prisoner to lead a
useful life, free of crime, when released." (emphasis added) (People v.
Bennett, at *19).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Efrén's legal team provided the court a robust body of
anecdotal and documented evidence of his successful completion of each of these
examples a multiplicity of times. They also provided results from psychological
tests and actuarial risk assessment instruments that reflect Efrén poses a low
risk of violence or recidivism if released.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Letters of support from three retired MDOC career
professionals with decades of corrections experience (i.e., a former Warden,
corrections officer, and Efrén's employer of thirteen years) attesting to his
capacity for change and rehabilitation, as well as letters from multiple
professors from universities who taught classes Efrén participated in at
various prisons, were provided to the court as well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Michigan Court of Appeals stated in the Bennett case
"[t]o the extent that the resentencing court made a factual finding
regarding Bennett's risk of reoffending, it was clearly erroneous because no
evidence supported it. Nor did any evidence support any other ground for
Bennett's continued incarceration."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The court concluded, "Accordingly, we reverse and
remand for resentencing to a term of years based on the present record and
consistent with MCL 769.25(9). We further instruct that the resentencing be
conducted with all deliberate speed." (People v. Bennett, at *30-*31).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At Abbatoy's March 22, 2021 court hearing, LaSata stated on
the record that the Bennett ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals is "a
published decision binding on this court." LaSata would go on to properly
apply U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the Bennett opinion to the Abbatoy case
and issue a fair ruling. He dismissed retired prosecutor Sepic's motion seeking
a LWOP sentence against Abbatoy and agreed to resentence him to a term of
years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LASATA RULES IN EFREN'S CASE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Less than six months after issuing his principled ruling in
the Abbatoy case, LaSata abandoned U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the Bennett
decision by issuing an unintelligible ruling upholding a LWOP sentence in
Efrén's case. Much of the oral opinion delivered by LaSata parroted retired prosecutor
Sepic's previous talking points related to the case. LaSata began his ruling by
stating that part of his reason for upholding a LWOP sentence in Efrén's case
is that he has maintained his innocence since the time of arrest.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Michigan Supreme Court has previously ruled that "a
court cannot base its sentence EVEN IN PART on the defendant's refusal to admit
guilt." (emphasis added) (People v. Hatchett, 477 Mich. 1061 (2009);
People v. Jackson, 474 Mich. 996 (2006)). The state's high court has also held
that "[i]t is a violation of due process to punish a person for asserting
a protected statutory or constitutional right." (People v. Ryan, 451 Mich.
30, 35 (1996)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The case of a Berrien County man named Corey Quentin McCall
was vacated on June 25, 2021 and he was released after spending 16 years behind
bars for a crime he did not commit. LaSata was the district court judge
responsible for a 2005 ruling that found there was sufficient evidence to bound
the McCall case over to the circuit court to be tried for three counts of
murder and one count of attempted murder.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Without question LaSata is acutely aware that errors occur
in the criminal justice system. His own decision-making resulted in a wrongful
conviction. Despite this experience, however, LaSata elected to dismiss the
possibility that errors occurred in Efrén's case and he ruled against him for
asserting his constitutional right to maintain his innocence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another error LaSata committed in Efrén's case was citing
the circumstances of the crime as a reason to justify a LWOP sentence. The U.S.
Supreme Court has stated that the heinousness of a crime cannot by itself be
offered as evidence of the character of the juvenile. The high court explained
that looking at the offense alone would present an "'unacceptable
likelihood ... that the brutality or cold-blooded nature of any particular
crime would overpower mitigating arguments." (Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S.
48, 78 (2010) (quoting Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 572 (2005)). The Court
also affirmed "the truth of [Miller v. Alabama's] central intuition --
that children who commit even heinous crimes are capable of change."
(Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718, 736 (2016)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Another issue LaSata had to consider was whether Efrén being
15 years old at the time of arrest was a mitigating factor that counseled
against a LWOP sentence in his case. LaSata not only ignored U.S. Supreme Court
precedent regarding this factor, his reasoning for concluding that Efrén's age
was not a mitigating factor was also divorced from common sense, extensive
adolescent development research, and brain science that informs us children
possess an enormous capacity for change and rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that "the
chronological age of a minor is itself a relevant mitigating factor of great
weight ..." in assessing culpability. (Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104,
116 (1982)). Adolescents are more prone to risk-taking and impulsivity --
traits that likely influence their criminal conduct -- and are not yet mature
enough to anticipate the future consequences of their actions. (Laurence
Steinberg et al, "Age Differences in Future Orientation and Delay
Discounting," 80 Child Dev. 28, 35 (2009)). The prefrontal cortex is
essential for both impulse control and decision-making in complex or
high-stress situations and "the fact remains that young people between the
ages of eight and twenty-five do not have fully-developed capacity to control
impulses and make rational choices." (David Pimentel, "The Widening
Maturity Gap: Trying and Punishing Juveniles As Adults in An Era of Extended
Adolescence," 46 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 71, 84 (2013)). The U.S. Supreme Court
stated that "because juveniles have diminished culpability and greater
prospects for reform ... 'they are less deserving of the most severe
punishments.'" (Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 471 (2012), (quoting
Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 68 (2010)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While issuing his ruling, LaSata cited decades-old prison
rule infractions and alleged violations to justify his decision as well. Some
included allegations of misconduct that was not substantiated by MDOC reports
or that have been disproven. Included in LaSata's list of infractions was that
Efrén fathered a child nearly twelve years ago with a former staff member who
was employed at a prison where he was being housed at the time. Efrén and his
child's mother subsequently became married and remain so today. According to
LaSata, this human act between two consenting adults "violated all kinds
of prison rules." Efrén, however, never received a misconduct report for
any rule violation related to the incident by MDOC staff.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Richard Stapleton, a retired MDOC Hearings Division
Administrator, testified at Efrén's October 2020 mitigation hearing that any
misconduct allegations in his file which were not accompanied by official
misconduct reports should have been purged from the file. Therefore, the
allegations should not have been considered by the court during the mitigation
process.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A vast majority of the more than 200 juvenile lifers who
have been resentenced received dozens of misconduct reports while incarcerated
and it did not prevent judges from replacing their LWOP sentences with term of
year sentences. "'A sentencing judge's exercise of discretion must be
based on accurate information.' (People v. Smith, 423 Mich. 427, 448; 378 NW2d
384 (1985)). 'This is a due process requirement.' (People v. Miles, 454 Mich
90, 100; 559 NW2d 299 (1997))." (People v. Bennett, *30) Ignoring the
corrections expert's testimony and defiantly using erroneous and inaccurate
information to uphold a LWOP sentence in Efrén's case was a clear abuse of
discretion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LaSata also begrudgingly acknowledged a number of Efrén's
accomplishments throughout his incarceration, as well as his large support system.
But while he described Efrén as "intelligent, charismatic, and
diligent," he also characterized him as manipulative. He dismissed three
decades of Efrén completing rehabilitative programming, enriching the lives of
others, participating in therapeutic counseling for the past eleven years, and
numerous other achievements by theorizing it "may have" all been
simply to receive "opportunities." Part of the reason the Michigan
Court of Appeals reversed the LWOP sentence in the Bennett case was that the
sentencing court "resorted to a purely theoretical and uncertain
prediction" about his future dangerousness. (People v. Bennett, at *30).
As he delivered his ruling LaSata never presented a modicum of evidence that
Efrén "was and would remain WHOLLY incapable of rehabilitation for THE
REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE[.]" (emphasis added) (People v. Bennett, at *9)
(quoting People v. Garay, 320 Mich. App. 29, 49 (2017)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LASATA UNDERSCORES RACIAL INJUSTICE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Seated from the perch of his position of privilege, LaSata
punctuated the bias he exhibited in Efrén's case by attempting to manufacture
the sordid false narrative that racial injustice and the mistreatment of people
of color has never existed in St. Joseph. During his September 10 ruling,
LaSata remarked he did not believe Efrén's claim of ever being subjected to
episodes of ethnic slurs, bullying, and shaming growing up as a brown boy in a
majority white community. The year of Efrén's arrest the city of St. Joseph was
94% white residents. Blacks made up 3% of the population and the Latinx
population was a mere one percent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LaSata made his abysmal statement bereft of any evidence
being presented in court by the prosecutor's office to disprove the anti-brown
or Latinx experiences Efrén encountered growing up due to his ethnicity. His
statement was an insult to people of color and offended the sensibilities of
any person who has not been tone deaf to the racial reckoning the nation has
been undergoing during the past year since the police killing of George Floyd.
It is also acutely obvious to any person of color who has ever visited or lived
in the St. Joseph area, which also happens to be home to the Berrien County
Courthouse and jail.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This was all very personal for LaSata who served as a
commissioner for the city of St. Joseph from 1991 to 1995. He was elected as
mayor of the city from 1995 to 1998 and also served in the Michigan House of
Representatives for the district from 1999 to 2005. His wife, Kimberley LaSata,
currently serves the district in the Michigan State Senate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Berrien County has seated white judges on the bench and
white males have occupied the prosecutor's office since its inception. This is
true of other Michigan counties as well which has vastly contributed to the
acute racial sentencing disparities. "Children of color are 27% of the
child population [in Michigan] and 71% of children serving LWOP
sentences." (Connie de la Vega & Michelle Leighton, "Sentencing
Our Children to Die in Prison: Global Law and Practice," 42 U.S.F. L. Rev.
983, 994 (2008)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To many folks, LaSata's ruling in Efrén's case was a modern
day legal lynching.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While LaSata's refusal to render a fair ruling was designed
to deny Efrén a meaningful opportunity for release consideration, the judge
also set in motion a chain of events likely to produce profound unintended
consequences.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not only did LaSata carve out a clear path for Michigan
appellate courts to vacate his unwarranted ruling, he also set the stage for
Efrén's defense team to mount a constitutional challenge to MCL 769.25(a), the
law that allows sentencing courts to condemn juvenile offenders to prison for
life. He proved that some sentencing bodies -- though in the minority -- will
go rogue and refuse to fairly apply landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings to
juvenile lifer cases being reviewed for resentencing consideration. Some will
also lack the moral courage to do so. LaSata's nod to the prosecutor's office
could now result in abolishing a LWOP sentence not only for Efrén but also for
the other remaining juvenile lifers awaiting resentencing hearings who could
benefit from a favorable appellate ruling in his case.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since 2012, thirty-one states in the U.S. and the District
of Columbia have abandoned the practice of sentencing children to die in prison
or have no juvenile offenders serving a LWOP sentence according to the Campaign
for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. "[O]nly thirteen states have not
substantially narrowed the application of LWOP to juveniles through statutory
reform or by a lack of sentencing in practice." (Elizabeth C. Kingston,
"Validating Montgomery's Recharacterization of Miller: An End to LWOP for
Juveniles," 38 U. La Verne L. Rev. 23, 51 (2016)). A growing consensus of
states have embraced the U.S. Supreme Court's view that LWOP sentences for
juveniles are inhumane, draconian, and "akin to the death penalty."
(Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455, 2466 (2012)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">FOREVER INCAPABLE OF CHANGE?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Prominent leaders have spoken publicly about the
cruelty, inhumanity, and general senselessness of juvenile LWOP in the years
since the Miller [v. Alabama] decision." (Cara H. Drinan, Professor of
Law, The Catholic University of America, "The Miller Revolution," 101
Iowa L. Rev. 1787, 1831-1832 (2016)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to Linda Ross Meyer, author of "Forgiveness
and Public Trust," 27 Fordham Urb. L.J. 1515, 1539 (2000): "[P]eople
do not exist in an eternal moment ... [they] are constantly changing their
minds, projecting new actions into the world, learning and growing. We cannot
reduce them to one moment only, to one crime or one good deed."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Behavioral experts have found that no evidence exists that
personality ever ceases to change during a person's lifetime. (Avshalom Caspi
& Brent W. Roberts, "Personality Development Across the Life
Course," 12 Psychol. Inquiry 49, 51 (2001)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evidence also exists that personality traits change
gradually and systematically throughout the life span, sometimes more after age
30 than before. (Sanjay Srivastava et al., "Development of Personality in
Early and Middle Adulthood," 84 J. Personality & Soc. Psychol. 1041,
1051 (2003)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The fact that "most mean-level personality-trait change
occurs between ages [twenty] and [forty] ... opens a new area of focus in
developmental science." The research further demonstrates that humans remain
an "open system" throughout life, susceptible to change at the
fundamental level of personality. (Brent W. Roberts & Daniel Mroczek,
"Personality Trait Chance in Adulthood," 17 Current Directions
Psychol. Sci. 31, 33 (2008)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to a 2009 amicus brief from the American
Psychological Association et al., "Brain maturation continues into the
mid-twenties and the brain is plastic and always changing." (Brief for the
American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National
Association of Social Workers, and Mental Health America as Amici Curiae
Supporting Petitioners at 24-27, Graham v. Florida, 558 U.S. 811 (2009) (Nos.
08-7412, 08-7621, 2009 WL 2236778)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WOEFULLY MISSING THE MARK<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the conclusion of Efrén's September 10 court ruling
LaSata stated, "I'll be able to sleep well tonight knowing this case is
being appealed." LaSata knew he abjectly failed to discharge the duties of
his office and fairly apply the law in Efrén's case which resulted in a grave
miscarriage of justice. By wilfully rendering an arbitrary and unreasonable
ruling he abdicated his judicial responsibility to the appellate court to
properly resolve the case.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In his address to the delegates of the International
Association of Penal Law on October 23, 2014 Pope Francis stated: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"All Christians and men of good will are called today
to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty, whether legal or
illegal, and in all its forms, but also in order to improve prison conditions,
with respect for the human dignity of the people deprived of their freedom. And
I link this to life imprisonment. A short time ago the life sentence was
removed from the Vatican's Criminal Code. A life sentence is just a death
penalty in disguise."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most conservative Republican judges take pride in being
guided by their faith. They are also textualists who have a reverence for
constitutional original meaning. Textualism is supposed to be politically
neutral and offer protection against ideological judgement as a way to separate
the law from politics. LaSata chose to weaponize the law and betray his
fidelity to principles of conservatism in Efrén's case by replacing them with
his own brand of gross judicial negligence that ignores the concept of
redemption and the inherent dignity of young people. Fortunately there are
appellate courts to review decisions rendered by sentencing bodies who violate
their oath of office and put politics before the rule of law. The Judicial
Tenure Commission is tasked with reviewing claims of judicial misconduct as
well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">DESERVING OF SECOND CHANCE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In her academic journal article titled "All But the
Rarest of Children," 62 Wash. U. J.L. & Pol'y 227, 242 (2020), author
Allison M. Scoggin argues: "[T]he [U.S. Supreme] Court insists that only
'the rare juvenile offender who exhibits such irretrievable depravity that
rehabilitation is IMPOSSIBLE and life without parole is justified' can be
sentenced to life without parole. [Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718, 733
(2016)]. Thus, if there is ANY evidence that the offender could mature or be
rehabilitated over time -- and the Court points out that 'all but the rarest of
children' is capable of such growth [Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718,
726 (2016)] ] -- a life without parole sentence is disproportionate and
therefore unconstitutional." (emphasis added).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During the past 32 years Efrén has utilized his choice
architecture and tireless pursuit of education to continue expanding his
horizons, building understanding of the wider world, honing analytical and
communication skills, and fostering responsibilities beyond self. The abundance
of anecdotal and documented evidence of Efrén's enormous capacity for growth,
change, and rehabilitation disqualifies him as a candidate for a LWOP sentence.
It is also supported by myriad adolescent development and brain science studies
that directly contradicts LaSata's court ruling in Efrén's case. Simply
disliking Efrén or having disdain for him doesn't make him any less capable of
change and rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After having spent more than two-thirds of his life behind
bars Efrén deserves to receive a term of year sentence like the overwhelming
majority -- ninety-four percent -- of other similarly situated juvenile lifers
who have been resentenced across the state.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Michigan Court of Appeals made it abundantly clear in
the Bennett case that "'[i]rreparable corruption,' [i.e., forever having
no capacity for change] is the ONLY ground [the U.S. Supreme Court]
specifically identified for imposing a life-without-parole sentence [for a juvenile
offender]. See Miller [v. Alabama], 567 U.S. at 479 (2012)." (emphasis
added) (People v. Bennett, at *10).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If the Bennett ruling is, in the words of LaSata, "a
published decision binding on this court" which lead to him rejecting a
LWOP sentence in the Abbatoy case, it is likewise "binding" on him to
fairly, equally, and proportionally reach the same ruling in Efrén's case as
well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The appellate court should jettison LaSata's irrational and
unconstitutional ruling in Efrén's case as it did in the Bennett case when it
held: "We reverse and remand for resentencing to a term of years based on
the present record and consistent with MCL 769.25(9). We further instruct that
the resentencing be conducted with all deliberate speed." (People v. Bennett,
at *30-*31).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">###<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">_____________________________________<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Source: <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffb.com%2FFree.Efren&h=AT1ubA-y58H-2tfh0AIy4P02uCX3-ONC7uS21kwN2hajMrk0LujV3AFZQcXyx7oqt0-fbhkSbia4jVoGxZPuP-oK2Yh2xJGJaRlcFnhV7SqKESOOcyU3GTCCj8FkqDTlww&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5b0%5d=AT1s6tzHcjLyrI92n4pQZZ9-FV_v40BqTHPlOqyVArodCgkxZjw4A_J7S8Kch6aTGp20DlNGsmqFISoiuvTdWUjaZSguOqF31ym-7zf-kztVMHeuEq9Be1QUYewuKesIzdy8vDNA40u6WhFrViYaM8xEKMcIcCPm88kUaAPVhgnNqg" target="_blank">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To read an earlier series titled "Unpacking the Notion
of Rehabilitation in the Case of Efrén Paredes, Jr. (Part 1-5)" outlining
additional evidence and reasons he is not a candidate for a LWOP sentence you
can visit the following links:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part 1 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158667078805189&id=37153800188&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVV6DJoctw2FMR-cb9mxxu2iBmP7P_ML1ujAa1XQgEjXK9LuzS-zkb-4aFE8mjTX10Y_1Cp_3E8gfVR8e-sHyi-TgHI-LBsUNH_K34_U4sdYdk0a7RriMFGW1Q_VgDuETaXQqYi4RrOjNmPNBGo8x8y&__tn__=-UK-R"><b>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158667078805189&id=37153800188</b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part 2 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158677305845189&id=37153800188&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVV6DJoctw2FMR-cb9mxxu2iBmP7P_ML1ujAa1XQgEjXK9LuzS-zkb-4aFE8mjTX10Y_1Cp_3E8gfVR8e-sHyi-TgHI-LBsUNH_K34_U4sdYdk0a7RriMFGW1Q_VgDuETaXQqYi4RrOjNmPNBGo8x8y&__tn__=-UK-R"><b>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158677305845189&id=37153800188</b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part 3 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158685143250189&id=37153800188&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVV6DJoctw2FMR-cb9mxxu2iBmP7P_ML1ujAa1XQgEjXK9LuzS-zkb-4aFE8mjTX10Y_1Cp_3E8gfVR8e-sHyi-TgHI-LBsUNH_K34_U4sdYdk0a7RriMFGW1Q_VgDuETaXQqYi4RrOjNmPNBGo8x8y&__tn__=-UK-R"><b>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158685143250189&id=37153800188</b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part 4 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158704867365189&id=37153800188&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVV6DJoctw2FMR-cb9mxxu2iBmP7P_ML1ujAa1XQgEjXK9LuzS-zkb-4aFE8mjTX10Y_1Cp_3E8gfVR8e-sHyi-TgHI-LBsUNH_K34_U4sdYdk0a7RriMFGW1Q_VgDuETaXQqYi4RrOjNmPNBGo8x8y&__tn__=-UK-R"><b>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158704867365189&id=37153800188</b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part 5 <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158734085285189&id=37153800188&__cft__%5b0%5d=AZVV6DJoctw2FMR-cb9mxxu2iBmP7P_ML1ujAa1XQgEjXK9LuzS-zkb-4aFE8mjTX10Y_1Cp_3E8gfVR8e-sHyi-TgHI-LBsUNH_K34_U4sdYdk0a7RriMFGW1Q_VgDuETaXQqYi4RrOjNmPNBGo8x8y&__tn__=-UK-R"><b>https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158734085285189&id=37153800188</b></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-56055480061615244212021-08-20T08:58:00.001-05:002021-09-03T09:01:57.453-05:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdZLgnC1GUZUZKDocYzGkMKX2BuL4LbzPV_B2STC3SSGXBEw3RaIgHBkLCUEKFs4VLjpmJIH_LUVOilzZ3Nhbe5p6edYEbroXlOAbUMwWkB5kJZc4e55dtqaQE9PGIqVXLnniA8hrWH9o/s1600/covid19-1600x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVdZLgnC1GUZUZKDocYzGkMKX2BuL4LbzPV_B2STC3SSGXBEw3RaIgHBkLCUEKFs4VLjpmJIH_LUVOilzZ3Nhbe5p6edYEbroXlOAbUMwWkB5kJZc4e55dtqaQE9PGIqVXLnniA8hrWH9o/s320/covid19-1600x900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Delta Variant Infiltrating Michigan Prisons<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">by Efrén Paredes, Jr.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"No person should fear for his or her life each day as
a result of the carelessness to basic human needs." (Ariel Berkowitz,
"(Un)Masking the Truth -- The Cruel and Unusual Punishment of Prisoners
Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, 37 Touro L. Rev. 347, 373 (2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In an August 3, 2021 memorandum sent to people exiled in its
carceral facilities Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Central Office
staff wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"We have begun to see an uptick in prisoner [COVID-19]
cases after having just two positive cases among the prisoner population this
past weekend. Since Friday, there have been 25 positive cases at nine
facilities."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A subsequent memorandum revealed that positive tests at two
of the prisons were false positives. It attributed the errors to defective
reagents used during the testing process. Despite the errors the virus still
quickly reemerged in seven prisons in a short span of time. Since then the MDOC
has issued no new information regarding infection updates to people locked away
in its prisons.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The MDOC website, however, paints a different picture of the
problem. According to the latest data available to the public on August 18,
2021 an additional 525 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Michigan
prisons during the past fourteen days. An average case count of 37.5 per day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The numbers are eerily reminiscent of March 2020 when the
virus began exploding in the state's carceral facilities. The first wave left
an astonishing 78% of people incarcerated in MDOC prisons infected and 143
people succumbed to the biological contagion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The unsettling new data reveals an ominous COVID-19
recrudescence infiltrating the state's carceral facilities which the pandemic
has previously exposed are bacteria factories for replication of infectious
disease.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To the outside observer the number of new infections may not
seem like a large number. In a sea of people living in unsanitary crowded
spaces they are unable to properly social distance in, however, the number
represents a viral tinderbox.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In an article titled, "Mass Incarceration, Meet
COVID-19," Sharon Dolovich, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"From the earliest days of the pandemic, it was clear
that the novel coronavirus posed an outsized danger to the more than two
million people locked inside America's prisons and jails."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She added, "By summer, infection rates in state and
federal prisons dwarfed national rates by a ratio of 5.5 to 1, and, accounting
for age, people in prison were dying at three times the rate of society as a whole."
("Mass Incarceration, Meet COVID-19," 87 U. Chi. L. Rev. Online 4
(2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"[T]he largest clusters of infection have occurred
within prisons and jails, distantly followed by meatpacking plants and nursing
homes. All five of the top five clusters of COVID-19 infections around the
country are in carceral facilities[.]" (Camila Strassle & Benjamin E.
Berkman, "Prisons and Pandemics," 57 San Diego l. Rev. 1083, 1084
(2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to Eda Katharine Tinto and Jenny Roberts, authors
of "Expanding Compassion Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic," 18 Ohio St.
J. Crim. L. 575, 577 (2021): "By January 26, 2021, more than 365,000
prisoners tested positive for COVID-19, and 2,314 prisoners died as a result.
Infection rates within prisons remain high and continue to rise."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This staggering number made prisons the epicenter of the
pandemic and amounted to more deaths of incarcerated people "than has been
produced by carrying out formal death sentences in the United States for the
entire period from 2001 to 2020." (Douglas A. Berman, "The New Death
Penalty: COVID Has Now Killed More US Prisoners in Months Than the US Death
Penalty Has in the Last Two Decades," Sent'g L. & Pol'y (Aug. 23,
2020, 11:23 AM)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The viral spread occurring inside America's fortresses of
seclusion has been deliberately obscured from the public consciousness in an
effort to prevent people from recognizing the sheer danger prisons present to
human life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It has also been hushed to veil the morally reprehensible
refusal of lawmakers to create a pathway to reduce the population density in
carceral facilities as a strategy to obviate a deadly deluge of disease
transmission.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is lost on them that "[t]he contagion-rich
environment of jail and prison means a detained [person] may never come home,
and [her/his] community may suffer the long-term effects of his permanent
absence." (Jenny E. Carroll, "Safety, Crisis, and Criminal Law,"
52 Ariz. St. L.J. 769, 788 (2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Media reporting, academic journal articles, and anecdotal
accounts have shined a searing light on the painful fact that state officials
were slow to respond to protecting people in prisons when the pandemic hit
eighteen months ago.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Michigan prisons became ravaged by the virus during a
feckless period of inaction before people were provided with masks, began being
tested for COVID-19, and provided adequate medical care. Many people were
initially returned to their housing units after reporting symptoms of the
airborne communicable disease which engendered further spread of infection.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It also took weeks before the practice of having hundreds of
people eating closely together in crowded dining halls was suspended at several
prisons and meals were safely distributed to people in containers to consume in
their living area.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">DELTA VARIANT ENTERS THE PICTURE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The latter is of substantial importance because the COVID-19
Delta variant, which is primarily transmitted through proximity and shared air,
has a viral load one thousand times greater than the first iteration of the
disease.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is exponentially more easily transmissible than the
original wild type Coronavirus and is particularly pernicious because of its
ability to turn off a person's immune system long enough to overwhelm them with
infection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Delta variant is raging across the nation and infection
rates continue to climb. It now accounts for 99% of U.S. COVID-19 cases. August
17, 2021 the country reached 139,872 average positive daily infections, a 600%
spike in cases in just the past month, according to data obtained from Johns
Hopkins University.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The CDC recently reported that there are currently 80,000
people being hospitalized nationwide due to complications from COVID-19 -- the
highest number since February. There were also over 5,000 deaths during the
past week, averaging 820 per day. It is a 57% increase from the previous week
and more than triple the number of deaths in early July.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As of August 4, 2021 only 64% of people incarcerated in
Michigan prisons have been vaccinated, according to MDOC data. Over 11,000 --
or one-third -- of the prison population remains unvaccinated and highly
susceptible to contracting/recontracting COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is very troubling in light of a recent CDC study of an
outbreak in Massachusetts which found there was no significant difference
between the COVID-19 viral loads of fully vaccinated people and those of
unvaccinated people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Last week CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated we can
expect to see tens of thousands of Delta variant breakthrough cases, meaning
fully vaccinated people being infected with the virus. As of today there have
been 248,000 breakthrough cases nationwide.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These facts, coupled with the Delta variant's screaming
level of transmission and virulent viral load, vastly elevate the threat of a
COVID-19 firestorm sweeping through the carceral system once again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some argue vaccinations will help reduce hospitalizations
and deaths for those who contract the disease. While partially true, it ignores
the reality that it won't prevent them from the substantial risk of
experiencing "long COVID," a term commonly referred to as long-term
physical, psychiatric, and neurological effects.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Studies estimate that long COVID may affect between 10
percent and 30 percent of adults infected with the [C]oronavirus. ... Some
symptoms resemble aftereffects of concussions and other brain injuries."
(Pam Belluck, "This Is Really Scary," The New York Times (Aug. 8,
2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a disturbing study published in The Lancet medical
journal last month researchers reported finding that COVID-19 can cause 200
symptoms in ten different bodily organs. In places like prisons that act as
vectors or hotspots for transmission of the virus the potential for this to
occur is far greater than for members of the general public.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">LIVING IN PRISON DURING THE COVID-19 ERA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Unlike vaccinated people in the free world who can socially
distance in carceral facilities it's a virtual impossibility to do in most
areas, diminishing vaccine protection. "The physical set-up of virtually
all prisons is inherently conducive to the spread of COVID-19." (Tinto
& Roberts, supra at 576).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The confluence of a respiratory pathogen in congregant
living conditions plagued by overcrowding, poor ventilation, people eating in
close proximity to one another in dining halls, and using shared utilities like
showers, toilets, and sinks are a lethal combination creating a super-spreader
environment. (See Elizabeth Barnert et al., "Prisons: Amplifiers of the
COVID-19 Pandemic Hiding in Plain Sight," 110 AJPH 964 (2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In many housing units dozens of people sleep close to one
another in bunk beds or in barracks-style open bay areas only a few feet apart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Vulnerable people in carceral facilities are unable to
extricate themselves from being bathed in COVID-19 and they are defenseless to
protect themselves with effective masks. "In dramatic fashion, the
pandemic illuminates the urgent need to drastically reduce the number of people
behind bars in prisons and jails." (Kristen Nelson & Jeanne Segil,
"The Pandemic as a Portal," 98 Denv. L. Rev. 337, 340 (2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A year ago I sounded the alarm about the propensity for a
COVID-19 surge in Michigan prisons in a series of articles before the virus
engulfed the prison system. Television, radio, print, and online news media
outlets echoed this reporting as well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To protect the health and safety of people incarcerated in
Michigan prisons the MDOC needs to end double-bunking, separate all beds in
congregant living areas by six feet, and provide incarcerated people with
proper life-saving N95 masks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other respected epidemiologists argue that
N95 masks are the only masks that can effectively protect someone from the
Delta variant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Three-layered masks are helpful but not as effective as N95
masks. This is especially true in areas where virus transmission is
particularly high like in carceral facilities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a recent CNN interview Michael Osterholm, Director,
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota,
stated that as a general rule if you can smell smoke through a mask you're
wearing the mask is too porous to effectively protect against the Delta
variant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">COVID-19 KNOWS NO BORDERS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"From a global perspective, coronavirus is an issue
that impacts and threatens us all." (U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice
Johnson & Lawrence J. Trautman, "The Demographics of Death: An Early
Look at COVID-19, Cultural and Racial Bias in America," 48 Hastings Const.
L.Q. 357, 361 (2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19 can
"act as a source of infection, amplification and spread of infectious
disease within and beyond prisons." (Regional Office for Eur., World
Health Org., "Prevention and Control of COVID-19 in Prisons and Other
Places of Detention" 1 (2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">An airborne virus like COVID-19 flourishes in carceral
facilities. It also has the capacity to have a profound spillover effect in
neighboring cities and towns, thereby becoming a dangerous driver of community
spread. Employees enter prisons by the thousands and return to their
communities each day where they live and interact with family and friends.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"If COVID has taught us anything, it is that our
collective failure to recognize the embeddedness of carceral institutions in
the broader community and to ensure humane conditions for those individuals
living inside is not only cruel but also self-defeating. When people are
incarcerated, they do not disappear. Despite high walls, the facilities to
which they are removed are still very much within society itself."
(Dolovich, supra at 34)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">RECOGNIZING HUMAN DECENCY<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Nationwide demonstrations during the summer of 2020 around
the disproportionate police killings of unarmed people of color sparked serious
conversations about racial injustice. They also revealed the brutal impact
prisons have on the lives of the 2.3 million people they cage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The use of incarceration as the primary instrument of social
control has been normalized far too long. The false and persistent narratives
of people behind bars have demonized and reduced them to their worst mistake.
This alienation or "othering" characterizes them as unworthy or
incapable of redemption and subsequently leads to their objectification.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to James M. Binnall, author of the article,
"Respecting Beasts: The Dehumanizing Quality of the Modern Prison and an
Unusual Model for Penal Reform," 17 J.L. & Pol'y 161, 162 (2008)):
"Almost unanimously, the managerial regimes that operate today's prisons
view prisoners as commodities, unworthy of rehabilitative efforts."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a direct through line between this distorted
thinking and the dehumanization of incarcerated people. The absence of
compassion results in the devaluing of life and protracted human suffering.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This nexus not only ignores the inherent dignity of people
trapped in prisons, it also prevents lawmakers and carceral facility
administrators from reducing the crowded living conditions that serve as
incubators for the proliferation of deadly diseases like COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As the world was fixated on the Derek Chauvin trial in the
Spring of 2021, the Minnesota police officer charged with the death of George
Floyd, one of the most repeated refrains the world heard was "when a
person is in the custody of law enforcement, they are in their care."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The same can be said about the State of Michigan and MDOC --
the people in their custody are in their care.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If the past is prologue we know that "the price of
inaction given the extreme vulnerability of prisons and jails to the spread of
infectious diseases has never been higher." (Mirko Bagaric, Peter Isham
& Jennifer Svilar, "The Increased Exposure to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
for Prisoners Justifies Early Release" 48 Pepp. L. Rev. 121, 141 (2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The MDOC's silence about the rise of positive COVID-19 tests
in Michigan prisons is dangerously misleading incarcerated people to believe
they are not entering a new surge of positive infections and making them less
fearful about contracting the virus.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Previous to its August 4, 2021 message it had been months
since the MDOC had engaged in outreach with incarcerated people to discuss
COVID-19 or encourage vaccinations despite low vaccination numbers behind bars.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The absence of an MDOC vaccine messaging campaign has
prevented potentially thousands of immunizations and diminished their value. It
has likely also produced the unintended consequence of contributing to an
increase of viral transmission in prisons.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many hope that lawmakers and MDOC administrators learned
from the first wave of the pandemic and aren't recklessly naive to believe that
making the same mistakes will produce different results.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">They need to also course-correct about being silent
regarding rising infection numbers with the incarcerated population and engage
in a robust vaccine outreach campaign to help stem further virus transmission..<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first time the MDOC had a playbook for protecting
incarcerated people from a contagious airborne disease pandemic and didn't use
it (i.e., Exec. Office of the President of the United States, "Playbook
for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and
Biological Incidents" (2016)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The document produced by the Obama administration three
years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic offered "guidelines to correctional
facilities regarding how to stop the spread of the virus and how to deal with
issues such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the use of hand
sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol content." (Gabriela M. Guzman,
"An International Comparative Study of the United States, the Netherlands,
and Mexico: Pandemic Responses in Prisons and Correctional Institutions During
the 1918 Spanish Flu and the Era of COVID-19," 27 ILSA J. Int'l &
Comp. L. 343, 358 (2021)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eighteen months -- and 26,731 incarcerated people infected
with COVID-19 later -- state actors now have a dearth of scientific and
experiential data and resources to inform their decision-making.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Not being animated to implement every available public
health measure to prevent the specter of another health catastrophe inside the
state's prisons will not only be carelessly negligent, it will be deliberately
indifferent and tantamount to complicity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is a journalist and social justice
changemaker who has been incarcerated in Michigan for 32 years. He works at the
intersection of criminal penal reform, racial justice, and movement-building.
You can find links to his writings, TV news/radio/podcast interviews, and
activism by visiting http://fb.com/Free.Efren.)<o:p></o:p></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-71681313655306758792021-06-16T11:43:00.004-05:002021-07-19T11:50:12.285-05:00Praise for "Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration" by Reuben Jonathan Miller (Little, Brown and Company, 2021)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxgwhfOk0jYpBH_sCDYyjij64eGOUBCH3EqVmxqJ7niOR6GOc24tTDckmR3hPyFThPA676QUHGdK1vbAlk4BxWN8okc7J-zriybTtpcoJ99-w8a7vMxWzSg4A-ZnSIBk1Z5qwYMtIUZ8p/s2048/halfway+home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxgwhfOk0jYpBH_sCDYyjij64eGOUBCH3EqVmxqJ7niOR6GOc24tTDckmR3hPyFThPA676QUHGdK1vbAlk4BxWN8okc7J-zriybTtpcoJ99-w8a7vMxWzSg4A-ZnSIBk1Z5qwYMtIUZ8p/s320/halfway+home.jpg" /></a></div>by Efrén Paredes, Jr.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"[T]his is how social death works: You become a
nonperson, someone whose existence is superfluous. You're invisible, hidden in
some cage just outside the city or within it or perhaps hundreds of miles from
home. The effects are all the same. You are a number among a bunch of other
numbers. You might have a family. You might do great things in your community.
You might help others, regularly. You might be a person of great faith. But you
are dead to the world that matters to you most. The prison robs you of your
importance."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The above quote is from Reuben Jonathan Miller's book titled
"Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass
Incarceration." Miller is a sociologist, criminologist, social worker, and
University of Chicago professor.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Halfway Home" is a searing indictment of the
pernicious ways that mass incarceration destabilizes lives by
disproportionately demonizing, marginalizing, and warehousing people of color
and members of poor and underserved communities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The book highlights how lawmakers have erected barriers that
prevent the 600,000 returning citizens marked by incarceration who are released
from prisons each year from succeeding through the creation of 48,000 laws,
policies, and administrative sanctions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Miller also critiques the plethora of interlocking problems
that have resulted in America becoming the country that cages more citizens
than any other on the planet. His rich, descriptive narrative allows the reader
to explore the world of prison and its "afterlife" in a very moving
way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the words of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Heather Ann
Thompson, "As Miller shows so powerfully [in his book], the damage done by
this system has been so insidious, and so comprehensive, that certain Americans
are always, in effect, doing time."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of the qualities that makes this book so compelling is
Miller's proximity to the problem. His father and brother were incarcerated,
and he was actively a part of his brother's support network throughout his
incarceration and release. He witnessed firsthand what families of incarcerated
people experience during that time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He also served as a Chaplain inside Chicago's notorious Cook
County Jail where he interacted with thousands of people in detention and was
able to directly observe how they were treated by their jailers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The imprint of incarceration on Miller's life allows him to
see and understand things other ethnographers often miss or overlook when they
study the caging of citizens. He writes not only as a brilliant scholar, but
also as a credible witness.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I'm critical of authors who write about the carceral system
because too often they write through the gaze of a detached observer. As an
advocate for incarcerated people and stakeholder in how we are portrayed, I'm
not one to give a pass to authors who gaslight readers about the facts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Too many writers seek to capitalize off the suffering and
misery of the incarcerated experience. They frequently only review statistics
and data points before arriving at conclusions and rarely engage with the
subjects of their research.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Part of Miller's fieldwork for his book included spending
time interviewing incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in jails,
prisons, half-way houses, treatment programs, homeless shelters, and urban
cities. He also interviewed local politicians, prison staff, reentry program
staff, among others.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As someone who has been caged in Michigan prisons 32 years
and intensely studied the carceral system experientially -- including reading
books, scores of peer-reviewed journal articles, and research studies on the
subject -- I can unequivocally state that Miller knows what he's writing about.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anyone interested in learning about the real struggles and
lived experiences of currently and formerly incarcerated people and their
families should read this book. It will open your eyes about things you didn't
know and change your perspectives about things you thought you already knew.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">###<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Book information online:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">https://www.littlebrown.com/.../halfway-home/9780316451512/<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is a blogger, thought leader, social
justice changemaker, and Michigan juvenile lifer who has been incarcerated 32
years. You can find links to his writings, TV news/radio/podcast interviews,
and activism by visiting http://fb.com/Free.Efren.)<o:p></o:p></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-82068052535269734582021-05-02T11:32:00.003-05:002021-07-19T11:42:50.647-05:00Seeds of Humanity Blossom in a Michigan Courtroom<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRirE8psBS0HjAUNRZfVEXqdgnRpVIHDHS1-ZjNqwglTyTxE55io5nHleZt10AimnEJjOLmUfiNhHy3kwxLyYyz7psLvbhBPy9Q9ybPV7iE4B8nHYmk-_c5i2ZtleCgbNisxXA4et3o9v/s1024/sunrise_over_lake_michigan__by_lil_j_vs_gavin_dc9junf-fullview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfRirE8psBS0HjAUNRZfVEXqdgnRpVIHDHS1-ZjNqwglTyTxE55io5nHleZt10AimnEJjOLmUfiNhHy3kwxLyYyz7psLvbhBPy9Q9ybPV7iE4B8nHYmk-_c5i2ZtleCgbNisxXA4et3o9v/s320/sunrise_over_lake_michigan__by_lil_j_vs_gavin_dc9junf-fullview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>by Efrén Paredes, Jr.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1993 a 17-year-old Flint youth named Victor Polk was
charged, along with four other juveniles, for the armed robbery of a store and
shooting death of a man.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He was subsequently convicted by a Genesee County jury for
conspiracy to commit armed robbery and as the principal person responsible for
the shooting. The four other juveniles were convicted of lesser offenses.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk was sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for the
shooting and life for the armed robbery. He is one of Michigan's 367 juvenile
lifers, people originally sentenced to LWOP for crimes they were convicted of
committing when they were minors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I met Polk when he first entered the prison system at the
Michigan Reformatory (MR) in 1994 when he was 18 years old. MR was a medium
security prison that housed incarcerated people between the ages of 16 and 25.
At the time we met I was 21 and had already been incarcerated five years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">MR is one of only three completely walled prisons in
Michigan. It was built in 1877 and its walls resemble those ringing a medieval
castle. For decades it was referred to as "gladiator school" because
of its reputation for being one of the most dangerous prisons in the state.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was housed at MR three different times between 1989 and
1995. I first arrived at age 16 and was the youngest person there at the time.
It was the first prison I went to after leaving the Reception and Guidance
Center, where people initially go from the county jail to be processed into the
prison system shortly after they are sentenced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While at MR I witnessed dozens of stabbings and fights. It
was common to observe officers perched on the prison roof carrying loaded
rifles. They would occasionally shoot warning shots in an effort to stop people
from harming one another if a conflict erupted on the prison yard. Last year a
person incarcerated at MR was shot through the shoulder by an officer from the
rooftop during an incident involving an assault on the yard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk and I interacted for the first time while participating
in a study group together which taught us the value of self-knowledge,
self-determination, cultural competence, spirituality, and social justice. It
also introduced us to the role that politics and civic engagement play in our
lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One of our most important takeaway from the group early on
was that universes of opportunities are born whenever people open their hearts
and minds and become receptive to new ideas.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk was a reserved person who displayed a quiet calmness.
He was eager to learn, always attentive in our classes, and completed all
assigned classwork. During the year we spent at MR together I had the
opportunity to witness significant growth in him in just a short period of
time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Outside of class Polk and I would walk and talk on the yard
about a variety of subjects. We talked about life in general, sports, music,
where we were from, and things occurring inside the prison. He became one of
many younger brothers and friends I would come to mentor over the years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Over time I also came to discover that like me Polk, too,
was sentenced to die in prison when he was a juvenile.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I left MR for the final time in 1995 and wouldn't see Polk
again for another 26 years. Though we were housed at separate prisons during
that time, I monitored the trajectory of his growth and progress by talking to
mutual friends who shared space with him at different prisons over the years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We also occasionally wrote letters to each other before the
practice of allowing people incarcerated in Michigan prisons to correspond with
one another ended in 2009.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk continued to ameliorate his life despite living in a
gray wasteland teeming with social toxins which devalues life and progression
and is designed to extinguish the human spirit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He demonstrated that we are all a work in progress.
"[P]eople do not exist in an eternal moment ... but are constantly
changing their minds, projecting new actions into the world, learning and
growing. We cannot reduce them to one moment only, to one crime or one good
deed." (Linda Ross Meyer, "Forgiveness and Public Trust," 27
Fordham Urb. L.J. 1515, 1539 (2000)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Research shows that sustained social isolation and living in
an environment comprised of pathological and nihilistic elements can induce a
diminution of meaning and self-worth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prisons are places where failure and degradation reign. I
had seen the lives of incarcerated people ravaged far too many times,
particularly the lives of young people, struggling to navigate the minefield of
moral decay pervasive behind prison walls.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was very cognizant that at any point despair or the
misguided actions of others could send Polk in a downward spiral of
self-destruction if he didn't cultivate resiliency factors and remain
self-disciplined.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When we reconnected again in 2019, Polk and I walked
together on a prison yard much different than the one we walked on decades
earlier. The prison we are at now houses many older people, including the
largest population of people serving life sentences in Michigan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk and I caught up about events that had transpired in our
lives during the past nearly three decades, including the delays we have both
experienced waiting to be resentenced years after the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling in Miller v. Alabama.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Miller v. Alabama case banned mandatory LWOP sentences
for juvenile offenders. At the time of the ruling 2,500 people were impacted.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trial courts were ordered to review each juvenile lifer case
to determine whether their case reflected transient immaturity or they are the
rare juvenile lifer who is irreparably corrupt and rehabilitation is impossible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Four years later the U.S. Supreme Court in Montgomery v.
Louisiana made clear how extraordinarily uncommon LWOP sentences should become
by emphasizing six separate times throughout the opinion that the sentence is
only constitutional for the "rare" juvenile.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Court also mentioned eight times in the Montgomery
ruling that LWOP is barred for all juvenile defendants except for those who
have committed homicide, whose crimes reflect "permanent
incorrigibility" and "irreparable corruption," and for whom
"rehabilitation is impossible."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It added, "[Juvenile lifers] must be given the
opportunity to show their crime did not reflect irreparable corruption; and if
it did not, their hope for some years of life outside prison walls must be
restored."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In short, juvenile offenders who demonstrate the capacity
for change and rehabilitation must receive new sentences that allow release
consideration at some point in the future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In speaking to Polk again in 2019, I observed firsthand he
had continued evolving into a thoughtful, compassionate, and empathetic man. He
was still making productive use of his time and using his choice architecture
to effectuate transformational change.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk refused to allow himself to be defined by his crime or
remain trapped in the past. He was now personifying the wisdom of Dr. Ashley E.
Lucas, Professor, University of Michigan, who wrote in her illuminating book,
"Prison Theatre and the Global Crisis of Incarceration" 145-146
(Methuen Drama: 2020):<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Human beings cannot grow or improve when they are
tethered permanently and irrevocably to the past, when things that cannot be
changed become the sum total of a person's existence and their potential to be anything
else in the future."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I would often find Polk sitting alone on a picnic table or
bench on the prison yard during afternoons watching cars drive. It was typical
of him: still that reticent person I remembered many years earlier who found
tranquility in his inner world.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During one of our conversations, Polk updated me about
waiting to return to court to have his case evaluated for resentencing
consideration based on the Miller v. Alabama ruling.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We had both experienced a series of delays because prosecutors
in our counties were seeking LWOP sentences against us again rather than
allowing us to receive new sentences that provide release consideration at some
point in the future by the Parole Board.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The victim's wife, son, and daughter in Polk's case also
understandably continued to oppose his release as they had since his arrest.
The son and daughter were ages seven and five when the crime occurred.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After Polk's 1993 trial the victim's wife found purpose in
her pain by becoming a nationally recognized champion for crime victim rights.
She transformed her mourning into mission by initiating a statewide citizen
petition for juvenile law reforms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She also used her voice to promote enactment of truth in
sentencing laws ensuring that offenders serve their entire minimum sentence
before being considered for release.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The year following the murder of her husband she was present
at the White House for the signing of the Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 (the 1994 Crime Bill). The historic bill -- comprised
of 33 titles -- was designed to reduce violent crime and increase punishment
against perpetrators of violent crimes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, the Crime Bill
was and remains the single largest "sweeping piece of federal criminal
justice legislation in U.S. history that touched nearly every function or
initiative of the criminal justice system." (Richard Rosenfeld, "The
1994 Crime Bill: Legacy and Lessons -- Overview and Reflections," 32 Fed.
Sent. R. 147 (2020)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">October 8, 2020 Polk received a court hearing for a judge to
consider whether his crime reflected transient immaturity, or he was the rare,
irreparably corrupt juvenile offender who can never be rehabilitated. The
hearing was presided over by Genesee County Trial Court Judge Elizabeth A.
Kelly.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Judge Kelly heard testimony provided by expert witnesses on
Polk's behalf and considered a wealth of evidence of his change and
rehabilitation. She subsequently issued a ruling February 1, 2021 dismissing
the prosecutor's motion seeking a LWOP sentence against him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Her decision reflected the overwhelming majority of judges
who have declared the extreme sentence of LWOP unconstitutional in 94% of
juvenile lifer cases being evaluated for resentencing across the state.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Two months later Judge Kelly resentenced Polk on April 13,
2021 to two concurrent sentences of 28 to 60 years for both the homicide and
conspiracy to commit armed robbery charges. He was supposed to be resentenced a
month earlier but was delayed due to a scheduling conflict.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The judge was permitted to resentence Polk for the
underlying felony of conspiracy to commit armed robbery because it was an
invalid sentence pursuant to People v. Turner, 505 Mich 954; 936 NW2d 827
(2020).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A sentence is invalid if it is based upon a misconception of
law. In the Miller context, a concurrent sentence for a lesser offense is
invalid "if there is reason to believe that it was based on a legal
misconception that the defendant was required to serve a mandatory sentence of
life without parole on the greater offense." (People v. Turner)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the conclusion of his resentencing hearing the prosecutor
asked the judge if the victim's family could speak to Polk off the record.
After receiving permission from the judge, the widow, son, and daughter of the
victim in his case each spoke to Polk.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Rather than unleashing a salvo of contemptuous words against
Polk, the family forgave him and wished him well with his life. They also
conveyed that their family member who died was a good man and asked Polk to honor
him by living the remainder of his life like their family member would have.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The son told Polk if not for the COVID-19 pandemic social
distancing rules being in place he would have given him a hug.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The family demonstrated the embodiment of grace and compassion
through their magnanimity and benevolence of their mercy. They were determined
not to allow the resentencing hearing to become one more event added to the
gallery of their grief.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It was a profoundly powerful and deeply moving moment,
particularly in light of their previous seemingly implacable position that Polk
remain behind bars until his life expired, and advocating for passage of
legislation to ensure that that fate materialized.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The interface occurred between the victim's family and Polk
as he stood facing them handcuffed inside of the jury box. Only a short wooden
wall separated them from one another.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk told me, "The family refused to be imprisoned by
anger and hatred anymore that day. They taught me a powerful lesson about
forgiveness and humanity that I'll never forget. We cried together in the
courtroom and I cried again this morning. It's been overwhelming."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In addition to the aforementioned details he shared with me,
we discussed how decades-old trauma is reactivated during court hearings, and
the heartbreak of observing the acute affliction that victim family members in
our cases have endured due to the horror of violence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Sudden losses, unexpected traumas, and intrusive
tragedies ... are difficult to handle and process. They can be ...
destabilizing and devastating to the whole person, family, organization, or
community." (Naji Abi-Hashem, "Grief, Bereavement, and Traumatic
Stress," 32 Issues L. & Med. 245 (2017)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trauma and its baneful aftermath often shakes human life to
its core. Crime survivors are left reeling in agony whenever they or someone
they love suffers harm. Pernicious acts against them are indelibly seared into
their souls. They "mark their memories forever and chang[e] their future
identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways." (Jeffrey C. Alexander,
"The Meanings of Social Life: A Cultural Sociology" 3 (2003)).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No person should ever have their life desecrated, violently
disrupted, or cut short because of another person's virulent behavior. Every
life is sacred and deserves to be respected and valued.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Polk went on to share his plans to live with the grandmother
who raised him in the same childhood bedroom he slept in prior to his 1993
arrest. His grandmother has preserved the bedroom for him for nearly three
decades.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">She found it too painful to discard any of its contents all
these years. They were tangible memories she clung to that helped her cope with
his absence and allowed her to maintain a connection to him.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When asked about his post-release plans, Polk remarked that
he wants to work full-time and further his education. He also wants to live a
life of service to others by participating in activities to help improve his
community in Flint.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to Polk, "More than anything I want to help
my grandmother who stood by and supported me all these years. I want to be
there to help her do things like throw out her trash, help her clean the house,
and buy her gifts on Mother's Day."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He added, "I want to do the small things many people
take for granted. I'm not thinking about big things. I'll be grateful to just
live a simple life and celebrate my freedom every day."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since he has served 27 years in prison Polk will become
eligible for parole consideration within the next year. There are no guarantees
he will be released right away though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Because he received a sentence of 28 to 60 years, he only
becomes eligible for release consideration after he has served 28 years.
However, the Parole Board still has the authority to deny him parole for up to
60 years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In his 2017 Harvard Law Review article titled, "The
President's Role in Advancing Criminal Justice Reform," President Barack
Obama wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"How we treat those who have made mistakes speaks to
who we are as a society and is a statement about our values -- about our
dedication to fairness, equality, and justice, and about how to protect our
families and communities from harm, heal after loss and trauma, and lift back
up those among us who have earned a chance at redemption."<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When he is eventually paroled Polk will experience freedom
for the first time in his adult life. He looks forward to that day and is
committed to living a meaningful and productive life of purpose.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even if his fresh start begins with cleaning out his childhood
bedroom and replacing his belongings with items he will now need as an adult
mid-way into his 40s.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is a blogger, thought leader, social
justice changemaker, and Michigan juvenile lifer who has been incarcerated 32
years. You can find links to his writings, TV news/radio/podcast interviews,
and activism by visiting <a href="http://fb.com/Free.Efren">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a>.)<o:p></o:p></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-72795921757756882432021-02-17T17:51:00.004-05:002021-02-23T17:56:22.168-05:00Unpacking the Notion of Rehabilitation in the Case of Efrén Paredes, Jr. (Part 1)<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 11.5pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWQWKW0GuI59nCuLEyrRVCdWNH402hMjziyI8_FGRZKUouCJRft28q_uLbcjGVdOJdErxHfw6kUZzZXdGcjL9lrTfDlgtY8Ox9SC1cDTrdVLlSwFVPsehy3jyx8VMDiQiHmdORVusC4xu/s2048/behind+bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1417" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWQWKW0GuI59nCuLEyrRVCdWNH402hMjziyI8_FGRZKUouCJRft28q_uLbcjGVdOJdErxHfw6kUZzZXdGcjL9lrTfDlgtY8Ox9SC1cDTrdVLlSwFVPsehy3jyx8VMDiQiHmdORVusC4xu/s320/behind+bars.jpg" /></a></div><br />by Necalli Ollin<p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 11.5pt;">(This
is the first in a series of posts analyzing the prosecutor's arguments in
recent court hearings regarding the case of Efrén Paredes, Jr.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friday,
January 15, 2021, oral arguments were held in the Berrien County Trial Court in
the case of Efrén Paredes, Jr.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Efrén
is a 47-year-old Latino man arrested at age 15 in Berrien County, Michigan, for
the 1989 homicide and robbery of a grocery store manager. He was later
convicted by a jury and sentenced to life without parole. Minors serving the
extreme sentence are commonly referred to as "juvenile lifers."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
2012 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the case of Miller v.
Alabama banning mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children. The Court
also ordered the resentencing of 2,500 people impacted by the ruling
nationwide. In Michigan </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">Picture: </span><span style="color: #6e6e6e; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keith Negley for The Washington Post
</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">367 people had to be
resentenced.</span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michigan
trial courts now have the option of imposing a term-of-year sentence ranging
between a 25-40 year minimum or a life-without-parole sentence on juvenile
offenders charged with first-degree murder. Trial courts previously could only
impose a life-without-parole sentence for the charge. The U.S. Supreme Court
gave trial courts the option to choose which sentence to impose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, only juvenile offenders who are
"irreparably corrupt" and forever incapable of change and rehabilitation
can receive a life-without-parole sentence. The high court also added that
sentencing juveniles to life without parole must become a "rare" and
"uncommon" practice only appropriate in "exceptional
circumstances."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of
the 200+ juvenile lifers who have been resentenced statewide 93% of them have
received a term-of-year sentence. The vast majority have received sentences of
time served or an average 30-year minimum sentence. None of the juvenile lifers
who have been released have reoffended and they have a zero percent recidivism
rate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nearly
nine years after the U.S. Court decision, however, 150 Michigan juvenile lifers
still await a review of their case for consideration of a new sentence,
including Efrén.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
primary reason for the sentencing delays in these cases is that prosecutors
across the state insisted on ignoring the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling and
pursued life-without-parole sentences against these individuals again. Doing so
required counties to conduct costly mitigation hearings for each defendant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
has been no concern for the costs of each hearing by prosecutors, however,
because taxpayers are being made to pay for attorneys, expert witnesses, and
related court costs in nearly each case.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THE
REHABILITATION FACTOR<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is
important to examine the issue of rehabilitation in Efrén's case closely
because it is the singular most important factor a trial court judge must
consider when determining whether a juvenile offender is a candidate to receive
a life-without-parole or term-of-year sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
oral arguments held in Efrén's case on January 15, 2021, retired Berrien County
prosecutor Michael Sepic presented a convoluted claim about rehabilitation.
Early on he stated that there was "no way to determine" if Efrén had
been rehabilitated from what caused him to commit the crime he was convicted of
because he asserts his constitutional right to maintain his innocence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
later stated that Efrén's accomplishments during incarceration "bode well
for him." Inherent in this statement is an acknowledgement that Efrén has
the capacity to learn, grow, and change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However,
blinded by his rage to punish, Sepic contradicted himself only minutes later by
making the patently false statement to the judge that there is "absolutely
no [evidence of] rehabilitation" during Efrén's incarceration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a
recent published Michigan Court of Appeals (MCOA) ruling decided January 21,
2021, the Court stated that the trial court abused its discretion when
upholding the life-without-parole sentence of a juvenile lifer after conducting
his mitigation hearing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to the MCOA, the trial court "fail[ed] to consider whether the defendant
'was and would remain wholly incapable of rehabilitation for THE REMAINDER OF
HIS LIFE[.]'" (emphasis added) (quoting People v. Garay, 320 Mich. App.
29, 49 (2017)). (People v. Bennett, 2021 Mich. App. LEXIS 472, *9).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
MCOA added, "'Irreparable corruption,' [i.e., forever having no capacity
for change] is the ONLY ground [the U.S. Supreme Court] specifically identified
for imposing a life-without-parole sentence [for a juvenile offender]. See
Miller [v. Alabama], 567 U.S. at 479." (emphasis added) (People v.
Bennett, at *10)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic's
claims about Efrén's capacity for change and rehabilitation collapse in light
of the recent MCOA ruling which clearly defined rehabilitation when applied to
juvenile lifer cases.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
MCOA stated, "'rehabilitation' involves the successful completion of
vocational, education, or counseling programs designed to enable a prisoner to
lead a useful life, free of crime, when released." (People v. Bennett, at
*19).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
applied to Efrén he has fulfilled every facet of this definition. He has not
only successfully completed "vocational, education, OR counseling
programs," he has completed them all a multiplicity of times.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to Bureau of Justice Statistics 95% of offenders plead guilty to crimes in
exchange for reduced charges and more lenient sentences. All plea agreements
are negotiated through prosecutors' offices, including violent crimes such as
homicide, sex offenses, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
made the brazenly dishonest argument that Efrén hasn't demonstrated evidence of
change and rehabilitation, but he never made that same argument in the
thousands of other cases he rushed through the criminal justice system in the
interest of saving time and money during his checkered time in office.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
vast majority of defendants Sepic has negotiated plea agreements with over the
years never produced evidence of rehabilitation before he negotiated reduced
charges with them, but he facilitated their ability to be sentenced anyway.
Most defendants were adults at the time they committed their crimes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Plea
agreements are negotiated between the time of a person's arrest and when they
are sentenced when most of them are in jail. In jail there are no
rehabilitative programs available and generally people are sentenced within
months of their arrest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
also argued that Efrén exercising his constitutional right to maintain his
innocence for nearly 32 years is a reason he has not been rehabilitated. During
the court hearing he attacked Efrén for invoking his constitutional right to
not admit guilt by characterizing him using degrading language.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to the Michigan Supreme Court, "[A] court cannot base its sentence EVEN IN
PART on defendant's refusal to admit guilt." (emphasis added) (People v.
Hatchett, 477 Mich. 1061 (2009); People v. Jackson, 474 Mich. 996 (2006).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Michigan Supreme Court has also stated, "It is a violation of due process
to punish a person for asserting a protected statutory or constitutional
right." (People v. Ryan, 451 Mich. 30, 35 (1996)).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
Efrén's January 15, 2021, court hearing Sepic asked the judge to dismiss
testimony Efrén previously provided in court about encountering difficulty
growing up Brown in America, and having been called epithets during his
childhood because of his Mexican-American heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
claimed that the experiences never occurred without presenting a single witness
or shred of evidence to refute Efrén's testimony. In a brief he submitted to
the court on December 22, 2021, Sepic stated even if Efrén did experience
"the racial stuff that was going on" it didn't "interfere with
his brain development and maturity."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rather
than condemn the racist acts, Sepic chose to condemn Efrén instead. Sepic's
mindset and racially offensive statement is part of the reason that he and
fellow prosecutors have created a culture of disparate and unfair treatment
resulting in 70% of Michigan juveniles sentenced to life without parole being
children of color.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INTELLECTUAL
DISHONESTY & UNFOUNDED ARGUMENTS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
the January 15, 2021 hearing Sepic wildly ignored advancements in brain
science, adolescent development research, reason, and common sense. He claimed
that Efrén had an 18-year-old brain when he was 15, and that he also has the
same "charisma, intelligence, and personality" today he had when he
was 15. Both claims were untethered to reality and had no basis in fact.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
also cited examples of normal human behavior that have occurred during Efrén's
incarceration (e.g., getting married, becoming a father, using the Internet,
etc.) as reasons he is incapable of rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another
illogical argument Sepic made as evidence that Efrén has not been rehabilitated
is that he invited citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to send
letters to his judge -- an elected official -- expressing support that Efrén
receive a term-of-year sentence rather than life-without-parole.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
made this argument despite his own personal efforts to coordinate a campaign to
recruit citizens in 2008 and 2009 to write letters to the Parole Board and
Governor opposing Efrén's release.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dozens
of emails sent from and to Sepic during that time were obtained via the Freedom
of Information Act. In one email dated Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 2:28 PM,
Sepic sent to several people he wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"My
intention in providing [you information about the Paredes case] ... is to have
a base of information. Please advise anyone that writes a letter ... to [use]
their own words so we don't get letters looking alike. ... I'd rather not have
it look like we're orchestrating this."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
is also evidence that Sepic proofread and provided feedback to several letters
written by citizens who he asked to write to the Parole Board. One person Sepic
asked to write a letter emailed him a draft copy of her letter on Wednesday,
October 29, 2008, 3:31 PM, and asked him, "Let me know if you think I
should change anything [i]n it?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sepic
responded to her question via email minutes after receiving it at 3:58 PM
stating, "That is exactly what I had in mind and to the point. ... Thank
you very much for doing this, I truly appreciate it." In this instance he
approved a letter knowing it contained false and misleading information.
Sepic's actions were tantamount to colluding to provide false information to
public officials.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(The
names of citizens Sepic contacted or contacted him via email regarding Efrén's
case are being withheld to protect their privacy.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
baseless and unhinged arguments were merely distractions offered up by Sepic as
a disinformation campaign to avoid addressing the heart of what the U.S.
Supreme Court stated in Miller v. Alabama -- that only juvenile offenders who
are "irreparably corrupt" and forever incapable of change and
rehabilitation can receive life-without-parole sentences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">EVIDENCE
OF EFREN'S REHABILITATION ROOTED IN REALITY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
his court hearing Efrén's attorney Stuart Friedman stated, "actions speak
louder than words." He went on to say that Efrén is the things he has
repeatedly done for the past three decades, which includes a raft of positive
accomplishments to better himself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Today
Efrén is a husband, father, and humanitarian. He is also a sought after speaker
who has spoken on several university campuses, radio stations, podcasts, TV
news programs, and participated on panels via phone at events across the nation
speaking about criminal justice reform, improving race relations, and other
issues.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An
examination of Efrén's institutional history, personal life, and benevolence
track his maturation as he has evolved into a compassionate, responsible,
thoughtful human being. He has developed a profound appreciation for the
sanctity of life and inherent dignity in others. Several witnesses testified at
Efrén's October 6-7, 2020 mitigation hearing about this and a number of support
letters were submitted to the court as further evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Efrén
has also helped enrich the lives of others inside and outside of prison. He has
used the knowledge and skills he has acquired to assist both incarcerated peers
and citizens in society use critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and
conflict resolution to empower themselves to become better human beings and
sound consequential thinkers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to Efrén, "I have learned that every person has the innate capacity to
learn, grow, and change. 'Life is ever unfolding, continually renewing and
redesigning the intricate pieces of our character.' (Iyanla Vanzant). No one is
defined by their worst mistake or best choice in life. We are a culmination of
our decisions and lived experiences. Everyone is a work in progress, no one
remains frozen in time."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
prison Warden and 30-year employee of the Michigan Department of Corrections
(MDOC) wrote a letter of commendation for placement in Efrén's institutional
file stating in part, "[Y]ou have not only served as the chairman of the
Warden's Forum for four terms ... you have also led the forum in a direction of
positive change and helped to maximize communication between the administration
and other prisoners."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
added, "[T]he attitude that you display, and the manner in which you carry
yourself, is an excellent example to other prisoners as you demonstrate that it
is possible to be positive and productive even within a correctional
setting."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
retired 20-year corrections officer with the MDOC and former U.S. Marine also
wrote a support letter on Efrén's behalf stating, "As a corrections
professional for several years, and having interacted with numerous prisoners
during my employment with the MDOC, it is my opinion that Efrén Paredes, Jr.
poses no threat to society and deserves to be released. ... I believe he is an
excellent candidate for release from prison."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
individuals are career professionals with decades of corrections experience who
have had the opportunity to spend time closely monitoring Efrén's behavior and
associations. They are far more credible than Sepic at evaluating Efrén's
character and risk for being safely returned to society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Additional
testimonials about Efrén's character and conduct by current and former MDOC
staff and volunteers who have closely monitored and interacted with Efrén
during the past three decades of his incarceration will appear in an upcoming
installation in this series.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
his incarceration Efrén has participated in numerous rehabilitative programs,
participated in a campaign to help a middle-school attain its charter
authorization in the Los Angeles Unified School District, become a Literary
Braille Transcriber certified by the U.S. Library of Congress, and accomplished
myriad other things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
he has managed to do them all living under the enormous stress of struggling to
survive daily and navigating a minefield of moral decay behind bars. Prison is
a dysfunctional environment teeming with social toxins which devalue life,
progression, and are designed to extinguish the human spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to a recent brief filed in court on Efrén's behalf, "During the past
eleven years Efrén has benefited from receiving over 130 counseling sessions
interfacing with psychologists and social workers through the Outpatient Mental
Health Program to help him manage depression. Half of all citizens will
experience a mental health issue in their lives, but only 13% will seek
professional help. Efrén's willingness to seek help reflects his ability to
recognize personal struggles and address them in a responsible way."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
participating in therapy Efrén has received certificates for completing several
classes including Grief and Loss, Healthy Boundaries, Thinking Errors,
Meditation, Stress Management, Character Development, and Anger Management.
These classes have helped him cultivate greater empathy, insight development,
and self-awareness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In an
August 4, 1989 psychological evaluation report prepared by Dr. Stephen C. Cook
after evaluating Efrén, the psychiatrist stated, "[T]his offense is not
part of a repetitive pattern of offenses which would lead to the determination
that [Efrén] may be beyond rehabilitation under existing juvenile programs and
statutory procedures[.]" In other words, the psychiatrist determined Efrén
was not incapable of change or rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If
Efrén were truly a violent, irredeemable person he would have exhibited a
pattern of violent life-course persistent behavior while in prison. Not only
does this pattern not exist in Efrén's incarceration history, his life behind
bars has been the complete inversion of this. Though stabbings, robberies, and
other assaultive and predatory behavior (including murder) are a recurring part
of ordinary prison life, they have been glaringly absent in Efrén's behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Contrary
to popular belief prisons do not stop or prevent violence. They are an
apparatus that fosters a culture of violence and serve as incubators to
proliferate it. The only thing that prevents prisoners from exhibiting violent
behavior is their conscious choice to repeatedly reject the impulse of violence
and criminal thinking in all its manifestations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Though
some incarcerated people will arrive at this thinking aided by their
participation in available prison rehabilitative programming, incarcerated
people serving life without parole sentences can only rely on themselves when
pursuing the enterprise of learning because of the paucity of programming
opportunities available to them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
would be impossible for Efrén to have read countless educational books,
completed numerous rehabilitative classes, and done many other positive things
with his life if he did not possess the capacity to learn, grow, and change.
The fact that he has participated in every rehabilitative program available to
him at every prison he has been housed alone is evidence of rehabilitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Efrén
has perpetually sought to evolve because he made the conscious choice to do so
on his own, not because he was forced to. He was originally sentenced to die in
prison and had no incentive to become a better person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
his incarceration Efrén has openly condemned crime and violence, and dedicated
considerable time to fostering nonviolence through his numerous writings,
interviews, and speeches at various events. He has also done so through
facilitating classes in prison about conflict resolution, impulse control, and
insight development.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a
letter addressed to Sepic dated July 10, 2020, Efrén wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"If
released one day, I will offer decades of skills and experience I have
developed helping transform lives inside and outside of prison to your office,
law enforcement, and to the citizens of the county to help prevent crime and
promote improved race relations."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
also stated:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"My
heart breaks for each person who has been a victim or survivor of crime and I
pray for their healing. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the profound
anguish, sorrow, and incalculable loss the Tetzlaff family has endured. No one
deserves to have their life cut short or their world upended because of the
pernicious actions of another human being."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At
his October 7, 2020 court hearing Efrén spoke directly to the victim's family
in the courtroom from the witness stand. He emotionally expressed being deeply
sorry for their tragic loss and was in the process of sharing additional
thoughts reflecting compassion and empathy before being interrupted by Sepic
objecting to this moment of humanity in the courtroom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Further
evidence of Efrén's growth and maturity also appeared in his July 10, 2020
letter to Sepic when he wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"As
a 47-year-old husband and parent, someone who has had family members and
friends victimized by violence, met and spoken to non-family crime victims and
survivors, and a person who has engaged in decades of introspective work, I
empathize with the visceral pain and suffering of people feel who have been
impacted by violence."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"During
my incarceration I have participated in numerous programs afforded to me and
come to learn about the devastating impact that crime has on victims, first
responders, and the community at large. I have also created programs that have
helped people become problem solvers, sound consequential thinkers, and agents
of healing."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Any parent
or person who has worked with children knows that kids change. It is a natural
part of life. We were all teenagers ourselves once and none of us are the same
person we were as adolescents. Even as adults we perpetually change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to behavioral experts no evidence exists that personality ever ceases to change
during a person's lifetime. (Avshalom Caspi & Brent W. Roberts,
"Personality Development Across the Life Course," 12 Psychol. Inquiry
49, 51 (2001)).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Evidence
also exists that personality traits change gradually and systematically
throughout the life span, sometimes more after age 30 than before. (Sanjay
Srivastava et al., "Development of Personality in Early and Middle
Adulthood," 84 J. Personality & Soc. Psychol. 1041, 1051 (2003)).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
evidence that Efrén is not irreparably corrupt, permanently incorrigible, or
forever incapable of change or rehabilitation is abundantly clear. An objective
data-driven, evidence-based objective review of Efrén's life during the past 32
years makes it clear he is not deserving of a life without-parole-sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According
to the U.S. Supreme Court, juvenile offenders like Efrén who have decades of
documented and established evidence of capacity for change and rehabilitation
must receive a term-of-year sentence. A life-without-parole sentence in that
instance would be unconstitutional and subject to being reversed and vacated by
an appellate court.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
ruling by the Berrien County Trial Court about whether Efrén will receive a
term-of-year or life-without-parole sentence is expected in March.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
next installment of this series will feature a collection of citations from
U.S. Supreme Court, Michigan Supreme Court, and other relevant court opinions
stating which juvenile offenders are not candidates to receive life-without-parole
sentences in their own words.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Source: </span><u><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: blue; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Historic"; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Free.Efren/?__cft__%5b0%5d=AZUkhPXD9ngFC8owhccjxLCm_QGR7KhdaMpOc_FC60ocykiWPFBbur15QIYUdfwYls9HQLGdt-_leoo75HAidrX2TJ54vacDZjCt20PDmJYDxUEbE_7il5zSQZKvNDSD0D9_P1DYtjLsLkhIAnZXiKq6IjyVYFFWguYSTrWz2VBy0XPC5dv9TAjcsnwCgNwp6w4&__tn__=kK-R">http://facebook.com/Free.Efren</a></span></span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1f1caHXwultCIZS-DWbG9CDMWWPtifJvhF1hXs-1qCjsLkeqHMcNiWIQvcwpz6IHqCjAUno4qp3TtoGhqXrGWH68H28YDnnc2Ze-GT_iWyqke5bQr5JLrjWxG7Aq64q9w9yGVSkBs4Qj/s2048/behind+bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><p></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-56841354273102288452020-08-31T11:42:00.002-05:002020-09-02T12:52:25.336-05:00Efrén Paredes, Jr. Case Featured on "Abuse of Power" Podcast<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFJprEJGdr1SdQDddToyot-eXb558gjdKeYB91X68iOpz4Qc7FulCE40Qu560QlHIsiNdpFrhfrJ7H-hbcEa8N9rGK72dT-oOGDevLNCn2Dw0Et2VjEHIKFEQoZp3aL7j6W7l1aquWMOs/s324/abuse+of+power.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNFJprEJGdr1SdQDddToyot-eXb558gjdKeYB91X68iOpz4Qc7FulCE40Qu560QlHIsiNdpFrhfrJ7H-hbcEa8N9rGK72dT-oOGDevLNCn2Dw0Et2VjEHIKFEQoZp3aL7j6W7l1aquWMOs/s0/abuse+of+power.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">Efrén's case is the subject of this week's episode of the podcast series "Abuse of Power." The title of the episode is "State of Michigan v. Efrén Paredes, Jr." You can listen to it on Apple Podcast by visiting:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://apple.co/3jq4wVA">http://apple.co/3jq4wVA</a></span><p></p><p><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">The series is hosted by award-winning journalist and civil rights attorney, Sonya Pfeiffer, and her husband and law partner, David Rudolf. It is produced by Campfire & Acast Studios.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">This episode addresses how the media and racial injustice contributed to Efrén's wrongful conviction, the era his case was tried during which resulted in large numbers of young people of color being sentenced to die in prison, the introduction of lyrics from the N.W.A. "Straight Outta Compton" album at his trial to inflame a nearly all-white jury into convicting him, and other disturbing aspects of his case.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">"Abuse of Power" identifies and discusses the various ways in which law enforcement and the justice system have victimized the very people they are supposed to protect: us. Pfeiffer and Rudolf scrutinize this abuse by spotlighting ten cases across ten episodes in which law enforcement, prosecutorial misconduct, and even false and misleading media coverage lead to the imprisonment of innocent people.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span face="" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;">Listen to this important episode and share it widely via your social media network, as well as on your websites and blogs. You can also share this post via email listservs. Please also remember to keep sharing the Free Efrén petition available at <a href="http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren">http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren</a> to express support for his release, and invite others to do the same. #FreeEfren #JLWOP #AbolishDBI #HTFL</span></p>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-91920640893018773662020-05-25T14:02:00.000-05:002020-05-30T14:05:27.621-05:00Juvenile Lifers Stricken With COVID-19 in Michigan Prisons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2xIhuxS6ljCbq2DD4LW7wgwVdw0jhxQAhD5_iGAGGxKHOP76dBl_3OwVtYa-kAX81N-n3O7yFULn79UsHpdmkBRGhdgsHFMBsSRT6KWVdEQjTIWud3SM9JuyjHdHJl09ad_vHIUDbl8Z/s1600/DSC_0002edt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2xIhuxS6ljCbq2DD4LW7wgwVdw0jhxQAhD5_iGAGGxKHOP76dBl_3OwVtYa-kAX81N-n3O7yFULn79UsHpdmkBRGhdgsHFMBsSRT6KWVdEQjTIWud3SM9JuyjHdHJl09ad_vHIUDbl8Z/s320/DSC_0002edt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
by Efrén Paredes, Jr.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FBitly.com%2FFreeEfren%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0gFly4WlpanwCNPpZFQ2rPV9yPQOoB91eHgBOBU1FxggrQ5qRSZqAaxrU&h=AT2UIy_UB-23r1eEA5Lj3C0k_l4unwobMpjRTiSvK47DQ9SNhoRr821d_C59Z4YxineSJCtFtT-xUxRFoPcxan5G5qPNFW5OfR6m5_K8URRuTSYinJ4Kz5Z5jfZYSfH4bhu-1mC7DouFSrixHxg_Q-YGuTmqAdaIjXz2dQqu-oH17YL5Exkl2MDYp_AwAoT88MO_4QR6Gn3rRjEvq0m3pnxyFdTQnSaSxaqajKskSFXlDxp7FitM4CPJdSdmsvyo1JNLBPF8qBKb3JYfLW1Xj5JsyBxwYPAUqqcCqBFOlfZAwZOuqN17F70zMJuM77MQ2WiT8kHo3YW5lubHz6tvaXJlmacEXLlpcMRR1ADjwzWpZ7SNa-wQqDz7ef_pvC2jZu6kkU200dkpvTPeLEY5z2xc87TBJTaTrm9DfO4ZbNdHA_N9O9vG_9Bb59AwB0ypF2qzh_gLMpNSeYQeK-lIpZFF2WVoW-FgBvOfY9TtK8o2DcNAaeEVpKAbRNKcyJAiZOl9ZGqjYefwfdHSxBpLsDeaPfCGzZy47_dltY8z_6cbqfiTPfizBdxOH0A2nP7XkdGEv4AtZ3FdMKlGTzzGMJ9JLH8lhYu4FqAk8B5woD9MqS_mf-yuYKcTnnTT76Ug1yUL4Q" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren</a></div>
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As Michigan leads the nation in the chilling number of COVID-19 deaths occurring inside its prison, 196 incarcerated people sentenced to mandatory life without parole (LWOP) sentences for crimes they were accused of committing when they were children ("juvenile lifers") are in prisons waiting to receive new resentencing hearings.</div>
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In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory LWOP sentences for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional and ordered the resentencing of all 2,500 juvenile lifers affected nationwide. In Michigan 363 people were originally affected by the ruling.</div>
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The high court stated that juvenile offenders who are not "irreparably corrupt," "incapable of change," or do not "exhibit such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible" cannot receive a LWOP sentence again when they are resentenced. Those who do not fit this criteria are candidates to receive a term-of-year sentence making them eligible for release one day.</div>
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According to the U.S. Supreme Court, "Deciding that a juvenile offender forever will be a danger to society would require making a judgment that [s/he] is incorrigible -- but incorrigibility is inconsistent with youth and for the same reason, rehabilitation could not justify that sentence."</div>
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The court added, "Life without parole foreswears the rehabilitative ideal. It reflects an irrevocable judgment about [an offender's] value and place in society, at odds with a child's capacity for change." (Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455, 2465 (2012))</div>
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Michigan is now shamefully home to the largest number of juvenile lifers in the nation. Thirty-seven states now either prohibit LWOP sentences for children or have not imposed the draconian sentence since 2012 when the U.S. Supreme Court abolished the sentence for minors.</div>
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Eight years after the landmark ruling there are still 196 Michigan juvenile lifers waiting to be resentenced. Over 80 of them have already served at least twenty years behind bars and ten of them have served over 40 years. They are still awaiting resentencing hearings because prosecutors delayed the process by filing motions seeking LWOP sentences in each case nearly four years ago.</div>
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This means each person must receive an expensive mitigation hearing to determine whether or not they are candidates to receive a LWOP sentence replete with psychologists, brain science experts, mitigation experts, and other necessary expert witnesses at taxpayer expense. The total costs, including attorney fees and court costs, will likely exceed $30,000 for each person. Some have already cost as high as $70,000.</div>
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It will cost the state a conservative estimated total of $5.7 million to conduct all the mitigation and resentencing hearings. And, each year juvenile lifers remain imprisoned, taxpayers are paying an additional $30,000 annual cost of incarceration per person. All this is occurring in the midst of the highest unemployment rate and worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.</div>
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The first 190 juvenile lifers who were resentenced over the past eight years received an average sentence of 30 years. Of that number over 100 of them have been released and none have reoffended. Their zero percent recidivism rate is currently the lowest of any demographic released by the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Parole Board.</div>
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The average overall recidivism rate for offenders in Michigan is currently 29%, according to the MDOC. The national average recidivism rate is closer to 60%.</div>
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"Research shows that individuals released after having served very long sentences, including life sentences, have the lowest recidivism rates of any category of previously incarcerated individuals." (R. Weisberg, D.A. Mukamal, & J.D. Segall, "Life in Limbo: An Examination of Parole Release for Prisoners Serving Life Sentences with the Possibility of Parole in California." Stanford Criminal Justice Center (2011)).</div>
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Two weeks ago a friend of mine named Jesse Hayes was released from prison after serving 31 years behind bars. He and I grew up together in prison and have known each other for many years. He was a juvenile lifer arrested at age 16 in Oakland County and is now 47-years-old.</div>
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Like me, Jesse spent the majority of his teenage years, all of his 20's, 30's, and most of his 40's in prison. He is one of the fortunate juvenile lifers to have been resentenced and afforded an opportunity to be released before contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated.</div>
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Over the years I have had the opportunity to observe Jesse grow and mature from a troubled teen into a responsible, empathetic, forward-thinking man who maintains a positive outlook on life and enjoys helping others. His evolution did not occur in a straight line, however. In life, it never does.</div>
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During the earlier part of our incarceration Jesse and I were housed in the most volatile and dangerous prisons in Michigan. We were often the youngest and most vulnerable people there having to defend ourselves against attempts by older incarcerated people to assault, steal from, extort, and exploit us. Because of our young age we were seen as easy prey.</div>
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Despite the barrage of negative events we experienced we managed to navigate through the treacherous waters of adult prisons and emerge stronger and wiser. And through it all we never gave up hope that one day we might be able to return to our families and regain our hard fought freedom.</div>
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Jesse's family stood by and supported him during his entire incarceration and they are helping with his transition as a returning citizen. He is doing well with his adjustment and will be an asset to his community. He will be among those who maintain the zero percent recidivism rate for juvenile lifers who were given a second chance.</div>
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In recent months several juvenile lifers have contracted COVID-19 awaiting their resentencing hearings. One of them was resentenced and died in April awaiting his release which would have occurred this month. Six other juvenile lifers have also died in custody waiting for their resentencing hearings over the past eight years previous to the COVID-19 crisis.</div>
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One of the juvenile lifers who has contracted COVID-19 at the prison I am presently located, the Lakeland Correctional Facility (LCF), is a long-time friend of mine from Flint, Michigan, I have known for 30 years named Simba Senghor.</div>
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Simba and I met at the Riverside Correctional Facility Reception and Guidance Center (RG&C) in 1989 when I was working as a porter in the intake area at that time. I was tasked with keeping the area clean and also passing out clothing to new people who were entering the prison system.</div>
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We were both arrested at age 15 when we were too young to receive a driver's license, enlist in the armed forces, or enter a theatre to watch a Rated R movie. And though we were too young to visit a prison at the time of our arrest, we were sentenced to die in one.</div>
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During the past three decades I have witnessed Simba's growth and evolution since he entered the prison system. No longer the impetuous, myopic, risk-taking kid he was back then, today he is a responsible 47-year-old man who has engaged in years of introspective work and self-education.</div>
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Earlier this year I invited Simba to attend Kwanzaa and Black History Month programs I co-sponsored along with other men at LCF who were a part of the organizing committee. We had the honor of hosting Dr. Jamie Monson, Director of the African Studies Program at Michigan State University, and a team of her amazing staff and students.</div>
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Simba and I were profoundly impacted by the messages of our esteemed guests. They were monuments to years of investing time learning and teaching our peers about African, Black, and Latinx history, culture, and identity at a number of different prisons in Michigan.</div>
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Me being selected by our peers to be a presenter at both events was a special moment for both Simba and I. It demonstrated that through serious study and discipline we can share a stage speaking about the same subjects as world class scholars in their fields even from inside a prison. It also affirmed that the work we have been doing has tremendous value to the world beyond what we have seen and experienced behind prison walls.</div>
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Prior to COVID-19 infiltrating the prison I saw Simba in the general library perusing through several books Dr. Monson donated to the prison. We discussed something from one of the books and our enthusiasm about Dr. Monson's willingness to offer continued learning opportunities to people at LCF through the African Studies Department Outreach Program.</div>
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Simba and I both appreciate the value of using education as tools to transform lives, and we understand the detrimental affects that can stem from their paucity. We remain inspired by the timeless wisdom of people like Oliver Wendell Holmes who once wrote, "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."</div>
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Prosecutors argue that people like Simba are irredeemable because of crimes they were convicted of committing decades ago. They ignore the reality that the crimes are snapshots in time of who they were when they were minors. They don't tell us who the person is today after years of incarceration, maturity, and participating in a number of rehabilitative programs.</div>
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"Research suggests that more than 90% of justice-involved youth will no longer engage in crimal behavior by the time they reach their mid-20s." (Elizabeth Scott & Laurence Steinberg, "Rethinking Juvenile Justice" 38 (2008))</div>
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These individuals are often identified as adolescent-limited offenders, whose antisocial behavior typically starts in adolescence and declines as they mature into adulthood. Thus, less than 10% of justice-involved youth will continue to engage in criminal behavior past their mid-20s.</div>
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In the first ever national survey of victims' views on safety and justice titled "Crime Survivors Speak," published in 2016 by the Alliance for Safety and Justice, the report found that 61% of victims prefer "shorter prison sentences and more spending on prevention and rehabilitation to prison sentences that keep people in prison for as long as possible."</div>
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The report also found that for every victim who prefers the criminal justice system focus on punishment there are two victims who prefer its focus on rehabilitation, and 89% of victims prefer more investment in school and education to more investments in prisons and jails.</div>
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Each person is a culmination of their lived experiences and decisions. They are not defined by any one event, nor by their best or worst choice in life. The problem is that many prosecutors become obsessed with people's crimes and their cynicism prevents them from acknowledging their inherent dignity and redemptive qualities.</div>
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People learn, they grow, and they change. Everyone is a work in progress. No one is the same person in their 40's and 50's that they were in their teens. No one is the same person they were when they committed their crime even a year later. To believe that they are defies reason and common sense.</div>
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I was arrested in March 1989 in Berrien County at age 15 and sentenced to LWOP. I am now 47-years-old and to date I have spent over two-thirds of my entire life in prison. My arrest occurred at the height of the pernicious propaganda campaign when criminologists, lawmakers, and prosecutors were branding juvenile offenders as "superpredators."</div>
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A month after I was jailed the Central Park Five were arrested in New York City, the subjects of the Netflix documentary film series "When They See Us." In the midst of the national media firestorm surrounding their case I stood trial only three months after my arrest.</div>
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Four other juveniles admittedly involved in the planning or commission of the same crime I was charged with were sentenced as follows:</div>
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* 16-year-old named Alex Mui received an 18-45 year sentence for Armed Robbery and had his homicide charge dropped in exchange for testifying against me;<br />* 17-year-old named Eric Mui received two 18-45 year sentences for Armed Robbery and Second-Degree Murder in exchange for his cooperation with the prosecutor and police;<br />* 16-year-old named Jason Williamson was charged as a juvenile and received a six month sentence for Armed Robbery; and<br />* 16-year-old named Steve Miller, who admitted being involved in the planning of the crime and participating in an attempted Armed Robbery two days earlier, was granted immunity by the prosecutor in exchange for his testimony against me and others in the case.</div>
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All four individuals were older than me at the time of arrest and the two who received the 18-45 year sentences were released 15 years ago. I am the only person who was charged in the case who still remains incarcerated. I have served nearly twice the amount of time as the 17-year-old who plead guilty to Second-Degree Murder and Armed Robbery, and 62 times the amount of time the person did who received a six month sentence in the case.</div>
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Despite my circumstances during the past 31 years I have dedicated my life to education, becoming a problem solver, sound consequential thinker, and selflessly helping enrich the lives of others through education.</div>
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According to Dr. Akbar, author of "Community of Self" and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Florida State University, "A male is a biological creature. A boy is a creature in transition. And a man is a person who has arrived at a purpose and a destiny." His words have been a lodestar serving as a reminder of our perpetually evolving transcendent nature as human beings in life.</div>
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Among my accomplishments are proudly organizing to help create a Latinx charter middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, co-founding the first MSU My Brother' Keeper Prison Outreach Program, and co-founding <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FPresente.org%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3wTgVUtmDTg8Xezp_9GPwWcB61ev378A_jPcWaRK2pZhhTNblzkABEhr8&h=AT0EJSjqI1ejax6U6samyCB9OpL4Uvmmd3Teo_fwh5u-QP9SRQcR8hh98YkiNsNOqy3FnLtTsNQt7hMBYuqODMtx4T1Czilo-6ajPUW8dgRc_U5jfXNTn-09Hu-8UXW4uQxP3CtR4yHYX6gKoxxO-8Q0FCUh-59s_bmSu0SSmXN3qgqKYoz_U23xLULf0gw7XCzca3SZ_5AeeVG7WqPsgUtH8z_DRlvOsrCZ2I1Z2rZvSCAEbwnfvhpB0grsguVws37YS9lb1tMsUBOgPKo_RWNGH1ZoGsES5MHSfiU8T3xMkwyCKLMW8_IFk6JbC8ad6GS9wFq8ibf1o7iI3lIxI6FlE48vD0U5XbCK4tUe_myYwzswQihfktpY65le0FMZdVl5ykMsfYNKkfhttcxkVMUq6QHbGK1ONefR1m5QtYPuz7_AkM6z5-z5EsSqjsiAI79nNUaq450kYnkqd5I2P0f-gezu6gVgl4qgc-7mB-MMzdLg66ExHfRtSrfWrMwbcrrzZaKBWI6Oepa0tL9TWIm1fL0pak8oKHNhbYoc6MyiLV-JnUuiJ6dkt4mrrhqvcR7NGXaEF6aMKZW3Bw47y3mmoErNSArUYf40ae3pTivQ2qdpHeOSRlEroE1osMj8UP30Ag" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Presente.org</a> -- the largest online Latinx social justice organizing platform.</div>
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I am also a Literary Braille Transcriber certified by the U.S. Library of Congress. For 13 years I transcribed print textbooks into braille for blind and visually impaired children around the globe. Additional accomplishments can be viewed at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FBitly.com%2FEfrenCV%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1uWJbQcV5pERadRX6w3I5TuLz4YKsaRJm8T_mBj0Yd7bp8ELeposjewKI&h=AT3IUaRULdHI9k2ukybIjcxpjREZtoYlU1ToRx0WTbYC8TYoWOpPyHGXG-aJ75ZGeL3HUQgTC1gDAO7b70rhJ9vpBzEvPGtI_gGZcG5UPDp6O18JOIS9PbVG_Uy1JgbzlT4YTv7z8x5n3IMDNyaGwD7cJN24f1iR9fs-PT39BDUm6Y_AyBZvd5_1gJ8GqjnBJ_EIRz4_ChMZJ9uSFapHC1sviMGrSjBOERCuLfTiXOo4j96qTAvVn8seSGPu5S3SHvwPDJ5ZHokDxkH0ugQURYPYwBTHeiWQKwl9ZCwgxUMZicufGYLz2r_wHUNPAjWVtxz19GRVywXm71B0L6wW4VbGtAIQlyZicgFpoixD9vz8V047j5jo-ZhzYEXXhmISY3gHuURiS9Mtawo__XQq04g5s6ogHsJVFbmz73srmlzbH2dyoFTQ1xamenjLy0B2C_DVD8i_Lck8V3f2OaJ5IA28xSCo6pSI2j3qI2PhvdYxsoZoanKBT7_BJh2fosczeTgwILcStWHm0ZuUQ-JhNE7hKcAZUGHPUWgg_f4GBu1J1F3tG-yXMAPX2XMKxFzU60pxYVJcMmBSgOSsNSuQASAhzi5qUgafAAL6QAQE2yQYSfGF6QIpuvb_3IDKQsrgYEroWg" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://Bitly.com/EfrenCV</a>.</div>
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In 2008 the Berkeley City Council in California passed a resolution condemning my sentence as a human rights violation, and in 2016 LATINA magazine named me as one of four Latinx people in the nation deserving of clemency.</div>
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I enjoy support for my release from current and former MDOC employees, filmmakers, a former juror from my case, national organizations, legal scholars, Directors of various university Latinx Studies Departments, authors, community leaders, one of the nation's leading wrongful conviction investigators, and others.</div>
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Five years ago I was one of five people whose cases were featured in the documentary film "Natural Life." The film was about the issue of juveniles sentenced to LWOP in Michigan. Last year my case was also the subject of the documentary film installation "Half Truths and Full Lies." The installation was produced by award-winning filmmakers Tirtza Even, Meg McLagan, and Elyse Blennerhassett.</div>
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Over 750 people have signed the "Free Efrén Paredes, Jr." online petition expressing support for my release and asking that my resentencing judge impose a term-of-year sentence in my case proportionate to what others similarly situated have received. The petition is available at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FBitly.com%2FFreeEfren%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Kbmd4Tg9TDIOrWmx5-TRW3sVfTDpybLS1bks5dybMukRmHGvzJWNdV-A&h=AT1cG83I4NFglSsLQEMrgka2MmoL_tkgFuB9abTqP4J-byVAfLRTHqwzWJ0yvKF6yCYH6ppj4cn_CnTlPsoRjyuKo-tklndaquPQ-YxD5ynv6-p9jTiZo7SsXHBS9h9t9MnxVb_c5Hf58aw_n0nxLuDvT94EVc3oCrHuN-P0G8hiPAu8E5K6gLoMh_KzcTuGEjoFRo4Z-sy6nopq2PFrlr9MYvvc4x9f1_giFHROJ649qyfcElsJ8Pqw3TGNlJusB1ydSlLnJhg67W8SCmXC8NlQ-AwS3OAIH_1dKNAICwkMlS3x1xvZmR8-MpqVZDcbFR8Fq9fauCV0ituL0fWQbNpaNabI8xHOAI67E65COF37FUvqweYJpsl3wMU5cXefy34RvtTIpAeng-f4gD7KH2ADA5FiXR0PsZvIoYB_lzkLyfoHJ4iufAXcQUXQnB52X343H8ZTF3VTe5dBISWBWQNWKLxlZYmnh4PxpfqpePeVsY7b6mT1Sgn7Oeyy-cIv-Jp-IKG9EW2-57yHb7pJL1Fa33VLWB4exHiga_vQyvP2wCPpRIBew_Jg5PVWL9y_QEpJECceqhhjzapldO09Nm5QZEe7ivI5dLj5TKPmyR7MFJK-ACDxBGW7cn4sEMwRifzE9w" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren</a>.</div>
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Despite the national attention my case has garnered I am not the only juvenile lifer who has done positive things with their life. Many others have also and continue to do so to this day. I am just fortunate to have an enormous support network, as well as a platform and access to resources to share our story. Other juvenile lifers could do similar things if they did as well. I am emblematic of what their potential can be if they had equal access to the same opportunities.</div>
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If released I have a home to go to in Van Buren County where I would live with my wife of seven years and our school-aged daughter. I also have a strong support system consisting of family, friends, and amazing supporters and grassroots organizers who have poured their hearts into helping raise awareness about my case for many years.</div>
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During the past year I have been participating in an extensive, in-depth interview with a journalist and book author to provide the public with a detailed portrait of what life looks like for someone who has been incarcerated for decades since the age of 15.</div>
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In the interview I answer questions about the legal process, my experiences growing up in prison, social justice activism, how I've educated myself, the mental and emotional impacts of incarceration, fatherhood, never before publicized aspects of my personal life, and many more issues. The series is available at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FEfrensWords.home.blog%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Rz75lo_APkRBuvQRiPaylOTiNXpxsddUd30IW0TX9cmV0ZoMBW4uOYvE&h=AT3mYi8EFy2vdzSuaLdDjYLQrYpYIgRuthGn5fiGAiV8qE8ZwZM-FUQ7t-xkhwQ2gJr9PvTuERrI06L1bId2DuD1A9OmliImsS8gV4IyGjVlsg4YYxNGLrqHIJjnOrXfQ53smDDwiOBfO_Wj4gDeOS0_g_zGWJvHm6H0uChnk_D3o1h0o2SHnDaPKDoCiiTnJ-wOqvoAcX1Yp-kXbcjwE-P4-tOHn5T0YkRAFpbvsdMF-_I0i0r9h8cKt1P4TNAhwDjwxU-yW1lmKBwBFQKscZFLW9Pa3vX9H7PZw6hY-_BlpH3QN2WhrE0zkL8V-6hy3Nh-N9MECJEAldZfIdS12ynkCqa2ScCu3mlYKhLG1KUk83PZ4YCMdc-8wd2daJPFMpTw_HUUA2wfEz21coHhtn3SewmZqGOt3bWGef2zJaPLf5vy7cTfRBlj6c-cqE2-2m1dKsUkR_-iP71bbgeJrFxOMVMO0BKj3hoTXWDkgMhTJg6W31KeshXMNrQc0Urk05ySEYYjdkfXEM7zWPjcICd9V_6vEUtkXFBhc3Ao03lCOEZkTY7iD4sIEpQFfJytz2sSuzwitkh-_Z2-niRGqNII6C6na_RfJPjZ4p6bFtaWwXoCMDUzEsrb0jR8vxy59kmQ8A" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://EfrensWords.home.blog.</a></div>
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People have asked me why I believe juvenile lifers have managed to maintain a zero percent recidivism rate, and what sets them apart from other incarcerated people.</div>
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The reality is that before any of them were released they spent decades behind bars haunted by a death-by-incarceration sentence. They opened their eyes every morning feeling the enormous gravity of the sentence they were serving and went to bed each night with the frightening reminder that they may never again experience living life as a free person in society.</div>
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The trauma of incarceration and countless daunting experiences since they were kids is forever seared into their memories. The women and men who have been tormented by these events, and now given one chance to experience freedom for the first time in their adult lives, is not something they will throw away.</div>
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These individuals will work diligently to be law-abiding citizens and do the jobs that many others are unwilling to do. They will also volunteer to help people and learn new experiences. One such person is my friend of nearly three decades from Detroit named James Thomas.</div>
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James was arrested at age 15 and served 31 years behind bars. Since his release he has been active in the community doing a number of projects offering spiritual guidance for a ministry, and serving as the Transition Specialist for Chance for Life (CFL), and Co-Coordinator for Nation Outside (Detroit Chapter).</div>
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Since his release James and a team of volunteers from the Detroit area have been providing free food to people living in Inkster. In recent months they have been able to provide boxes of food to 500 families by coordinating with city officials due to the enormous need because of the COVID-19 crisis.</div>
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Last month James and other volunteers passed out Easter bags to 400 children in Inkster and 230 children in Detroit so the children could enjoy some semblance of normalcy and not miss out on Easter this year due to the Governor's "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order. For Halloween James and other volunteers hosted a Safe Haven Community Night, creating a safe space where children could trick-or-treat without fear of being harmed.</div>
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Another former juvenile lifer named Kimberly Woodson from Detroit is also doing impressive community engagement work since her release after serving 29 years in prison. She has been a powerful voice for incarcerated women and the need to abolish LWOP sentences.</div>
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As Executive Director of the non-profit corporation Redeeming Kimberly, she helps connect returning citizens from prison with resources that can assist their transition back into society. She is also a Canvas Manager for Michigan Liberation, a Regional Connector for ICAN (Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network), and is happily married.</div>
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But the title Kimberly holds most dear is that of being a mother. Each day Kimberly basks in the glow of her beloved two-year-old daughter who brings her tremendous pride and joy. She maintains a positive outlook and encourages people to never give up hope or lose their faith. Kimberly believes, "As long as you are breathing, you can be redeemed."</div>
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Many juvenile lifers who are released from prison could be a tremendous asset to judges and courts to mentor troubled youth and make their communities safer. Young people are more inclined to listen to -- and be deterred from a life of crime -- by those who understand them and have been in their shoes before than people who haven't.</div>
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Another friend of mine, José Burgos, a former juvenile lifer from Detroit released from prison in 2019 after serving 27 years knows this firsthand. He participated in youth deterrent programs and mentored at-risk youth for several years while he was in prison.</div>
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He devoted a great deal of time transforming lives and working to help young people become a better version of themselves each day to avoid the pitfalls he endured growing up that lead him to prison.</div>
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During his incarceration José learned to embody the words of Victor Frankl who once wrote, "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."</div>
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Today José works for an agency assisting returning citizens who were former juvenile lifers with their transition back into the community. He is also a Regional Connector for ICAN (Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network).</div>
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Since his release José has been a panelist on various forums discussing the juvenile lifer issue, mass incarceration, and the need for prison reform. He and Kimberly Woodson are also regular guests on "The Elena Herrada Show," which airs on AM 910 Detroit Superstation.</div>
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Each of these former juvenile lifers are people anyone would be proud to have as a neighbor if they took the time to get to know them. They deeply value their freedom and are committed to living the remainder of their lives proudly serving their communities.</div>
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The National Academies of Sciences summarized the research on the causes and consequences of mass incarceration and found that "long prison sentences are ineffective as a crime control measure." (National Research Council, "The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences" (2014)</div>
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The online <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FChange.org%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0RkB9n-C_GLd_QsOR0oE8bnohHSSFlWW5IyS8sukhwEYDRfKql95ptAwA&h=AT0Uz5XYkbj8MM7ax102PuPDMPcxLp0uRbPysnt69mlDY9Wr2w-5KlSmugXWEIXE0wm6ff9m1QM2w8VvuCIrIfR94G4HXTmBNZReXVXj7UhCHk8ZnvTEm51uteU-MBozF8Ey2PETzfkl8sKM7VY0kI4zMJn8R7vLy5F3IiM6t6Di0-DQAldC9NajWD2Hz61DJknEh0rTOXXL5h1LIKpWM-PDq6ZxKdJf4m7WN_VIorExai548FTscmoYXwhWtjOAzGR-O8-UzfVnXYDP2hSbfJdtM2bCuVAcG5MAD2dyG-FadZEYGhuyaDvC2ds8NsaMJQ43axJuluy0TdgEK39mTl9VOFdeQL5sCQlHXSb7R6dE5zjLMEBAbz0SD_liizMD0Q9tPrBFTh2raaaFh4W5n1zXJ1nFk4DWLJsgTz011DzeBpw4ksPSGvfd8DymcXn9_tlaVnTAoyxic_kBE7N60sanyTwk-ela7Sj3KctZ2Zp-dxh_RqFMzlNnUaENjuXbtXNbgowBpt-x630XN3tPeW1MUBd53GX7dD7tOZsBlLw4fCbVTExQF-GJdRuF4yxDGZnnl9GsIuFVZhX5cGIHY4_6lu9BqHzMZVM4YsBYTLuA7e3fTTkdV5D68CxZigqkJAmZOg" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Change.org</a> petition, "Support Michigan Prison Reform," contains a 10-Point Michigan Prison Reform Platform that has generated over 6,000 signatures and continues to rise daily. The petition includes a proposed reform related to juveniles serving mandatory LWOP sentences which calls on lawmakers to:</div>
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"Abolish life-without-parole sentences for all juvenile offenders or, alternatively, grant the Parole Board jurisdiction over prisoners serving life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed when they were juveniles, and make them eligible for meaningful parole consideration at least every two years after they have served 20 years. S/he would be parole eligible after serving 15 years if convicted of the lesser offense of aiding and abetting, and not as being the principle perpetrator of the crime."</div>
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The Support Michigan Prison Reform petition is available at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FBitly.com%2FMichPR%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2C_XMotHh3s-NRaM3kAYkKYLc_2Sr8e1VmVvN-MemsYZzw5M_q0Gfn2bM&h=AT0Ilpu8y6-4gGNS0SBF2hwf98cTlY0CmWsu-Fetx6_Fao6q61CDRn1_5upTUfVCYiQJ9ctgKzAMVzoud3ApT6nVZJZVvLIqsOH2is8R5FIpD4lQuRIkRoluJiA8dMXpbTzLa9ojkgJBZg90TaNhEVHUngTV1h9gGgQd3KWH7oO20YI_xuNEn3E0HRllD2F9iWJdqPZxW1UTWGzMj7Pi_vX4Wbb3uJnVRHfvfeq10PI0jHA7FZ_BxwrmEhipYahN1JUdMnT02kvfGjT5mQv7NYWGYVJtHKd9ITiv_wLCUkZl2J20taRRl341UzIDIy2DmrJwkjh_QeAOg5ER9B93Rb8XB-wDWeu6SZ3GKgeZOJy7GsGPUlZPQiivO95v5RBZc2_G0UAMj-lc7DsDv61e4VQ2yGugE43H7K2wgRtth2uoPqS8q-OeVquhlpoasmsNP6cnozHDJDZOfI_EfEmpIsK1m67QPdCKUQpZLg2pRWL49p8GEuYYV4MdVGvrsEOo3GAaM4nnsLg3mZp5MGvQP_ckz9sAhLsN_oTZBlqDehKehOwy6cKElFcHeIqxgBmOpNSspVKGGwohpliLRAl4XZepCPxf8HzVf-GLphxcW8uCJ2AlTjDIrVOOVUmIU3P63s8pmQ" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://Bitly.com/MichPR</a>.</div>
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The Convention On the Rights of the Child, the world's most widely supported international treaty, provides that imprisonment be used only as a "measure of last resort" for juvenile offenders, and "for the shortest approriate time."</div>
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Over 100 organizations, professional associations, and faith-based groups (or houses of worship) have also expressed support to end the pernicious practice of sentencing children to LWOP sentences. Supporters include the American Correctional Association, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, National Black Police Association, and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to name a few. A complete list of supporters is available at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FFairSentencingOfYouth.org%2FOfficial-Supporters%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR23Ve1VQrcZ9hojgUiDkERHPsF4femn_JBhJ2_lf7uM84_aTl9OcaaD9i8&h=AT1JkLFNAEd8QJoMNdxZxm-QnpeGdEgkFYMFE65m6z5y2RoQpukR8rq-8G3aPNXrka2OPVXB4CpuMaJVzKa9tALr4Yc8iAHWOtZW1W-5xhK5IkHGCY4jYSa2EZU6hq62OA2tAn_XQImvuimpXLJ5p-aTYgZtVyVX3cK27bPXnO4rvop59nuDS1OlajrRdzlUeNXEq_G_Mjgt9T5sIatZAWdYtZFuUAtS3NRB_GmsfLEO-ZLWbZ3Fwk3HKi1hXtIURcKx6fOrVNar2bGEUs3zDOYwiWT0PVS2gIoFBwXoXmPMCnYmIYdiaXky55touJdf1NUJiU3lENt2FG5IposoKgDRQGvVxqUEraSZxz9sCNL08rKGiUmB7oZlNTPBMA-oawU1gwv32NQc2phVaYaK7eRC0Iw8mK1Y1h3ttBtIP0grp-CeCGOivpp0F2RbhOTygp2AP-JdR80WvfLJnCmO8wiiEGrpR1InymDcFykgCy618r90q3w6E7LsexGQK3qF8jULCu2ny3aF7paJE80DcTRmjkeZTZWuXi6dnfylg3nkdwZHUwBC-drOGrv1gXYriQsH_MoT09dR8vM_hj0edZuidiVTYHsfhDZ5u2nlw0wBCCuYbqZfIKUxZ_zaWPDUU2-3hQ" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://FairSentencingOfYouth.org/Official-Supporters</a>.</div>
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To date over 3,300 incarcerated people in Michigan prisons have contracted COVID-19 and 59 of them have died. At the prison I am housed nearly 800 incarcerated people have contracted the virus and 22 people have died.</div>
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Michigan juvenile lifers should not still be incarcerated where they are unable to social distance in crowded dining halls and housing units, and are being forced to risk their lives each day trying to avoid contracting deadly diseases like COVID-19.</div>
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There has been a 700% surge in strokes in men my age due to COVID-19, and men have been found to be nearly twice as high as women to become infected with the virus in some geographical areas. There is also new evidence that people living and working in densely populated spaces are becoming reinfected with COVID-19 after they have recovered.</div>
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Many juvenile lifers will continue being subjected to tremendous risk of dying or experiencing irreversible neurological, brain, kidney, heart, or lung damage, and recontracting the COVID-19 until a vaccine is developed for months to come if they remain incarcerated.</div>
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According to Tarika Daftary-Kapur, Ph.D. and Tina M. Zottoli, Ph.D., "In terms of risk to public safety, juvenile lifers can be considered low-impact releases." ("Resentencing of Juvenile Lifers: The Philadelphia Experience," 10. Montclair State University: 2020).</div>
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Sentencing bodies can dismiss meritless motions filed by prosecutors who are seeking LWOP sentences against juvenile lifers being resentenced and proceed to resentence the cases before them to prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars, precious judicial resources, and time.</div>
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They can also grant personal recognizance bonds to juvenile lifers while they await their resentencing hearings and place them on GPS tethers. They would still remain under a form of incarceration with their families or friends, only rather than being held in vectors of COVID-19 transmission, they would have a humane opportunity to social distance and protect themselves from contracting the deadly disease.</div>
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Alternatively, Governor Gretchen Whitmer also has an opportunity to resolve the eight-year gridlock that juvenile lifers have been unfairly and cruelly subjected to by commuting the sentences of each person to a 25-year minimum sentence, which would conform with MCL 769.25a. The maximum end of the sentence is a 60-year mandatory term.</div>
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If the Governor commuted these sentences not a single person would be released. It would only grant the Parole Board jurisdiction to begin reviewing the cases after they have served 25 years and give the Parole Board the authority to release them after considering a number of factors.</div>
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The Governor could also ask Attorney General Nessel to take the cases over and withdraw the motions seeking LWOP sentences submitted by prosecutors, and allow judges to impose new sentences. She is authorized to do this because prosecutors have clearly demonstrated the inability to be fair and unbiased, and have abused their authority for years.</div>
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In either event the Parole Board would use its wealth of resources to determine whether or not each person could be safely returned back into the community as it does for thousands of people it releases each year. Anyone that does not fit that criteria could remain incarcerated for up to the 60-year maximum term.</div>
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Based on the overwhelming success juvenile lifers have had who have been released, commuting the sentences of juvenile lifers would be an evidence-based, data-driven safe decision by the Governor. It would also be economically sound and morally correct.</div>
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We would be wise to put into practice the words of Aryn Siler, author of "Buried Alive," 17 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 293 (2013), who urges us to reject the dark fatalism of throwing away the key on juvenile offenders and replace it with rehabilitation rather than "a long, drawn out, meaningless, tortuous, and hopeless existence unto death."</div>
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(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is a blogger, thought leader, and social justice changemaker. He has been featured in various TV news, radio show, and podcast interviews to discuss the COVID-19 crisis in Michigan prisons. His interviews and ongoing series about this and other social justice issues can be read at <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffb.com%2FFree.Efren&h=AT1Zl-NK7blYqT40kPY7JXlf0r5v1n_W0L2qd7NpPGfV0zs6AZLVvByYJdWn5q83ZHlUBT9NcZN3EgbrsSlzvYQboG5_2t8htxua4QF3cOnON198koBhG-1Pd_2ZZQmwVQ0Db1R05-wXpQuhdwpzW7tyHfboDEzZ9MquDO1ep0M8F19Zafi_7Ju1slldm9VcKDZh8df3S7wRuks1wD165zNT0e7aBG6mudzwSFOgGlUxChMtVamOULUqjXuhkmpijSrIqZnuc-qrxsfuA4trBDV1ZkzCZrwckDBVElLTJNywhi3do1u0RHtL8lIE-DVTOSHHaLhCiOEVwgwC51muhQM5qoI6nUU8OF2RGDDXGPpJ85AsubVXMw7GdY4psxTH7JnURtp725NzRkmXwvVSo_jwHfC1w-GlQsJCqEKzS_9JBU04W0YUkAtn9L4q1rVPwIrHRDDs0ns0Ob3_wTIDUBj8LvcgdSeYBi7TNKF2fPQ9HXfk0VQiF66cu8MGOFUJTPZVm0pybr-2U7SAIeXdQoGuwGzz7D9B2Ildc_OEfaKMcpHJmzgJK9CczpmGFqSXgFEIqE59HdapHem4poh1wDofyTl44dzYRVAVZIhFBLkKOz8NlAKaoZlU1Acn1ABMjvhT0g" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a>.)</div>
Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-20104612753213384172020-05-22T14:06:00.000-05:002020-05-30T14:10:26.650-05:00Final Installment of Juvenile Lifer Interview Series with Efren Paredes, Jr.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo0RuNxyVaZibnFvPjcaol_BoHLjsg1yVhw_LhHrI2iRI1GPrEJzk-eYYIQRMI5G0bZT4XW93Wug9S5iS6EUL3MmJoptoUh4hRYGrOkdLzKzvIgOvnB_a66p74Hgg6ZZi00lQEAVm0N6g/s1600/apollo+and+bee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="782" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo0RuNxyVaZibnFvPjcaol_BoHLjsg1yVhw_LhHrI2iRI1GPrEJzk-eYYIQRMI5G0bZT4XW93Wug9S5iS6EUL3MmJoptoUh4hRYGrOkdLzKzvIgOvnB_a66p74Hgg6ZZi00lQEAVm0N6g/s320/apollo+and+bee.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">by Necalli Ollin</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">For the past year-and-a-half Efrén Paredes, Jr. has been participating in an interview to provide the public with a detailed portrait of what life looks like for someone who has been incarcerated for decades since the age of 15. It is the most extensive, in-depth interview published of a juvenile lifer in the nation.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In the interview Efrén answers questions about the legal process, his experience growing up in prison, social justice activism, toxic masculinity, spirituality, and how he's educated himself. He also discusses mental health, the mental and emotional impacts of incarceration, and much more.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In the final installment of this interview Efrén shares never before publicly revealed aspects of his private life, fatherhood, marriage, and his thoughts and plans about the future, if released. He takes readers on a fascinating journey allowing them to see how he interprets the world, solves problems, and tirelessly works to push the boundaries to improve the lives of others inside and outside of prison.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The interview is especially helpful to policymakers, people studying criminal justice reform, anyone trying to understand what juvenile lifers experience in prison, attorneys defending juvenile lifers at mitigation and resentencing hearings, and even sentencing bodies who will determine the fate of juvenile lifers at resentencing hearings.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">For years Efrén has selflessly written about prison and social justice issues. He has also chronicled the stories and experiences of incarcerated people. Throughout it all he has kept his personal life private and out of the media spotlight. After 18 months of being interviewed we finally gain insight into Efrén the person like never before.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">According to Efrén, "The interview has had a tremendous impact on many lives and we've received a lot of positive feedback." He adds, "I allowed myself to open up and be vulnerable for the interview so people could learn and benefit from my lived experiences, including my pain and personal failures. It was difficult at times, but in the end I'm grateful I did it."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The final installment of the interview series can be read at http://EfrensWords.home.blog/Part-Eleven/ and can also be read in its entirety at http://EfrensWords.home.blog. You are encouraged to read this riveting interview and gift to us all, and share it widely with others in your network.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">#FreeEfren #JLWOP #AbolishDBI #HTFL</span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-86301758021729227442020-03-24T14:40:00.000-05:002020-03-27T14:41:58.005-05:00Efrén Paredes, Jr. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Message<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to begin by expressing my gratitude and appreciation to the people who have been reaching out to me and expressing their concern about my health and well-being as the nation grapples with one of the most horrific pandemics and national tragedies we have ever witnessed.</div>
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This is a very challenging time for the nation and unfortunately the worst is yet to come. According to data models based on the trajectory of how the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has impacted other countries, the disease isn't forecasted to peak in the U.S. until the end of April.</div>
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The mortality rate for those infected with COVID-19 as of March 23, 2020 in the U.S. is currently 1.3 percent. It's important to note that this number reflects a period of time when most hospitals still had enough ICU beds to care for infected patients. At this rate the nation could lose at least four million lives if the virus isn't aggressively contained and mitigated.</div>
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Yesterday Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer made the wise decision to issue a mandatory stay-at-home, stay safe executive order for Michigan residents which will remain in place for the next three weeks in an effort to slow the rapid spread of COVID-19.</div>
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The number of people infected with COVID-19 since the first person tested positive in Michigan thirteen days ago is now 1,791. Twenty-four people have died. The number of people testing positive for the disease doubled over the weekend.</div>
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According to Governor Whitmer, without taking aggressive measures to contain the disease the number of people becoming infected with COVID-19 could soar by as high as five times this week in the state. As of today, the State of Michigan ranks sixth highest for the number of people who have tested positive in the nation.</div>
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Last week administrators at the prison I am currently housed, the Lakeland Correctional Facility (LCF), suspended all visits from members of the public indefinitely. The Warden also announced they will understandably not be restored until the COVID-19 crisis is stabilized.</div>
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According to prison staff, as of today no one at the prison has tested positive for COVID-19. Incarcerated people don't find that very comforting, however, given that no testing for the disease has taken place for weeks within the MDOC due to the unavailability of test kits until March 22, 2020.</div>
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Previous to this the extent of diagnostic testing staff or incarcerated people in Michigan prisons consisted of people being asked a series a questions (e.g., if they have a cough, respiratory distress, etc.) and being administered a temperature check. If they didn't have a fever it was assumed they didn't have COVID-19.</div>
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For an incarcerated person this has meant being returned to the general population of the prison with hundreds of others. For staff members it has meant being allowed to enter the prison to work in direct contact with hundreds of incarcerated people and other staff members for an eight-hour shift.</div>
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This is deeply troubling because according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, people infected with COVID-19 can go days without exhibiting symptoms of the disease and still be very contagious. Some people remain asymptomatic the entire time and keep shedding the virus.</div>
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Many incarcerated people live barracks-style in congested dorms, gymnasiums, and other open settings surrounded by dozens of people originally designed to house only a fraction of the people they currently house. They live much closer together than students at college campus dorms which have been closed across the state to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.</div>
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Incarcerated people in Michigan prisons are also still standing in lines waiting to be fed in the prison dining hall where hundreds of people are fed three times a day seated at tables designed to seat four. There are usually approximately 100 people in the dining hall eating at one time.</div>
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Just this past week the prison I am housed at began limiting seating in the dining hall to two people per table. While a step in the right direction, the square tables are only three feet wide -- half the space the CDC guidelines call for social distancing. People serving meals on the serving line are also standing side-by-side separated approximately a foot apart.</div>
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By now it is a widely known fact that COVID-19 spreads more rapidly in density. The current dining arrangement in many prisons is the reason Governor Whitmer ordered restaurants in the community to no longer offer dine-in services and restricted them to drive-thru and delivery options only.</div>
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Prisons also continue transferring incarcerated people from prison to prison, increasing the chance of COVID-19 becoming community spread throughout prisons. County jails continue transporting people to prisons as well.</div>
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This is taking place despite the White House Coronavirus Task Force urging people to remain in their homes to minimize the transmission of the contagion, and the U.S. State Department issuing a Level 4 global travel advisory -- the highest level possible -- restricting Americans from nonessential travel.</div>
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The conditions inside prisons make it impossible to practice the safe social distancing guidelines prescribed by the CDC of keeping people separated by six feet. Prisons are a frightening incubator for spread of the highly contagious disease and pose an enormous public health risk.</div>
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The problem will also be exacerbated because of the health care provider's inability to provide a serious level of care, and its dismal history of exhibiting repeated deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of incarcerated people.</div>
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March 18, 2020 elected prosecutors from across the nation -- including from Michigan -- issued a joint statement addressing the rights and needs of those in custody, sounding the alarm about the impact an outbreak of COVID-19 could have on this vulnerable demographic. According to their statement:</div>
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"[L]little attention is being paid to the millions of people in the most overcrowded conditions that are ripe for the spread of this contagious and deadly virus: the people behind bars in America's jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers."</div>
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New data shows that four out of five people -- an astonishing 80% -- who have tested positive for COVID-19 contracted it from a person they didn't even know had the disease, and a recent study from Italy found that the mortality rate for men in every age group who contract the contagion is twice as high as for women.</div>
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We've also learned that COVID-19 can remain active in the air for up to three hours and on hard surfaces for up to two days, making people vulnerable to coming into contact with the disease in those ways as well.</div>
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During the past week it was announced that three MDOC employees have tested positive for COVID-19. They worked in Detroit, Jackson, and Lapeer. Media outlets have reported that two of the employees worked in contact with incarcerated people and one of them did not.</div>
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This Sunday the Associated Press reported that a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred at the Rikers Island detention center in New York. Thirty-eight incarcerated people tested positive for the disease. This means potentially hundreds of others they lived and interacted with who have not yet exhibited symptoms may be infected as well.</div>
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And yesterday the local news reported the first case of an incarcerated person at the Kinross Correctional Facility (KCF) in Kincheloe, Michigan, testing positive for COVID-19. KCF houses over 1,000 incarcerated people in double-bunked pole barns, which each house hundreds of people.</div>
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Now that diagnostic testing for COVID-19 has begun in the MDOC it is inevitable we will begin hearing additional reports of people testing positive for the virus in prisons across Michigan in the coming days. The fear of incarcerated people is if more mitigation and containment efforts are not implemented in prisons there could be a surge of infection which would be catastrophic.</div>
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One thing that needs to immediately occur is for prisons to discontinue feeding incarcerated people in dining halls. They should instead prepare meals for them in disposable containers and/or bags to consume in their living quarters.</div>
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The practice of eating in dining halls as the spread of COVID-19 is accelerating across the country is diametrically opposed to the CDC guidelines and poses a serious danger to public safety. The objective is to mitigate the propagation of the highly contagious disease, not wait for people to contract it and then act.</div>
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No effort has completely prevented COVID-19 from spreading anywhere in the world. Some countries are doing better than others at it. But the ones that are have completely locked the country down and issued stay-at-home orders to their citizens which are being strictly enforced.</div>
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I am grateful to share that the status of my personal health is currently good. I've been going out to take walks and get fresh air daily, exercising alone, and spending a lot of time reading. I have a lot of writing projects I'm working on that are keeping me busy as well.</div>
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Though the majority of people will survive if they contract COVID-19, we have to shield ourselves and others from being hunted by it as much as possible. We're not invincible. Thousands of people are succumbing to COVID-19 around the globe and no one is being spared.</div>
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It is important that we take all the CDC COVID-19 guidelines very seriously. Listen to the scientists, doctors, and health experts. We should continue washing our hands frequently, sanitizing hard surfaces, and practice social distancing.</div>
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Ignoring any of these guidelines will not only put our personal lives at risk, but the lives of our family members, friends, and neighbors as well. A short time ago the World Health Organization announced that the U.S. is on track to soon become the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis is becoming more serious by the moment.</div>
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COVID-19 is ravaging people's lungs. It's leaving many of them scarred and some people are losing 20-30% of their lung capacity. Some people have also reported losing the ability to taste and smell. Whether the damage remains permanently is still unknown at this time.</div>
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We have a moral and social responsibility to support and help one another during this time. And the more we work together to contain and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 the sooner we will be able to defeat the virus and resume our normal lives.</div>
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Taking care of our mental and emotional health is also critically important right now. Unmanaged stress can compromise our immune system which is something we can ill-afford. The confluence of crisis and uncertainty can grip people with fear and anxiety. So can being barraged with intrusive worries.</div>
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I am reminding people around me every day who are struggling mentally or emotionally right now that no one benefits from becoming panicked during this time. We have to remain calm and clear minded so we can make good choices, driven by facts not by fear.</div>
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I encourage people to use this time for self-care, reflection, and recentering. These activities can have a calming and healing effect. As I have personally experienced, taking walks and enjoying the outdoors while still practicing social distancing can be helpful as well.</div>
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Members of the public should enjoy the time they are spending with those they are sheltering in their homes with, and strive to forge deeper connections with them. Celebrate the gift of life and be grateful for one another at a time when thousands of families are suffering the devastating loss of loved ones due to COVID-19.</div>
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Take time to introduce a hobby you enjoy with someone else which can stimulate their brain activity and be serenity-inducing, creativity-boosting, and health-enhancing. Please also do each other an enormous favor and exercise an abundance of patience with one another.</div>
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People can also call one another and use video chat platforms like Skype, Face Time, and Facebook Messenger to connect. Don't equate social distancing with emotional distancing. Instead, devote energy to nurturing emotional connections.</div>
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That said, we should take the time to address each other's mental and emotional health needs and concerns right now as well. There are a lot of people struggling with depression and anxiety in need of our help and support.</div>
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A 2005 Australian study found that having a strong social support system can increase life expectancy by as much as 22 percent. Listening to people, offering them words of encouragement, and validating them goes a long way.</div>
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Taking time to helping our children and young people is also important right now. Many kids are living in fear and struggling to make sense of everything going on. Their lives were abruptly upended with no advanced notice of any kind. They will need help developing coping strategies and ideas to manage their frustration.</div>
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Consider visiting YouTube and TED Talks to view talks about meditation, yoga, and techniques to cope with stress and anxiety. I recommend watching videos by Deepak Chopra whose books have been a guide and inspiration to help me cope with decades of living in isolation.</div>
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To all the courageous medical professionals and first responders risking their lives everyday fighting the battle against COVID-19 on the front line; the school employees (like my beloved mother) still going to work each day to prepare meals to deliver to their students who struggle with food insecurity; shopping angels -- people shopping for their elderly neighbors so they don't have to leave their homes to risk their health; people producing much needed masks and gowns for health care workers in their own homes; and the many, many others doing their part to help make a difference -- the nation thanks you.</div>
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The road forward may be difficult and the end may seem very distant at times, but we are resilient and we'll make it through this crisis together. We have to believe in ourselves, in each other, and continue supporting one another. When we tell each another "I got you" make it count.</div>
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Let's choose faith over fear, and peace over panic. Life is sacred, and the safety and protection of every human life is paramount right now. Please be careful and stay healthy.</div>
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Praying for the nation,</div>
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--Efrén Paredes, Jr.<br /><a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffb.com%2FFree.Efren&h=AT2C4XAEU1azpAwDsG4GLmlxYgx647a-MkYD-MWZs0NsQiPUfXMDlx_f4WUhR8X51TJ08yakDPxyMUJVoxW6cvw6E32h6osvck_jaRqAIgXSY-XExF5iu1A20oF9Te91quDTIiMriWQfLu1F--ljd7Zs0VkGW_ocUoF10ySRY9gPc21mf1xZW0SeqxUr6YK8PFnedqHDPpaBHegwqf2el1xqRWAD2Q-MV9nD9yc1k_vTjq8r-d8tRopkpCNtPZsBKfAeOBJmtI1yatvkdJbKFhj9WDRhoCnwwzyodJfIIsUtMN9ZNY93eHNcYoN26C9STyBkvUOvv5F0_r1BHS2UZEU3DB2nrs2hKMjsDO5QpEvWxyfWTzOwtgfnxYtMJ0OTCiuELeyG279ySS2iY411vqWnw87jKaEsvuOnOVocWqlKIm2mxmeTGv5_Mx5aruuGFGitNJyYXhthqISBbLfh6xbfx2zeu4lDv1Adkc1xSn1ZzoQ-JiljZxGaQY67XHyLD8t6ZlOx-_s1jvNoSDJPvMtTCcrNwKsgQ7MtC8Ulz-i55rdnqvlLAKNdK5ZiOy_fenk_Mo_-CJ4T8sRdahcPmt8fKoS4zZRnpOdTECBXEfY0AyEAxnyG8j-q2oOStBspcKlQ4Q" rel="noopener nofollow" style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a></div>
Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-57812077947356557422020-03-16T07:00:00.000-05:002020-03-16T07:00:01.098-05:00Corrupt Policing During the Arrest of Efrén Paredes, Jr. (Part 2 of 2)<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">by Dr. John Masterson</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Emeritus Professor of Mathematics</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Michigan State University</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The evidence strongly suggests that Efrén Paredes, Jr.'s version of what actually occurred during the time he was alone in a police car with the arresting officer in his case, former Berrien County Sheriff's Department detective William Tucker, is far more credible than the one Tucker falsified for the following reasons:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(1) According to one of Efrén's former high school teachers, "Those who knew Efrén then knew he didn't use the word 'ain't' or the language Tucker claimed. He respected authority and was never offensive to adults. That's not the student or kind of person he was."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(2) There is no audio recording of the exchange Efrén and Tucker in the police car. Tucker could have easily recorded their drive to the jail, particularly since they were alone, if he was concerned about protecting the integrity of anything that was said. He purposely placed Efrén in the front seat of his police car and didn't have anyone accompany them to avoid having any witnesses present.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(3) Tucker's decision to place Efrén in the front seat of the police car next to him was calculated and deliberate so he could attempt to engage him in conversation. Police do not seat murder suspects in the front seat with them. Tucker clearly had a motive for breaking with normal practice and doing so.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(4) Efrén knew not to talk to police outside the presence of an attorney well before his arrest. Further, he informed Tucker he had an attorney from the moment of his arrest in the presence of his family and again when they were alone in the car.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(5) During Efrén's trial</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> before a packed courtroom he testified under oath that he did not kill the victim in his case and he had no role in the crime.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(6) After his trial and conviction Efrén spoke to two men from the probation department who interviewed him to prepare a Pre-Sentence Investigation Report for his sentencing judge. When asked to describe his version of the crime, according to the report Efrén responded, "I didn't do anything to be arrested. I am being charged for something I didn't do and had no part of."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(7) At his sentencing hearing when asked by the judge if he had anything to say to the court prior to receiving his sentence Efrén stated, "I don't believe I should be sentenced for something I didn't do."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(8) There have been numerous complaints against Tucker by people he arrested in the past claiming he engaged in various forms of misconduct in their cases. Common complaints have included him falsifying statements attributed to them, and using threats and intimidation to coerce people into making statements.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(9) In hundreds of interviews with various television, print, and radio media outlets during his 31-year incarceration Efrén has denied committing the crime and Tucker's false claims, and has remained consistent about what actually occurred that day. He also did so at a nine-and-a-half hour 2008 public hearing when he was seeking a commutation of his sentence under a barrage of questioning from five parole board members and an Assistant Attorney General.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(10) During his time at the Berrien County Sheriff's Department Tucker was suspended for insubordination. In a 1997 lawsuit it was also revealed:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Tucker was demoted to sergeant in connection with misconduct involving two [police] informants. ... Tucker admitted to having sexual relations with the second informant[.]" (Mata v. County of Berrien, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19344, 13 (W.D. Mich 1997))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Throughout his employment with the Berrien County Sheriff's Department, and since his early departure from the department in 2005, Tucker has been embroiled in various controversies according to stories featured in local newspapers.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Tucker's lack of good judgment, abuse of authority, and credibility gap are clear in his mishandling of Efrén's arrest and mistreatment of a vulnerable 15-year-old boy. It is further evident in the way Tucker performed his duties in other cases and abused his position as a police officer to take advantage of vulnerable people.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">His actions are clearly at odds with being an honest, credible public servant, and his conduct in Efrén's case rises to the level of corruption and committing fraud upon the court by knowingly providing false testimony to the court.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Police corruption refers to dishonest and illegal acts by police officers. These actions may range from stealing evidence to perjury and obstruction of justice." (Laurie L. Levenson, "Police Corruption and New Models for Reform," 35 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 1 (2001))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In her academic journal article, "Bias in Blue: Instructing Jurors to Consider the Testimony of Police Officer Witnesses with Caution," 44 Pepp. L. Rev. 245, 263-64 (2017), Vida B. Johnson, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, writes:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Police officers are also interested parties; the motivations to lie, shade the truth, and protect colleagues exist. Just like a witness seeking a reward or a witness with some other interest in the case, police officers often have financial, career, ideological, or institutional interests at play, particularly in certain types of cases."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">She adds, "Although it may reveal a 'dismal' side of our criminal justice system to acknowledge these biases, ignoring police officer bias does not make it go away."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Substantial evidence demonstrates that police perjury is so prevalent that scholars have characterized it as a "subcultural norm rather than an individual aberration." (Stephen W. Gard, "Bearing False Witness: Perjured Affidavits and the Fourth Amendment," 41 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 445, 448 (2008))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Blue lies are so pervasive that even former prosecutors have described them as 'commonplace' and 'prevalent.'" (Myron W. Orfield, Jr., "Deterrence, Perjury, and the Heater Factor," 63 U. Colo. L. Rev. 75, 107 (1992))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges in one survey expressed their belief that perjury is present in approximately twenty percent of all cases. A separate survey</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> of police officers was even more troubling. "Seventy-six percent of responding officers agreed that officers shade the facts to establish probable cause; forty-eight percent believed judges were often correct in disbelieving police testimony." (Myron W. Orfield, Jr., "The Exclusionary Rule and Deterrence," 54 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1016, 1050-51 & n.129 (1987))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Of the dozens of people who witnessed Efrén speaking to any member of law enforcement or testifying in court, no one other than Tucker falsely claims that Efrén made any statement contrary to him denying he committed the crime or had an attorney. Tucker sought to be a hero in the case by being the sole person able to extract a statement from Efrén that would be prejudicial in some way.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">It is a technique routinely used by police to bolster their claims and make a case stronger than it was previously to boost the appearance of their success rates. Some of the ways police do this is by:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Claiming to have heard a confession or an out-of-context condemning statement, recovering weapons or other evidence planted in a particular location, obscuring evidence that points to someone else, or hiding evidence of the suspect's innocence." (Christopher Slobogin, Professor of Law & Alumni Research Scholar, University of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Florida College of Law, "Testilying: Police Perjury and What to Do About It," 67 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1037, (996))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Sadly, events like this occur far too often in cities across America. And it occurs most often between encounters with white officers and black and brown youth. In Efrén's case he is Latino and Tucker is white; as were all the investigating police in his case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">According to Lupe S. Salinas, retired Criminal Court Judge in Houston, Texas, and a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Texas, who serves as a Professor of Law at Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">"The mistreatment of Latinos by law enforcement has been extensive. However, for whatever reasons, media coverage has been minimal." (Lupe S. Salinas, "Lawless Cops, Latino Injustice, and Revictimization by the Justice System," 2018 Mich. St. L. Rev. 1095, 1128 (2018))</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Since 2009 an alarming number of police officers have been identified as members of white supremacist groups. Professor Vida B. Johnson, Georgetown Law School, writes, "In that same period, there have been scandals in over 100 different police departments, in 49 different states where individuals have sent overtly racist emails, texts, or made racist comments via social media."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">She adds, "[S]ome of these shocking occurrences have involved high-ranking members of their respective police forces." ("KKK in the PD: White Supremacist Police and What To Do About It," 23 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 205, 210 (2019))</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">This troubling number is in addition to scores of widely documented instances of racism that have been committed by police officers against communities of color for decades while performing their routine job duties before the advent of the digital sphere.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Purveyors of racism are able to express themselves more openly today by hiding behind blue screens giving them a false sense of anonymity across a panoply of platforms. Proliferation of the digital evidence in recent years has only made it easier to expose the prevalence of this activity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Though most members of law enforcement strive to perform their duty with integrity there are always rogue actors seeking to fulfill personal goals and hidden agendas. "Our nation has experienced a regrettable history of lawlessness among a significant minority of police officers." (Salinas, supra, at 1213).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Reporting on the frequency of police officers arrested for committing crimes, one study found that "During 2005-2012, 10,787 individual non-federal sworn law enforcement officers with general powers of arrest faced criminal charges." (Philip M. Stinson, Associate Professor, Bowling Green St. Univ., Presentation at the 2017 Urban Elected Prosecutors Summit: "Police Shootings Data: What We Know and What We Don't Know" 12 (Apr. 20, 2017))</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">This astonishing number is significant because police corruption results in wrongful convictions across the country. According to the National Registry of Exonerations website there have been 2,434 documented exonerations as of May 5, 2019. (NAT'L REGISTRY OF EXONERATIONS, www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/about.aspx (last visited May 5, 2019)).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">"Wrongful conviction estimates, calculated from different methods, range from 0.03 to 15% of felony convictions." (Rossmo & Pollock, supra, at 796). Of the 2,434 cases that have been exonerated nationwide over 100 of them have occurred in the State of Michigan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Though Tucker is woefully emblematic of police corruption he is only a small part of the overall problem pervasive in police departments across America. Most police officers strive to do the right thing. But as long as a culture referred to as the "Blue Wall of Silence" persists, even good cops will be degraded by the pernicious actions of the minority.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">We have to work collectively to prevent police corruption, cast a light on its incidents, and restore integrity in the criminal justice system or run the risk of the few bad apples narrative becoming one that depicts a rotten orchard. If we don't, we run the risk of becoming the next Efrén Paredes, Jr. handcuffed sitting in a car next to a rogue cop like William Tucker.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">It's a nightmare scenario any law-abiding citizen -- or 15-year-old kid -- can ill-afford to encounter without risking the loss of unwarranted decades of their freedom.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">(To learn more about the case of Efrén Paredes, Jr. or how you can support his campaign for justice visit http://fb.com/Free.Efren or http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren.)</span></span><br />
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Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-14308690345487772302020-03-15T07:00:00.000-05:002020-03-15T07:00:03.144-05:00Corrupt Policing During the Arrest of Efrén Paredes, Jr. (Part 1 of 2)<br />
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by Dr. John Masterson<o:p></o:p></div>
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Emeritus Professor of Mathematics<o:p></o:p></div>
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Michigan State University<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Almost all police lie about whether they violated the
Constitution in order to convict guilty defendants." (Alan M. Dershowitz,
"The Best Defense," at xxi (1982))<o:p></o:p></div>
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Across the nation police officers have engaged in corruption
and malfeasance in criminal cases across the country which have yielded
wrongful convictions. It should come as no surprise that Michigan is no outlier
to these abuses of power.<o:p></o:p></div>
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An abundance of research has proven that "[p]olice
falsification, or 'testilying' is the most common form of police
corruption." (Tracey Maclin, Professor of Law, Boston University,
"Race and the Fourth Amendment," 51 Vand. L. Rev. 333, 380 (1998))<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to Laura Cohen, Clinical Professor of Law,
Director of Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic, Rutgers School of Law-Newark,
and author of "Freedom's Road: Youth, Parole, and the Promise of </div>
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Miller v.
Alabama and Graham v. Florida," 35 Cardozo L. Rev. 1031, 1085 (2014):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"The causes of wrongful convictions are legion,
including, among others, erroneous eyewitness identification, false
confessions, failures of science, ineffective assistance of counsel, law
enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct, overzealousness, and use of
unreliable informants."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly after the March 15, 1989 arrest of fifteen-year-old
Efrén Paredes, Jr. thirty-one years ago, the narrative about the event quickly
focused on an alleged statement attributed to Efrén which was manufactured by
the arresting officer in the case, William Tucker of the Berrien County
Sheriff's Department.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The prosecution used Tucker's statement to prejudice Efrén
and never attempted to question its veracity when cross-examining him during
trial. It was a strategic decision done to disallow Efrén the opportunity to
offer to the jury his own version of events that actually transpired.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Even amid a documented history of police corruption in
the form of perjury -- lying in reports and lying on the witness stand --
prosecutors regularly ... file charges based on the unexamined word of the
arresting officer." (Steven Zeidman, Professor, CUNY School of Law,
"From Dropsy to Testilying: Prosecutorial Apathy, Ennui, or
Complicity?," 16 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 423, 424 (2019))<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why Efrén's defense attorney failed to inquire about his
arrest during his trial is anyone's guess. From the time of his arrest until
his trial Efrén made clear to his attorney multiple times that he didn't make
the statement attributed to him by Tucker after he learned about the statement
he manufactured.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Between the time of his arrest and his original sentencing
four months later media outlets that breathlessly reported about the crime
Efrén was charged with never reached out to him for a response to the Tucker
statement. They simply reported Tucker's false claims and recklessly
disseminated them as facts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For context it's important to begin this story by
introducing another criminal attorney named Tat Parish whose name was
frequently used during Efrén's trial by the prosecution. Parish was their
family attorney who prepared Efrén's parents' wills and assisted them with any
other legal matters that arose.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parish and the family had been friends and next door
neighbors for several years. Efrén and his two younger brothers were also
friends with Parish's sons who were close in age to each other. The kids spent
time in each other's yards and homes regularly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parish was a criminal defense attorney very familiar with
the type of misconduct that some members of law enforcement engage in through
his experience with them in courtrooms over the years. He not only protected
members of the general public against false allegations in trials, he also
defended police officers accused of crimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Over the years Parish had conversations with Efrén and his
own children as they were growing up about their rights regarding police
contact. He instructed them that if a member of law enforcement were to ever
accuse them of any wrongdoing, they didn't commit they should inform the
officer that he, Parish, was their attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The kids were also counseled to not make statements to
police outside the presence of an attorney. This was to avoid having the kids
be coerced into making any false statements without a witness present that
could be used against them later.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The afternoon of March 15, 1989 Efrén's mother received a
phone call from an attorney in Parish's office named Philip Riley. Riley
informed Efrén's mother that he had just spoken to another local attorney and
learned that Efrén may be arrested that day in connection with the murder and
robbery of a store manager that occurred a week earlier.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Riley asked Efrén's mother to pick him up from school and
take him to their home so if he actually was arrested, they could be there to
witness things as opposed to him being arrested at school. He also instructed
Efrén's mother to convey to Efrén that if he is arrested to let them know
Parish is his attorney and not to answer any questions from police outside of
the presence of his attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly thereafter Efrén's mother called her husband at
work, told him about the details of the phone call they received, and asked him
to pick Efrén up from school, which he did. Upon Efrén getting into the car his
father briefly told him about the phone call he received from his mother and
told him they would get more details when they arrived home. (There were no
cellphones when this occurred in 1989.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When they arrived at their home, they were met by Efrén's
mother, two brothers, and extended members of their family. Upon their arrival
Efrén's mother offered more details from the phone call with Riley including
the instruction for Efrén to tell police Parish is his attorney and not to
answer any police questions outside the presence of his attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A short time later, at approximately 4:57 pm, police cars
surrounded their home. Detective Tucker entered the garage which was connected
to the home and knocked on the door to the kitchen of the home. Upon entering
the kitchen he told Efrén he was under arrest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Tucker handcuffed Efrén and read him his Miranda rights
Efrén immediately informed him in the presence of his family that Tat Parish
was his attorney just as he had been instructed to do. Tucker acknowledged this
in the report he made regarding the arrest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tucker handcuffed Efrén and he was then escorted out to a
police car parked in the driveway by Lincoln Township Police Department Chief
Daniel Robinson. The car had officers seated in the front of the car and Efrén
was placed in the backseat of the car. While seated in the car Efrén remained
silent and didn't speak to anyone, nor did any officers claim that he did in
any police reports.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A short time later Tucker returned to the squad car alone
and ordered Efrén to exit the car and accompany him to an unmarked police car
parked at the end of the driveway. Tucker placed Efrén in the front seat of the
police car next to him rather than in the back seat, which is typical for
people who have been charged with murder. No one else was in the car other than
Tucker and Efrén.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tucker then proceeded to drive Efrén to the Berrien County
Jail. During the drive Tucker began telling Efrén that the other boys who had
already been arrested in connection to the crime had "dumped" on him.
Tucker told him the police had "the gun" from the murder and they
(the police) knew he killed the victim whose death he was being charged with.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As Tucker continued rambling, became belligerent, and
attempted to badger him Efrén remarked, "I told you Tat Parish is my
attorney. I can't answer any questions until he's there." Tucker quickly
became visibly angry at Efrén's unwillingness to talk and their exchange
abruptly ended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon arriving at the jail Tucker escorted Efrén into the
building and took him to an interrogation room where two other officers were
present. Once in the room one of the officers offered Efrén a Miranda card. He
asked him to sign it and tell them about the crime he was arrested for.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Efrén had no clue what a Miranda card was at the time nor
had he ever heard of one. He refused to sign the card and immediately informed
the officer who offered it to him that Tat Parish was his attorney and he would
be making no statement outside the presence of his attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The officer grew angry with Efrén's unwillingness to
cooperate and began yelling at him. He began threatening Efrén telling him if
he didn't tell them what happened he was going to "get fucked" and
"die in prison." Despite being terrified by what was occurring Efrén
still refused to speak to the officers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A short time later the officers received a phone call
telling them Efrén's attorney was there to see Efrén. The officers placed Efrén
in an elevator and took him to see the attorney. The attorney, Paul Jancha,
informed Efrén that Tat Parish sent him to talk to him and let him know that
Parish would be visiting him later that evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Parish wanted to remain present at Efrén's parents' home
while a search warrant was being conducted at the home by several police
officers. Jancha again reminded Efrén not to speak to anyone at the jail
outside the presence of his attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Later that afternoon Tucker fabricated a police report
falsely claiming that during their drive alone in the car Efrén told him he was
waiving his right to have an attorney present and stated, "Fuck you ...
I'm only 15, and I ain't going to do no time. You can't prove nothing."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to Efrén, "Tucker's statement is completely
false. I never said anything even remotely close to that. I was in handcuffs
and completely terrified kid at the time. I had respect for law enforcement and
believed they were good people."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He added, "I didn't know anything about wrongful
convictions or that officers will lie if they don't get their way. I had never
been arrested before and the officer was sitting next to me carrying a loaded
gun. There is no way I would have said anything like that to him."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tucker appeared before Berrien County District Court Judge
Daniel R. Deja less than a half-hour prior to Efrén's arrest. During a probable
cause hearing lasting only a mere eleven minutes Tucker rushed to present
information to the judge he obtained from an informant named Steve Miller in an
effort to convince him to issue a warrant for Efrén's arrest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Miller, a drug dealer at the time, was admittedly connected
with the planning of the crime and never charged by the Berrien County
Prosecutor. A decade later he was charged and convicted in an unrelated case in
federal court for drug trafficking.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because he was the person to obtain the warrant for Efrén's
arrest Tucker felt pressured to justify his reasoning for doing so by trying to
coerce an incriminating statement from Efrén. However, once Efrén stated he had
an attorney and wouldn't answer questions regarding the case Tucker felt
compelled to manufacture a statement for him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tucker refused to accept that he could have made a mistake.
He also refused to allow himself to be embarrassed by a 15-year-old he couldn't
coerce into speaking to him and provide him with any helpful information for
the investigation. His confirmation bias prevented him from being able to
gather evidence and view things objectively.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to D. Kim Rossmo and Joycelyn M. Pollock authors
of the academic journal article, "Confirmation Bias and Other Systemic
Causes of Wrongful Convictions," 11 Ne. U. L. Rev. 790, 814 (2019):<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Confirmation bias is a type of selective thinking.
Once a hypothesis has been formed, our inclination is to confirm rather than
refute it. We tend to look for supporting information, interpret ambiguous
information as consistent with our beliefs, and minimize any inconsistent
evidence. Types of confirmation bias include: (1) the biased search for
evidence; (2) the biased interpretation of information; and (3) a biased memory
(selective recall)."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They add, "Unfortunately, there have been several cases
where detectives refused to abandon the original suspect, justifying their
intransigence through highly convoluted reasoning. Critical thinking requires
effort, and an entrenched position, even an untenable one, can persist through
psychological lethargy and organizational momentum."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Efrén exercising his constitutional rights at the time of
his arrest was negatively colored when people -- including jurors at his trial
-- heard that he immediately told police he had an attorney when he was
arrested, and that he declined to speak to officers outside the presence of his
attorney.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They had no idea that Efrén already knew he may be arrested
before it actually occurred. They also didn't know he had previously received
instructions from two different attorneys, including only minutes before his
arrest, about what to do if he were to have any negative contact with police.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because people were unaware of this, some negatively
perceived Efrén's mention of already having an attorney as evidence that he had
something to hide or that it implied some sort of guilt or wrongdoing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Efrén simply followed the advice of counsel who sought to
ensure he asserted his constitutional right to remain silent and not answer any
police questions outside the presence of an attorney, to protect him from
overzealous officers like Tucker trying to make a name for themselves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laurie L. Levenson, Professor of Law & William M. Rains
Fellow, Loyola Law School, writes:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"[I]t is entirely understandable why an innocent person
might assert his Miranda rights. After all, it should not be surprising that a
person, who has just been told that he has the right not to answer questions,
chooses not to answer questions. It is bizarre to think that anyone who
believes he has been erroneously arrested should automatically disregard his
rights and try to appeal to the people who just effected the arrest."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She adds, "While most defendants do waive their Miranda
rights, a person who truly believes he has been improperly arrested for a
serious crime might actually decide that he needs the assistance of counsel
before interacting further with the police." (Laurie L. Levenson,
"The Problem with Cynical Prosecutor's Syndrome," 20 Berkeley J.
Crim. L. 335, 359 (2015))<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Studies have also shown that guilty suspects may be more
likely to waive Miranda rights "when they have strong world beliefs that
cause them to comply with social standards." (Kyle C. Sherr & Andrew
S. Franks, "The World is Not Fair: An Examination of Innocent and Guilty
Suspects Waiver Decisions," 39 Law and Hum. Behav. 142, 148 (2015))<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(To learn more about the case of Efrén Paredes, Jr. or how
you can support his campaign for justice visit http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren and
http://fb.com/Free.Efren.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-77683494328252256772020-01-18T16:39:00.000-05:002020-01-24T16:46:29.677-05:00Mich. Supreme Court Makes Significant Ruling for Juvenile Lifers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8TKIm310zTraj-WIAjS8wVhlBykuuduIdGydSvf1YMwg14HJwVPV8BXt-sR0RC9bNzxWl9I12IichIyQjrrbgvvfJ-PJTnF7RuhBOZ0rZhstTFNEGhUY_pPwbxI8TIt-itwu-KNsSetw/s1600/EPSN0226_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="432" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8TKIm310zTraj-WIAjS8wVhlBykuuduIdGydSvf1YMwg14HJwVPV8BXt-sR0RC9bNzxWl9I12IichIyQjrrbgvvfJ-PJTnF7RuhBOZ0rZhstTFNEGhUY_pPwbxI8TIt-itwu-KNsSetw/s320/EPSN0226_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">by Necalli Ollin</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i>"Government improprieties should not find an oasis within the court system." (Robert M. Bloom, "Judicial Integrity: A Call for Its Re-Emergence in the Adjudication of Criminal Cases," 84 J. Crim. l. & Criminology 462, 501 (1993)</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Michigan Supreme Court issued an important ruling January 17, 2020 in the case of People v. Tykeith Turner, 2020 Mich. LEXIS 99, which will impact dozens of prisoners previously sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) when they were juveniles ("juvenile lifers").</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In 1995, Tykeith Turner, a 16-year-old from Detroit, was convicted of first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder (AWIM), and carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), for his role in a drive-by shooting that killed a man. He shot at another person and missed during the same incident, according to court records.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">For the crimes Turner was originally sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder, life in prison with the possibility of parole for AWIM, and a term of two years' imprisonment for felony-firearm.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 465 (2012), "that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on 'cruel and unusual punishments.'"</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Four years later, in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that Miller must be applied retroactively. (Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718, 736 (2016)). Because Turner received a sentence of mandatory life without parole for his first-degree murder conviction, he was entitled to resentencing.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">When returning to the trial</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> court for resentencing in 2016 Turner requested to be sentenced for both the first-degree murder and the AWIM charges. He argued that his entire sentence was invalid since both his charges were part of a single event, and the U.S. Supreme Court had determined that the mandatory life-without-parole sentence was unconstitutional.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">It also made no sense that Turner could be resentenced for the charge he originally received the most time for (first-degree murder) and receive a lesser sentence for that charge when resentenced than for the sentence he was serving for the lesser charge of AWIM.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The trial court noted that, although speculative, Turner's sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for AWIM could negate Miller and Montgomery because Turner could serve his full prison term for first-degree murder but be denied parole for AWIM.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Lastly, the trial court agreed that the sentences Turner received were invalid based on a misconception of the law, and went on to resentence Turner to 25 to 60 years' imprisonment for first-degree murder, and 20 to 27 years' imprisonment for AWIM.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The Wayne County Prosecutor subsequently appealed the trial court's new sentence for AWIM. In 2018 a three judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals heard the appeal and rendered a new judgment in the case.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Justices Peter D. O'Connell, Joel P. Hoekstra, and Kirsten Frank Kelly agreed with the prosecution and reversed the new 20-year sentence imposed on Turner by the trial court for AWIM. They also reinstated a life in prison with the possibility of parole sentence for the charge.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">After a three year court battle, January 17, 2020 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the 2018 judgment by the Court of Appeals stating in relevant part:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"A sentence is invalid if it is 'based upon ... a misconception of law ... .' People v. Miles, 454 Mich. 90, 96; 559 N.W.2d 299 (1997). In the Miller context, a concurrent sentence for a lesser offense is invalid if there is reason to believe that it was based on a legal misconception that the defendant was required to serve a mandatory sentence of life without parole on the greater offense."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The state's high court also remanded the Turner case back to the Wayne County Circuit Court to reinstate the December 21, 2016 judgment of sentence of 25 to 60 years' imprisonment for first-degree murder and 20 to 27 years' imprisonment for AWIM.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Among the Michigan juvenile lifers impacted by the new Michigan Supreme Court ruling who remain entangled in the lengthy resentencing process</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> is Efrén Paredes, Jr. of Berrien County. The invalid sentence he received was even more egregious than one received by Turner.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Efrén was 15-years-old at the time of his arrest. He was convicted three months later and received two life in prison without parole sentences for the shooting death and robbery of a store manager. He also received a life in prison with the possibility of parole sentence for the charge of armed robbery. The sentencing guidelines for the robbery charge were three to eight years at the time.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Efrén's case is the subject of the 2019 documentary film installation titled <a href="http://htfl.info%20and%20make%20the%20words%20%22natural%20life%22%20go%20to%20the%20film%27s%20website%20which%20is%20http//NaturalLifeFilm.org" target="_blank">"Half Truths and Full Lies"</a> produced by award-winning filmmakers Tirtza Even, Meg McLagan, and multimedia producer Elyse Blennerhassett. His case was also featured in the 2015 documentary film "Natural Life" produced by Tirtza Even.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">For over three decades Efrén has proclaimed his innocence. Four alibi witnesses have corroborated he was home with his family when the crime occurred. Witnesses have also come forward stating under oath that some of the prosecution's witnesses provided false statements to police and offered perjured testimony at his trial.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Despite the evidence exonerating Efrén that continues to mount in his case he must still go through the same process </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to be resentenced as the other 366 Michigan juvenile lifers. Innocence is not an issue that courts generally consider during juvenile lifer resentencing hearings, though in a recent Wayne County case it did.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Efrén has accomplished numerous things during his incarceration. He helped create </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">a charter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; white-space: nowrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">school in the Los Angeles Unified School District; co-founded Presente.org, the largest online Latinx social justice organizing digital platform; and has worked tirelessly on issues such as prison reform and raising awareness about mass incarceration.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">There are 200 remaining Michigan juvenile lifers awaiting their day in court aching for the opportunity to one day realize freedom again. Like Efrén, the vast majority of them are not "irreparably corrupt" or "incapable of change," and are deserving of term-of-year sentences -- not life in prison without the possibility of parole.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">This is the standard for resentencing juvenile lifers plainly stated by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark rulings dates</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> back to 2012 when it counseled sentencing bodies against imposing the draconian sentence stating:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Deciding that a juvenile offender forever will be a danger to society would require making a judgment that [he] is incorrigible -- but incorrigibility is inconsistent with youth and for the same reason, rehabilitation could not justify that sentence.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Life without parole foreswears the rehabilitative ideal. It reflects an irrevocable judgment about [an offender's] value and place in society, at odds with a child's capacity for change." (Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455, 2465 (2012))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Before abolishing mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders in 2012 the nation's high court made a ruling in Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), mandating that non-incorrigible juvenile offenders should receive a meaningful opportunity for release.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In his peer-reviewed academic journal article titled, "A Meaningful Opportunity for Release: Graham and Miller Applied to De Facto Sentences of Life Without Parole for Juvenile Offenders," 60 B.C. L. Rev. E. Supp. 332, 348 (2019), Anton Tikhomirov writes:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Graham's concern with the limitations of a life-without-parole sentence, combined with its focus on a defendant's ability to achieve self-fulfillment clearly demonstrates an intent that non-incorrigible juveniles have an opportunity to participate in society beyond living out the last few years of their lives following release."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">He added, "To realize Graham's mandate of a 'meaningful opportunity for release,' one must be afforded 'hope' and a chance of 'fulfillment outside prison walls,' 'reconciliation with society,' and 'the opportunity to achieve maturity of judgment and self-recognition of human worth and potential." (Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 79 (2010))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Decision-makers are abusing their power and undermining U.S. Supreme Court rulings resulting in time-consuming and costly appeals at taxpayer expense. Their actions are steadily eroding public confidence and trust, and impugning the integrity of the criminal justice system.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The public cannot be expected to respect or adhere to institutions that are not impartial and lacking integrity. Instead, they will begin to reject them. In the words of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"For good or for ill, [the Government] teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the Government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy." (Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 485 (Brandeis, L., dissenting) (1928))</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Over 100 juvenile lifers in Michigan have been resentenced and released in the past few years. Of that number not a single one has reoffended or returned to prison. They have been receiving average sentences of 29.5 years when being resentenced and many of them have spent decades behind bars.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Michigan has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the state with the highest number of juvenile lifers in the country. It has done so while twenty-eight states have abandoned the extreme death-by-incarceration sentence.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The number of states banning the sentence has quadrupled in the last five years. ("States That Ban Life Without Parole for Children," The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, available at <a href="https://fairsentencingofyouth.org/media-resources/states-that-ban-life/">https://fairsentencingofyouth.org/media-resources/states-that-ban-life/</a>.)</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">It is long past time that juvenile lifers like Efrén and the other remaining 200 people languishing in Michigan prisons with unconstitutional sentences the past eight years receive their new sentences and we end this chapter of injustice.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">(To learn more about the case of Efrén Paredes, Jr. people can visit <a href="http://bitly.com/FreeEfren%20or%20http://fb.com/Free.Efren" target="_blank">http://Bitly.com/FreeEfren or http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a>.)</span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-8400318651923116082020-01-05T15:53:00.000-05:002020-01-09T16:04:36.990-05:00Efrén Invites Prosecutor to Participate in Youth Deterrent Program<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1EW31pp9fLiLity_0stiUN9z166imN652sDMs6dZWZlxD8LNeDZ73UeK7l3aimTkJ-LA8cC1sqASgCpkeeQPw45X60_MKdouMoZzYU3GZnonEVCyr3Wl-TNXcuQceWs-X-Oz8EjLKQyL/s1600/deterant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1EW31pp9fLiLity_0stiUN9z166imN652sDMs6dZWZlxD8LNeDZ73UeK7l3aimTkJ-LA8cC1sqASgCpkeeQPw45X60_MKdouMoZzYU3GZnonEVCyr3Wl-TNXcuQceWs-X-Oz8EjLKQyL/s320/deterant.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i>[The following is a proposal sent to Berrien County Prosecutor, Michael Sepic, from Efrén Paredes, Jr. in September 2019 inviting his office to participate in the creation of a youth deterrent program to help prevent and reduce youth violence in the county. To date Efrén has received no response to his proposal.]</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">RE: Youth Deterrent Program Proposal</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Dear Mr. Sepic:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I am writing to invite your office to consider participating in the creation of a Youth Deterrent Program ("YDP") to assist at-risk youth in Berrien County.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Last month I moderated an event at the Lakeland Correctional Facility ("LCF") where we hosted DJ Hilson, Muskegon County Prosecutor and outgoing </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM). It was a very positive event that was widely attended and well received by Mr. Hilson, prisoners, and facility staff who were present.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">At the event I asked Mr. Hilson to consider partnering with us to create</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> a YDP which could be helpful to at-risk youth in his county. He expressed that he really liked the idea and accepted the invitation. I am currently gathering background and supporting documentation about similar evidence-based programs in the state to share with him.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">YDPs currently exist at three Michigan prisons. They consist of representatives from various prosecutors' offices, members of law enforcement, and/or social workers accompanying a small group of at-risk youth to engage in dialogue with prisoners. They convene for a couple hours each month in a prison visit room where the public visits prisoners when the space is available outside of regularly scheduled visiting hours.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">During YDP dialogues prisoners encourage youth to remain in school and avoid a criminal lifestyle. They also share stories about their lives, the consequences of making poor choices, and the harsh experience of incarceration. Prisoners are carefully screened to participate in the YDP by prison administrators. Close supervision by the team of people who escort the youth to the prison is present at all times.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The curriculum for training participants of the program is based on the work of Dr. William Glasser, Jr. His widely recognized training program was developed over 50 years ago. The primary components of Dr. Glasser's training program that would be utilized in our YDP include Choice Theory and Reality Therapy which are available in the book, "Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom."</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">All prisoners involved in YDPs are unpaid volunteers who donate their time and service to be a part of the program because they choose to. The benefits they accrue from their participation is helping transform the lives of young people, making our communities safer, and giving back to society by helping repair the harm they caused.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Participating also helps prisoners become better returning citizens by developing a deeper sense of humanity and appreciation for the sanctity of life on their journey to redemption. It not only aids in the transformation of their own lives, it also helps them model that transformation for many at-risk youth who embrace the belief that they can't be what they can't see.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">According to Bureau of Justice statistics, 95% of all prisoners return to the community one day. Cultivating a working relationship between your office and prisoners from the county can help build an important bridge that provides the community -- and your office -- with important assets and resources. They can also become invaluable entry points</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> into areas of the county you otherwise wouldn't have when they are eventually released.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If the proposed version of a YDP isn't feasible other options you may wish to consider include arranging to have prisoners speak to at-risk youth in real-time via video teleconferencing, over the phone, or forming a group of prisoners to write them letters or messages. Combinations of these could also be helpful.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In 2015 I was selected as one of 20 prisoners to participate in the Michigan State University My Brother's Keeper Program taught by Dr. Austin Jackson. In the program we received training to mentor at-risk youth in Grades 6-8 in the Detroit Public Schools. We also developed a peer-to-peer mentoring program to help young prisoners already in the carceral system.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I co-created and facilitated a conflict resolution</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> workshop in 2013 alongside a psychologist, three social workers from Mental Health Services, and a prison counselor as then-President of the National Lifers of America ("NLA"). The workshop was instrumental in reducing violence in the prison and helping transform the distorted thinking and dysfunctional behavior of hundreds of prisoner participants of all ages and races.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">That same year I helped develop the curriculum for the "Peer Enrichment and Parole Readiness" workshop, along with the Director of American Friends Service Committee, Natalie Holbrook, and a group of 15 other prisoners. The workshop is now being taught at six different prisons across the state.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">My experience growing up between the ages of 15 to 46 behind bars and interacting with thousands of prisoners of all ages, races, and classes; and the knowledge I have attained from decades of researching criminal thinking, trauma, violence, adolescent development, toxic masculinity, and cognitive behavioral therapy, will be helpful making the creation of a YDP a reality.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Also helpful will be the skills I have developed mentoring at-risk youth inside and outside of prison; completing numerous self-help and rehabilitative programs; and voluntarily participating in over 100 therapy sessions with licensed mental health professionals during the past nine years.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">With the rising tide of gun violence around the country by the hands of troubled young men I believe it is imperative that we tirelessly work to combat the scourges of racism, misogyny, and toxic masculinity. We can ill-afford to wait for additional acts of senseless violence to ravage our communities using weapons of war before exploring sensible alternatives to help solve the problem.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Simply jailing offenders after they have committed crimes, coupled with ignoring their dignity and redemptive qualities, has proven a dismal failure to preventing criminality. It is a reactionary response after harm is inflicted on undeserving members of the community.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Preventing the infliction of harm to themselves and the community is more prosocial and sensible than trying to repair the wreckage of recklessness and destruction of its aftermath. Waiting for crime to happen before acting often proves too late.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If incarceration alone truly prevented crime we would have eradicated it long ago and be the safest country in the world. No nation in human history has imprisoned more of its citizens with the frequency and duration that we have. Though we are 5% of the world's total population we house nearly a staggering 25% of its incarcerated people.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A large number of troubled youth are impervious to guidance from counselors, members of law enforcement, and even their own parents. Many of them, however, will listen</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to incarcerated -- and formerly incarcerated men -- who share their lived experiences and have traveled through the same corridors of criminality.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Proactive evidence-based programs like YDPs are effective because youth are able to interact with prisoners who can share stories with them about the horrors of incarceration and the consequences of making poor choices. They can also offer them myriad reasons they should change the trajectory of their lives and open the door to transformation.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">An abundance of research shows that intrinsic motivation is nearly always a more reliable driver and durable predictor of positive behavior than anything extrinsic. This is among one of the many reasons it is so important to reach and provide troubled youth with much needed identity, purpose, and direction before it's too late.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The vast majority of prisoners want to help heal their communities from the pain</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> and devastation they once caused. This is evidenced by several formerly incarcerated friends of mine who were originally sentenced to life without parole who have subsequently been released and returned to their communities.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Today they are mentoring youth, gainfully employed, pursuing college degrees, feeding the homeless, and some are even working closely with law enforcement to help make their communities safer. These men are no longer the dangers to society they once posed as impetuous, reckless, risk-taking teenagers.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Each day they are proving that no one's life experiences can be reduced to a single story. Prisoners are no more defined by their greatest accomplishment than they are by their worst mistake. It is a culmination of their lived experiences that defines them. Not a snapshot in time.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Men like this can help you reach troubled youth and detour those headed in the wrong direction. They can also help them explore the possibility of new horizons through engagement and helping them develop critical thinking skills, impulse control, and the value of emotional intelligence and sound consequential thinking.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Formerly incarcerated citizens who have spent decades behind bars gain a deeper appreciation and respect for freedom and the sanctity of life. By carving out opportunities from hardships they learn, grow, and change during years of separation from society, and by engaging in deep introspection which helps transform them in profound ways. Rather than only learning to do less of the bad, they also learn to do more of the good.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">According to Stacey Abrams, thought leader and author </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">of "Lead from the Outside": "The best ideas and policies are typically collaborative and those that succeed are the product of a community." This wisdom can help rescue our troubled youth, heal our communities, and replace the specters of intolerance and wrath with compassion and second chances.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I am hopeful you will give thoughtful consideration to this proposal and/or share it with any agency in the county receptive to seeing it materialize. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I am receptive to having a thoughtful dialogue with you. Thank you for your time and consideration.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Sincerely,</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Efrén Paredes, Jr.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">#203116</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Lakeland Correctional Facility</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">141 First Street</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Coldwater, MI 49036</span><br />
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Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-64633137775036344972019-12-12T10:12:00.002-05:002019-12-19T14:15:13.271-05:00Efrén Completes "Education and Human Flourishing" Course<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfksT61AAkmSWimyjQ4V-zAaMictuWQpNmqmqA2Hvt1DjxS2M1P7Aa2E58HMaZvgCAMMH-NQcQBadWNDJtEuJsyuIK_3syxxdXOn5jaE6mrb7yxaO5eIEyUpYEXeonaLJ4c2YiS4Eo2bZ/s1600/Graduation-Caps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="640" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfksT61AAkmSWimyjQ4V-zAaMictuWQpNmqmqA2Hvt1DjxS2M1P7Aa2E58HMaZvgCAMMH-NQcQBadWNDJtEuJsyuIK_3syxxdXOn5jaE6mrb7yxaO5eIEyUpYEXeonaLJ4c2YiS4Eo2bZ/s320/Graduation-Caps.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">by Necalli Ollin</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">oday Efrén Paredes, Jr. completed the class "Education and Human Flourishing," taught at the Lakeland Correctional Facility (LCF) by Dale Brown, Western Michigan University, Lecturer in the Dept. of Philosophy; Research Assistant in the Dept. of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies; and Director of WMU Prison Education Outreach Program. Efrén was one of only 20 prisoners qualified to meet the strict criteria required by facility administrators to participate in the class.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">According to Brown, "The focus of this course was shifting ideas about how human nature and diversity -- involving social categorization, stereotyping, and cultural bias -- play an important role in our understanding what kinds of flourishing, and education, are possible and desirable."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">During the class students learned about moral virtues, moral vices, and strategies to bridge the gap between the people we are and the people we seek to become. The class also studied philosophy, systems of thinking, learned that appreciative engagement with merit or worth is what produces happiness in our lives, among other subjects.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">As one solution to help repair the devastation caused by the school-to-prison pipeline, the course emphasized the value of creating a prison-to-college pipeline. Evidence-based research has proven higher learning significantly reduces recidivism by transforming lives and fostering a departure from antisocial beliefs and actions.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Students enjoyed learning how to engage in metacognition (i.e., thinking about how they think and the ways of thinking that are most likely to facilitate learning) and exploring ways to enrich their lives so they can acquire the skills to become better versions of themselves," according to Efrén.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">He added, "Our instructor did a great job of bringing the college classroom experience to the prison and inspiring students to utilize their potential to be successful and flourish in life. He encouraged students to be confident in themselves and keep stirring their curiosity and imagination as they excavate the world's repository of knowledge."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Efrén wrote his final paper for the class in response to the question, "Why has higher education in prison not received wider public support?" He plans to continue building upon his final paper and submitting it for publication</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> in an academic journal. He wants to also make it available to the public across multiple platforms to be used as a tool to help change public perception about the issue.</span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-16029011143655580282019-08-23T10:52:00.000-05:002019-09-03T10:54:55.057-05:00Pres. of Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Mich. Visits Coldwater Prison<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQDOBlt2Rc7zqLmQkC18yCRNyyLi0vF3ZXno8sfKW4gLkavHhTvjBKqf42YXdpDiumPldDU77Jn_YUDK_PkLtJ-rYFQGimmIaXuh_rQpcty-lFJOgsyF7w_rCtC8Kgvo-9joXK-56f53Y/s1600/hilson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEQDOBlt2Rc7zqLmQkC18yCRNyyLi0vF3ZXno8sfKW4gLkavHhTvjBKqf42YXdpDiumPldDU77Jn_YUDK_PkLtJ-rYFQGimmIaXuh_rQpcty-lFJOgsyF7w_rCtC8Kgvo-9joXK-56f53Y/s320/hilson.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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by Efrén Paredes, Jr.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday, August 7, 2019, prisoners at the Lakeland
Correctional Facility hosted DJ Hilson, Muskegon County Prosecutor and
President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Hilson accepted
the invitation to speak at the facility from prisoners interested in building
bridges and beginning a dialogue between prosecutors and prisoners.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A large number of prisoners turned out to hear Hilson share
his thoughts and answer a broad range of questions regarding important criminal
justice issues. Some of the subjects discussed included the school to prison
pipeline, sentencing reform, and rehabilitation. He also shared how his faith
guides his daily life and his dedication to community engagement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hilson stated he was impressed with the atmosphere and view
of the sprawling prison grounds which he absorbed as he ambulated from the
Control Center to the building we convened in. Absent the fences draped in
concertina wire that ring the prison, he could see a landscape more closely
resembling a park or college campus than a compound caging human lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As he walked through the prison, Hilson observed dogs from
the dog rescue program being walked around by their trainers, prisoners
harvesting an array of vegetable gardens, and several beautifully manicured
islands of vibrant flower beds. He also passed an assortment of bushes and
trees, stone bird baths, and an outdoor fish pond -- home to dozens of colorful
goldfish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The landscaping is the product of former Wardens at the
prison who sought to create a vision of humanity and foster a milieu of
rehabilitation. It was created through decades of hard work by prisoners in the
facility horticulture program and is maintained daily by prisoner
groundskeepers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the event Hilson was introduced by a member of the
Warden's Forum named Cedric Tooks. This writer moderated the dialogue. I
received several questions from audience members and was tasked with presenting
Hilson the ones that were appropriate, beneficial to the audience, and within
the agreed upon terms in advance of the event (i.e., no questions or advice
regarding personal cases).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Both prisoners and facility staff enjoyed the dialogue with
Hilson and had a lot of positive takeaways. Even prisoners who were initially
reluctant to attend the event because the speaker was a prosecutor expressed
they were glad that they accepted the invitation to go.<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to one prisoner, "Going to the event wasn't
what I thought it would be. I expected to hear a bunch of tough on crime
rhetoric and about how horrible prisoners are. Instead, [Hilson] told us he
views us [i.e., prisoners] as human beings capable of change even though we've
made mistakes. That really stuck with me."<o:p></o:p></div>
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Several prisoners stated they respected Hilson's courage to
speak inside a prison. Rather than attempt to ingratiate himself with
prisoners, he expressed his genuine feelings and beliefs. He even began a
couple statements with, "I know this isn't going to be popular,"
signaling he understood prisoners may not agree with his answer to a question.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Though there were some areas of disagreement during the
hour-and-a-half long exchange of ideas, Hilson and audience members were able
to agree on several issues. He also remarked that he would remain open-minded
and receptive to sensible future policy reform ideas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One idea Hilson and prisoners were able to agree on was
collaborating to deter at-risk youth from entering the criminal justice system
as one way for prisoners to help heal our communities and make them safer.
Hilson accepted our invitation to work with event organizers to create a Youth
Deterrent Program ("YDP") to help at-risk youth and prevent crime.<o:p></o:p></div>
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YDPs currently exist at three Michigan prisons. They consist
of representatives from the prosecutor's office, law enforcement, social
workers, and non-governmental organizations -- or combinations thereof --
accompanying a small group of at-risk youth to engage in dialogue with
prisoners. They convene for a couple hours each month in a prison visit room
where the public visits prisoners when the space is available outside of
regularly scheduled visiting hours.<o:p></o:p></div>
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During YDP dialogues prisoners encourage youth to remain in
school and avoid a criminal lifestyle. They also share stories about their lives
and the harsh experience of incarceration. Prisoners are carefully screened to
participate in the YDP by prison administrators. Close supervision by the team
of people who escort the youth to the prison and prison custody staff also
remain present at all times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If this version of a YDP isn't feasible at LCF other options
can include arranging to have prisoners speak to at-risk youth in various
counties in real-time via video teleconferencing, over the phone, or forming a
group of prisoners to write them letters or messages. Combinations of these
could also be helpful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At one point during my conversation with Hilson I conveyed
to him that no prisoner's life experiences can be reduced to a single story.
They are no more defined by their greatest accomplishment than they are by
their worst mistake. It is a culmination of their life experiences that defines
them. Not a snapshot in time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I also expressed the importance of remembering that 95% of
all prisoners return to their communities one day. They aren't banished to
another planet after they leave the courtroom never to be seen again. Some
people seem to embrace this false narrative, however, given the way prisoners
are demonized and portrayed as menacing, irredeemable figures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is a reality that must be acknowledged by all
stakeholders involved (e.g., judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, legislators,
members of the community, etc.) and taken seriously, so wrath can be replaced
with opportunity, and condemnation replaced with compassion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If we don't strive to erase the stigmas metaphorically
branded on returning citizens we run the chilling risk of transforming prisons
into monster factories by objectifying prisoners. We also risk exponentially
increasing the chances of these women/men recidivating and becoming deficits to
society rather than assets by creating a dismal culture of failure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to Simon Sinek, author of the New York Times
bestselling book, "Start With Why," "The more abstract people
become, the more capable we are of doing them harm." This is one of the
dangers of othering prisoners. Once we embark down that dark, narrow path it
becomes easier to dehumanize them and engage in abhorrent behavior towards
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hilson acknowledged that prisoners who have served decades
behind bars are not the same people they were at the time of their crimes. He
also expressed his belief that there are things prosecutors can learn about the
prison experience and prisoner's lives that can help better inform prosecutors
how to tailor punishment for offenders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The event was the first time Hilson participated in this
type of dialogue inside a prison since he has been a prosecutor. He expressed
his gratitude for being invited to participate and a willingness to return in
the future to build on the successful dialogue that began that day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was a positive experience teeming with teachable moments
for Hilson and his audience. A testament to the power of communication and
keeping an open mind even in a place where people frequently find themselves at
odds with one another as they struggle to cope with the daily horrors of
incarceration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The event also demonstrated that prosecutors and prisoners
can occupy the same space at the same time and have a thoughtful conversation.
Every point of contact doesn't have to be adversarial or in a courtroom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we can recognize the humanity in each other, regardless
of our station in life, we can collaborate to usher in a new reality born of
mutual respect and understanding. We also model the capacity of metanoia for
future generations who aspire to stand on our shoulders as they explore ways to
build a better future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hilson's visit was a step in the right direction to improve
prosecutor and prisoner relations. Hopefully it was only the first chapter of
working together to change the trajectory of troubled lives, help heal our
communities, and explore ways to foster redemption and second chances.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is one of Michigan's 230+ remaining
juvenile lifers awaiting resentencing. He is a blogger, change maker, and
social justice activist whose case is the subject of the recent documentary film
installation titled "Half Truths and Full Lies." You can learn more
about Efrén or the film by visiting <a href="http://facebook.com/Free.Efren">http://Facebook.com/Free.Efren</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-46257266760448722322019-07-22T15:01:00.001-05:002019-07-22T15:01:15.359-05:00Fed. Judge Makes Case to End Life Sentences for Juvenile Offenders<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B57Hp1ahtdYUxOpMYDGDunp8nf_RJ00gvMiRUJDkBJ3Q6vJZcpMrzFgwd2TLY0bliFarB7LOs0MbpvwUjrTctsh2x93C8Xyn_UQti1qdTSwSaRyC_KE1z2rTK4XWSlDdxsFK9SYiuyBw/s1600/99061560_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="760" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B57Hp1ahtdYUxOpMYDGDunp8nf_RJ00gvMiRUJDkBJ3Q6vJZcpMrzFgwd2TLY0bliFarB7LOs0MbpvwUjrTctsh2x93C8Xyn_UQti1qdTSwSaRyC_KE1z2rTK4XWSlDdxsFK9SYiuyBw/s320/99061560_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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by Efrén Paredes, Jr.</div>
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<a href="http://fb.com/Free.Efren" target="_blank">http://fb.com/Free.Efren</a><br />
July 19, 2019</div>
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A federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Michigan recently ruled that prison sentences are unconstitutional if they are
"the functional equivalent of life without parole" (LWOP), exceed a
juvenile offender's lifespan, or do not give the offender a "meaningful
opportunity for parole consideration."</div>
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<br />
The ruling was made by Judge Mark Goldsmith in the case Hill v. Whitmer, 2019
U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115855 (decided 7/12/19), regarding prisoners who were
sentenced to LWOP when they were juveniles ("juvenile lifers").<br />
<br />
In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory LWOP
sentences for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional and ordered the
resentencing of all 2,500 prisoners across the nation affected by the ruling.<br />
<br />
The Miller decision held that a LWOP sentence could now only be imposed on
juveniles in cases where judges have an option to mete out a term-of-years
sentence or a LWOP sentence. In other words, judges must have discretion to
choose.<br />
<br />
The court made it abundantly clear, however, that LWOP sentences could only be
imposed in cases where the juvenile offender is "irreparably corrupt"
and incapable of change. They also stated that the extreme sentence must become
"rare and uncommon."<br />
<br />
Contrary to popular belief, the high court did not ban LWOP sentences
altogether for juvenile offenders. They only struck down LWOP sentences in
cases where a mandatory sentence was the only sentence that could be imposed by
a judge at the time.<br />
<br />
In Michigan there were 373 prisoners who needed to be resentenced. Of that
number, 235 prisoners -- sixty-three percent -- have yet to be resentenced and continue serving
unconstitutional sentences.<br />
<br />
The inordinate delay has been the result of prosecutors abusing their authority
to arbitrarily file motions seeking LWOP sentences against hundreds of
prisoners who do not meet the requirements outlined in the landmark Miller
ruling. Their misconduct has resulted in the need for costly mitigation
hearings and expert witnesses at taxpayer expense.<br />
<br />
Judge Goldsmith's ruling strikes at the heart of Michigan's law regarding the
sentencing of juvenile lifers to extreme sentences. If a prison sentence that
exceeds a juvenile offender's lifespan is unconstitutional because it denies
the offender meaningful parole consideration, obviously a LWOP sentence that
will never provide them parole consideration does as well.<br />
<br />
Lawmakers continue clinging to pernicious punishment for juvenile offenders so
they can campaign as being "tough on crime" rather than "smart
on crime." LWOP sentences for juveniles would have been abolished years
ago as twenty-one other states have already done if not for legislators'
reticence to do the right thing.<br />
<br />
If lawmakers are unable to resolve this ongoing legal battle one sensible
solution is for Attorney General Dana Nessel to withdraw the motions filed by
prosecutors seeking LWOP sentences again for the remaining 235 juvenile lifer
cases. This would avert further delays, allow judges to schedule sentencing
hearings, and proceed as they normally do when performing other individualized
sentencing hearings.<br />
<br />
The impediment to moving forward would be removed and prosecutors could still
argue for imposition of radically extreme sentences, if they elect to do so.
Sentencing bodies are not marionettes to prosecutors, however. They are
independent thinkers who can interpret the law and will side with the U.S.
Supreme Court more often than they will with prosecutors in the vast majority
of cases.<br />
<br />
Another proposed solution is for Governor Whitmer to commute the sentences of
the remaining juvenile lifers awaiting resentencing to 25- to 60-year
sentences, and give jurisdiction to the Parole Board to begin reviewing the
cases for parole consideration after the prisoners have served twenty-five
years. After twenty-five years all juvenile lifers will have served well over
half their entire lives behind bars.<br />
<br />
By commuting their sentences the prisoners would all remain convicted and not
be released until the Parole Board determines they no longer pose a danger to
society. The prisoners would not automatically be released. The Parole Board
would use its wealth of resources to make these determinations as they do for
thousands of cases each year.<br />
<br />
Release of prisoners would be contingent upon their rehabilitation and what
they are doing with their time while incarcerated. Those who do not demonstrate
growth and maturity could remain incarcerated up to 60 years depending on their
behavior, if they live that long.<br />
<br />
Of the nearly seventy prisoners who have been paroled none have recidivated and
all have become productive members of society. Prisoners serving LWOP sentences
who are released have a less than one percent chance of recidivating. This is
the lowest recidivism risk of all offense categories.<br />
<br />
Commuting the sentences would also save taxpayers millions of dollars that
could be reinvested in schools and infrastructure projects rather than spent on
avoidable mitigation hearings. Conservative estimates have the cost of 235
hearings being upwards of $10 million to pay for attorneys, qualified expert
witnesses, and court hearings.<br />
<br />
Political theater and gamesmanship are not the solutions to correct failed
public policies that prizedeath-by-incarceration
sentences over rehabilitation and redemption for juvenile offenders. Creating
more injustice is not a solution to resolving injustice, it only compounds the
problem. We need more solutions not more problems.<br />
<br />
(Efrén Paredes, Jr. is one of Michigan's 235 juvenile lifers awaiting
resentencing. He is a blogger, change maker, and social justice activist whose
case is the subject of the recent documentary film "Half Truths and Full
Lies." You can learn more about Efrén or the film by visiting
<a href="http://facebook.com/Free.Efren">http://Facebook.com/Free.Efren</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-47672927363821112212019-03-04T16:36:00.001-05:002019-03-04T16:36:09.197-05:00"Half Truths and Full Lies" Film About Efren Paredes, Jr. Coming to Lansing, MI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnLGnpxQMnCKMIFlGYEsvXnlzbMFD0pBduVa6X5Dsak7khVXdarUI840QVlHCEP4S23LKTY9v5czWZRh2Qs2A4qHyOBqHsDl5GrZBGcsCLjMloo92Jlmo6NvlBD9myCh1eS2qsOcSF1sg/s1600/41741370_10156272569835189_7741685380038000640_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnLGnpxQMnCKMIFlGYEsvXnlzbMFD0pBduVa6X5Dsak7khVXdarUI840QVlHCEP4S23LKTY9v5czWZRh2Qs2A4qHyOBqHsDl5GrZBGcsCLjMloo92Jlmo6NvlBD9myCh1eS2qsOcSF1sg/s320/41741370_10156272569835189_7741685380038000640_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">You are cordially invited to the reception for the film installation "Half Truths and Full Lies."</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Half Truths and Full Lies" is a multi-channel documentary film installation that depicts the case of Efren Paredes, Jr. who was arrested at age 15 and sentenced to life without parole in 1989 for a murder he asserts he did not commit. He has spent two-thirds of his entire life behind bars and will soon be 46-years-old.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The reception is Friday, March 15, 2019, from 5 - 8 p.m.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Location:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Casa de Rosado</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">204 W. Mt. Hope</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Lansing, Michigan</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Filmmaker Tirtza Even and members of Efren's family will be </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">in attendance at the reception. Efren will also be calling in to the event from prison throughout the evening. He will be available to answer questions and participate in media interviews.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The reception is being held on the 30th anniversary o</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">f Efren's original arrest date. A selection of his essays, poetry; and an in-depth, revealing, exclusive new interview with him about his personal life and decades of experiences during his incarceration will also be available at the gallery. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">You are encouraged to use our Facebook event page to invite friends in your network to view the film installation, to share the event on your social media platforms, a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">nd ask others to do the same. The Facebook event page can be accessed at: <a href="http://www.bit.ly/HTFL315">www.bit.ly/HTFL315</a>. You can visit the event page for any updates between now and the opening reception.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">______________________________________________________________</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Half Truths and Full Lies" is a collaboration film project between nonfiction filmmakers Tirtza Even, Meg McLagan, and multimedia producer Elyse Blennerhassett.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The exhibit will be on display from March 15 - April 12, 2019. It is free and open to the public.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The film depicts, through documentation and reenactment, the case of Efren Paredes, Jr., a Latinx man from Michigan, who was arrested at age 15 and sentenced to life without parole for a homicide he asserts he did not commit.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The multi-channel installation takes on a Rashomon-like quality, as divergent accounts of the crime accrue, forming multiple portraits of Efren. These accounts reflect perspectives of a range of individuals, from a police detective detective to key witnesses from the tight-knit small town community who singled Efren out, as well as of those whose lives -- over the past 30 years -- were most affected by the teen's conviction: family members, teachers, and citizens who sat in judgment as jury members.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Half Truths and Full Lies" tells a story about a story; one constructed by a group of teens who appear to have conspired to set up their peer, and whose narrative played on stereotypical assumptions about racial minorities. This account b</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">ecame the only one the public and the jury got to hear, a</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">nd the one upon which the local police and prosecutor relied.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The installation, however, is also a story about a handful of alternative, untold stories, and at their center -- Efren's story of innocence. The project attempts to recuperate conflicting narrative possibilities, and to investigate the nature of truth-telling in both media and the law.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The goal of the film is to create a new form of storytelling that unfolds non-linear and in space: to surround the viewers with incompatible slivers of the narrative, and have them piece the story together themselves. Even when added up, however, the various angles of the story form a broken and inconsistent whole. The goal is to generate reasonable doubt about the narrative version used by the prosecutor, and to thus undermine its certainty.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cinematography and editing assistance: Yoni Goldstein</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Additional camera: Steve Maing and Gonzalo Escobar</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Sound mixing: Julian Flavin</span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-81443042150535899482019-02-06T15:32:00.001-05:002019-02-06T15:39:30.310-05:00 "The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences." <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaK4B2FWq0u_hFRd1Mb23Gvgqi1EGOyVm_p-K9GZDMtS1KShb_WkMqxqzmnJfh5aZ5_szIieMJNRomdoQ8eE5opAP9PT9YtY8nOfheqUZ2gWsu4uP7AdQNGIU4P-05FA-ts_ti3wfinQn/s1600/meaning_of_life_final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnaK4B2FWq0u_hFRd1Mb23Gvgqi1EGOyVm_p-K9GZDMtS1KShb_WkMqxqzmnJfh5aZ5_szIieMJNRomdoQ8eE5opAP9PT9YtY8nOfheqUZ2gWsu4uP7AdQNGIU4P-05FA-ts_ti3wfinQn/s320/meaning_of_life_final.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">by Efren Paredes, Jr.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;" />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">A new book titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Life-Case-Abolishing-Sentences/dp/1620974096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549484753&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Meaning+of+Life" target="_blank">"The Meaning of Life: The Case for Abolishing Life Sentences"</a> by Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis was recently released. In the book the authors provide a litany of compelling reasons why the practice of sentencing prisoners to life in prison is misguided and inhumane.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Marc Mauer is the Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, a national organization based in Washington, DC, that promotes </span><nobr style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">criminal justice</nobr><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> reform. He is also the author of "Race to Incarcerate" and "Invisible Punishment." Ashley Nellis is a senior research analyst for The Sentencing Project who has written extensively on the prevalence of life sentences in the United States.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Mauer and Nellis argue that there is no practical or moral justification for a sentence longer than twenty years. Harsher sentences have been shown to have little effect on crime rates, and a broad body of research demonstrates that people "age out" of crime, meaning that lawmakers are wastefully spending significant </span><nobr style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">resources</nobr><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> to incarcerate individuals who pose little or no threat to public safety.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">They cite the 2017 Model Penal Code of The American Law Institute, a well-regarded, nonpartisan body of legal scholars, which concluded that "terms for single offenses in excess of 20 years are rarely justified on proportionality grounds, and are too long to serve most utilitarian purposes." Its standards are in alignment with the American Bar Association which has called for the length of sentences to be "no longer than needed to serve the purposes for which it was imposed." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">According to Mauer and Nellis, "Lengthy prison terms lead to diminished returns for public safety and distort how criminal justice resources are allocated. ...They also deny the possibility of redemption and reconnection to the community for individuals who no longer resemble the much younger lawbreakers who committed a serious crime for which they are incarcerated."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The book features important profiles of redemption about the lives of people who endured years experiencing the horrors of languishing in prison, were eventually released, and went on to become contributing members of society. It is an important contrast to the steady stream of negative stories depicted in the media which attempt to paint all offenders with the broad brush of failure.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">One of the men Mauer writes about in the book is Ahmad Rahman. Rahman was one of my first mentors I corresponded with in prison during and after his incarceration. After having his sentence commuted by the Governor and being released from prison he went on to earn his PhD in African-American and African Studies.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">After earning his PhD Rahman later became a professor at the University of Toledo and University of Michigan-Dearborn, respectively. He would </span><nobr style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">surprise</nobr><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> me by occasionally mailing me copies of peer-reviewed journal articles and other educational materials to foster my education which he knew I enjoyed reading. Unfortunately, while reading Mauer's story about Rahman in the book, I learned that he died of a </span><nobr style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">heart attack</nobr><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> since we last corresponded.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Rahman's story is one among the many success stories of former prisoners who have returned to the community and did great work after serving decades of incarceration. Had he remained in prison for the remainder of his life the world would have been denied the benefit of receiving the gifts he had to offer.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Reviews of the book include:</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I can think of no authors more qualified to weigh in on the complex impact of life sentences than Marc Mauer and Ashley Nellis. If ever there was a doubt that such sentences are deeply inhumane, one need only read their book. You will find yourself both horrified and deeply, irrevocably, moved." --Heather Ann Thompson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Blood in the Water"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">"Sure to have a profound impact on legislators and everyday citizens across America. The Sentencing Project started working on criminal justice reform long before it became fashionable. Combining impeccable research with smart policy recommendations, their work continues to set the gold standard." --James Foreman, Jr., author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Locking Up Our Own"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">"A blistering indictment of America's practice of sentencing people to die in prison that dares readers to change the way we think about public safety, redemption, and justice. Essential reading for anyone committed to restoring legitimacy to our institutions." --Vanita Gupta president and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I highly recommend that anyone interested in learning more about the policy of sentencing people to life in prison read this book. It is well-sourced and demonstrates why medieval failed practices of the past are incapable of solving the complex carceral problems of today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">(Efren Paredes, Jr. is a Michigan prisoner who has been incarcerated 30 years since age fifteen. He is the subject of the new documentary film titled "Half Truths and Full Lies," a social justice advocate, blogger, father, and husband.)</span></span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-32911304206310504912018-12-19T12:10:00.000-05:002018-12-27T12:13:29.599-05:00Inside the Political World of Efren Paredes, Jr.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">by Carlos Vicario</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The following is the first in a series of interviews
conducted with Efren Paredes, Jr. during the past six months. The first
installment shares his views about America's current state of politics.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Carlos Vicario (CV): For starters Efren, what are your thoughts
about the recent midterm elections?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Efren Paredes, Jr. (EPJ): I was pleased with the
record-breaking increase in national voter turnout. I predicted it would happen
based on a number of variables I have been closely observing the past several
years. It was also great to see so many first-time voters go to the polls and
use their voice to speak truth to power. Many of them were women, people of
color, and young voters.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Another impressive result was the historic number of women
and most diverse freshman class ever elected to Congress. Democrats garnered a
crushing 9 million more votes than the GOP during the midterms and took back
the U.S. House (picking up 40 more seats). Voters sent a strong message to
Washington that there would be government oversight now and things will no
longer be business as usual.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The nation's demographics are rapidly changing. Each year a
million Latinx youth are becoming eligible to vote nationwide, not to mention
the numbers of other communities of color. There are also thousands of people
moving to the mainland from the island of Puerto Rico who many forget are U.S.
citizens eligible to vote; the same people the Trump administration neglected
after hurricane Maria.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A recent study revealed that there was a 96% increase of Latinx
voters in the 2018 midterm election from the 2014 midterms. It also reflected
that 80% of them voted Democrat and one-fourth of them were first time voters.
These numbers are a signal of what else is to come in a digital age that is
accelerating the transformation of the electorate at warp speed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In a major move that is certain to tip the political scales
in Florida, an important state that the 2020 presidential candidate will
desperately need to win the next election, voters passed a ballot initiative
restoring voting rights to a million and a half disenfranchised formerly
incarcerated citizens of that state. That number will add a large number of
people of color to the voter rolls.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The Florida Governor and U.S. Senate races were only won by
very slim margins. The number of new eligible first-time voters could easily
change Florida from a red to blue state in 2020. And, not only is that highly
likely to occur in Florida, it is probable in other red states around the
country as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: What do you believe brought voters out to the polls in
such large numbers during the 2018 midterm elections?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: Some of the primary reasons included a huge resistance
movement against efforts at systemic voter suppression, increased efforts by
voters of color to educate and energize their base, and the highly divisive and toxic</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> climate of the nation which has been fueled by the
racist, misogynist, anti-immigrant Trump rhetoric.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The nation has witnessed a surge in hate crimes since Trump
took office in 2016. When voters entered the sanctity of the voting booth many
did so haunted by the images of Tiki torch wielding white nationalists at a
2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump all but endorsed them by
characterizing the protesters as having "good people on both sides."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Though Trump's rhetoric has played well with his base he has
alienated huge swaths of the nation. During the 2016 general election many
voters of color, young people, and women stayed home</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> instead of going to the ballot box. These voters
realized how their absence hurt the country morally and politically and it
brought them back out to reengage in 2018.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A huge credit for the uptick in voter engagement must also be
given to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that have swept the nation with
their message of women empowerment and solidarity. They definitely deserve
major credit for seating over 100 women in Congress for the first time in
history. It is a demographic that Trump foolishly continues to offend, disparage,
and debase on a frequent basis.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Do you believe the Democratic party is the future
political choice for voters of this country based on current voter trends?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: If the Democratic party is to continue</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> attracting and retaining women voters and voters from
communities of color the party will need to pay closer attention to the needs
of these demographics and properly represent them. Democrats cannot become
complacent and assume that they are safe politically because they had so much
success during the midterms. It would be divorced from reality.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Political parties have long taken for granted voters from communities
of color, as well as women, young people, and the impoverished. Moving forward,
this shameful approach to mistreating and devaluing voters is tantamount to
political suicide. It is a failing strategy for winning future election cycles
and a sure way to destroy a political party.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">According to the results of a Gallup Poll released November
26, 2018 Trump's disapproval numbers have descended to a historic 60%. Only 38%
expressed their approval. As the nation braces for the release of the Trump
investigation report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller legal experts like Alan
Dershowitz are forecasting the results will be devastating to Trump.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It is also noted that the same night the Gallup Poll was
released Sen. Mia Love (R-Utah) stated in her concession speech to the
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in her race that Trump's relationship with
Blacks is transactional. Love, who is African-American, was a recent target of
Trump who predicted she would lose her Senate seat to a Democrat during the
midterm election. He expressed gratitude about Love's defeat because of her
refusal to embrace him during her race for office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">The party of Trump is
pushing voters away by the millions and almost no one from the party is
condemning the devastating damage he is causing them. That persistent trend
will likely remain constant for the next two years and continue eroding his
party. His insistence on celebrating corrosive language is making him
radioactive to the party.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Having been incarcerated nearly 30 years since 1989 how
have you developed your political acumen and remained current about the subject?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: I read books about politics, social issues, history,
etc.; as well as an array of magazines, and newspapers, and I watch CNN, FOX
News, PBS, C-SPAN, NBC News, and Univison</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> news shows daily. I also listen to BBC News and several
programs on NPR throughout the day from early morning until late in the evening
each day. I have a steady diet </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">of diverse external reference points each day that help
me stay updated about current events.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I also have an amazing family, wonderful friends, and a
support network of caring people that send</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> me printouts of current information from the Internet</span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> and research things for me I want to learn more about.
They share things with me on the phone, during visits, and in emails/letters as
well. I have been able to experience things vicariously through them and they
are frequently my guides through the rapidly changing and often dizzying world.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Do you find it difficult to watch CNN and FOX News, two
networks with polarized views of each other?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: No. I think it is important for people to hear all
perspectives of issues rather than sit in an echo chamber each day. We don't
learn, grow, and change responsibly if we drown out opposing voices with static
personal beliefs. When the facts change our minds should change as well. Life
doesn't operate in a straight line. The more external reference points we have
to make decisions in our lives the better off we are in the long run.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Never changing our minds is symptomatic of insecurity and
being trapped in a limited, self-absorbed world. I learn from people with
opposing views each day. I may not always agree with them, but it doesn't
always make me right and make them wrong. We can both learn from each other and
should be encouraged to do so.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: What motivates you to follow politics and elections as
closely as you do?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: For decades people from communities of color and women
were devalued and denied the right to vote. People have died, protested, and
suffered an untold number of injuries for our democracy. We also have brave
service women and men stationed around the world who bravely defend our
democracy. I would characterize it as a betrayal of our democratic values and
being un-American not to be civically engaged.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As for following politics, I think the answer is clear: to
not be concerned with it would be dangerous and akin to not being concerned
with the future. Our elected officials represent us. Whether we are prisoners
or free citizens we can affect policies and encourage citizens to become
engaged politically. We can educate people about their right to vote and teach
them the value of becoming civically engaged.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A recent study Florida revealed that formerly incarcerated
citizens who are civically engaged have lower recidivism rates than those who
are not. This is important. It is one of many reasons I encourage prisoners to
register to vote when they are released to the community. Not only is it good
for them, it is also good for the community.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">People have a vested interest in protecting things they feel
a part of and participate in. I know this firsthand when it comes to prisoners
because I see the pride they take in learning new skills and how dedicated they
are to constructive projects I invite them to be a part of. Many of them didn't
have people who encouraged them to learn and grow previous to their
imprisonment.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">On a personal level, there is also a rewarding feeling each
time I hear from excited formerly incarcerated people after casting their first
votes. Even though I wasn't able to vote there are many others who are able to
vote because of the contact we made behind bars. That means something to me
because every time they are released from prison a part of me goes with them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Would you consider participating in voter engagement when
released from prison?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: Yes, it is my civic duty. I would be a strong advocate
and voice for underserved people, women, young people, and communities of color
who have been marginalized and taken for granted. I have done this for many
years both inside and outside of prison and it has prepared me to help people
in my community when I am eventually released.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In prison I have learned to live with and communicate with
people of different races, religions, beliefs, and ethnic backgrounds. I have
built bridges between these communities and earned the respect of countless
prisoners and staff. I have been elected to serve over 20 terms as a unit
representative at different prisons, served multiple terms on the board of
directors of various self-help organizations, and co-facilitated (alongside
prison staff) courses on conflict resolution for prisoners.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I have developed the necessary communication, leadership, and
political skills that would make me an asset to my community not only on a
political front but also in countless other ways. I would be able to connect
with people from areas others may be unwilling or unable to connect with,
including our youth. I welcome the chance to use my skills and talents for the
benefit of humanity on a broader stage when the opportunity presents itself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">CV: Is there a voter
demographic that you feel is overlooked by politicians or that doesn’t receive
much attention by them?<br />
<br />
EPJ: I think a powerful voting block that is frequently ignored is formerly
incarcerated people and the families and friends of currently incarcerated
people. There are tens of thousands of formerly incarcerated people in
Michigan. There are also over 100,000 people currently in prison, jail, on
probation or parole in the state.<br />
<br />
Most of these people have family and friends. If only 10 of their family
members or friends form an organized voting block they will easily garner
over one million votes. They can use their votes to produce criminal justice
reform and change the offices of elected officials from the local level all
the way to the Governor's office. This includes electing mayors, judges,
prosecutors, State Senators, State Representatives, Attorney General,
Secretary of State, etc.<br />
<br />
Many people have the misfortune of having a family member behind bars or know
someone entangled in the vicious cycle of mass incarceration. It is a
disturbing crisis that studies have recognized for decades but politicians
are only now having the courage to acknowledge they were complicit in
creating. Several states have made changes to draconian policies in their
jurisdictions in recent years and more are following the trend.<br />
<br />
Criminal justice reform has also begun occurring at the highest levels of
government. December 18, 2018 the U.S. Senate passed the "First
Steps" bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate vote was a
staggering 87-12. It is the largest overhaul to the criminal justice system
in decades. The changes would support good time initiatives, second chances
for offenders, and numerous other progressive reforms for the Federal Bureau
of Prisons.<br />
<br />
Trump has already stated he will sign the bill as a President of everyone,
"including those who have made mistakes." He recognizes the prison
industrial complex experiment has woefully failed to reduce crime, has
shamefully wasted billions in taxpayer dollars, and resulted in too many
inordinate sentences that do not make the nation safer. Trump also expressed
that he supports second chances.<br />
<br />
CV: Do you believe that the issue of criminal justice reform will remain a
major issue in the years to come?<br />
<br />
EPJ: It will definitely remain a major issue until the broken system is
completely overhauled. The apparatus has adversely impacted communities for
decades based on flawed policies and predictions. Recent reforms are a first
step, as the bill's name suggests, in a long road of needed change. While it
is a step in the right direction it is only a start.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately millions of lives have suffered and been destroyed as a
consequence of the misguided policies. Mass incarceration is the leading
civil rights issue of our day and has drawn the global disdain of other
nations. The U.S. shamefully incarcerates more of its citizens than any other
nation in the world including China and Russia.<br />
<br />
If 95% of people behind bars will one day return to society as reflected in
statistics how do we want those people to reenter society? Do we want them to
be bitter and uneducated, or better and equipped with the skills to become
assets and contributing members of their communities? Common sense informs us
the choice is very clear.<br />
<br />
We have to look for ways to resolve the crisis humanely with reason and
logic. Allowing emotion to override these things and act irrationally
will continue to result in myriad failed solutions. The callous and
unforgiving impulse to incarcerate people and dispose of their lives by
throwing away the key will only continue driving us further into the pit of
moral darkness.<br />
<br />
On a spiritual level I believe it also contravenes pro-life views and
Biblical philosophy. If believers aspire to promote Christian values they are
moving in the opposite direction by condemning people to perpetual
incarceration. I believe it is a betrayal of Christ's teachings to abandon
the concept of redemption and ignore the intrinsic value of our fellow
citizens.<br />
<br />
CV: How long do you think we should keep offenders in prison for crimes they
have committed?<br />
<br />
EPJ: While I think every case is different and each one calls for different
punishment I believe people who make mistakes deserve a second chance. This
is especially true in the case of juvenile offenders who have the enormous
capacity for change. There are a number of variables that should be taken
into consideration.<br />
<br />
Though there may be people who need to be incarcerated for long periods of
time in some instances, the decision when/if to release each prisoner should
be left up to the Parole Board. They can review the progress of prisoners
during their incarceration and use their wealth of resources and risk
assessment instruments to assess a prisoner's risk to the public if released.<br />
<br />
Once the Parole Board determines a prisoner has been rehabilitated and no
longer poses a danger to society the prisoner should become eligible for
parole consideration. Incarcerating a person beyond the time necessary to
rehabilitate them is cruel, inhumane, and a violation of United Nations
treaties.<br />
<br />
As former Michigan Department of Corrections Director Patricia Caruso stated
while in office, we have to distinguish between who we are afraid of and who
we are angry with; we can't conflate the two. Blind anger has driven much of
our criminal justice policy in the past. It has clouded our rational judgment
and sensibilities and is no way for the greatest nation in the world to treat
its citizens.<br />
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">CV: Do you support or oppose life sentences for offenders?</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: I oppose any life sentence or virtual life sentence
(e.g., long indeterminate sentence) that does not provide prisoners periodic
meaningful release opportunities by demonstrating maturity and rehabilitation.
Sentences that do not allow for this in a fair and realistic way are tantamount
to death-by-incarceration.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Rather than issuing life sentences I believe it is more
sensible and fiscally responsible for the legislature to grant the Parole Board
jurisdiction to begin considering juvenile offenders for release every two
years after serving a minimum 15 years. I would support adult offenders being
considered for release by the Parole Board every two years after serving a
minimum 20 years.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">If an offender does not demonstrate growth and maturity
during that time they will remain incarcerated and continue </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">participating in rehabilitative programming until they change.
There may be cases where some people are never released. But it is a decision
that should be determined by the Parole Board during periodic reviews, not
years in advance by sentencing bodies who are unable to realistically predict
the future.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Life teaches people that the further away they get from a
tragedy the more time they have to examine the situation and see it clearly. It
also affords agents of the criminal justice system time to more objectively
process events and examine prisoners' lives through the lens of redemption,
rather than one that only seeks to condemn and banish them from society.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Can you offer any data or research that supports your
opinion about this issue?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: Most criminologists, social scientists, and reasonably
minded corrections professionals who work around prisoners daily will agree</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> with this assessment. Aging, harsh isolation, rehabilitative
programming, having a support network, and other factors contribute to reducing
the risk of prisoners reoffending.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Of the thousands of prisoners I have spoken to who have been
incarcerated more than 20 years, who are guilty of the crime they were
convicted of, I have never met a single person who does not deeply regret his
actions. They also emphatically state they would not do it again if they had
the chance to relive the moment they made their tragic mistake.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The possibility of dying in prison after spending decades of
incarceration changes people forever. It also helps them learn to cherish their
freedoms and develop a greater appreciation for the sanctity of life.
Statistics reflect that people serving life without parole sentences have a
less than half of one percent chance of reoffending if released. Prisoners
serving parolable life sentences have less than a two percent chance of
reoffending.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The national recidivism rate for all offense categories of
prisoners is closer to 45%. This means that prisoners serving life sentences
have the lowest reoffense rate of all other offense categories combined. The
evidence of risk is in the facts and numbers. My personal experience in the
carceral system and an index of research and data all support this.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Are you saying that you believe using the criminal
justice system to exact revenge is wrong?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: Criminal offenses are wrong and I support punishment for
them, but I do not support it absent rehabilitation. The criminal justice
system was never designed as an instrument for revenge. I believe that
inflicting more pain i</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;">n a reciprocal world will not decrease the impact of a crime
being done. It only compounds the misery suffered by everyone affected and
destabilizes communities by impeding the path to peace and reconciliation.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Do you think you would ever consider running for
political office when you are released one day?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: I have no desire to seek political office of any kind
upon release. I have a friend who worked as a legislative aide to a Michigan
State Representative after serving nearly two decades in prison who found it to
be a positive experience. I wouldn't rule out ever working for/with someone
holding political office or assisting them in some capacity, but I wouldn't
want to hold any office myself. I believe I can serve people in my community in
more ways than just politically and I don't want to restrict myself to
promoting party politics.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: What do you mean when you say you don't want to promote
"party politics"?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: I will not support an individual party's platform that
is not designed to serve everyone equally regardless of race, gender, religion,
sexual orientation, or economic status. To me it should be about people before
party. We should elect people based on what they support and policies they plan
to change not based on what party they represent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I don't think political parties are evolving with the times
as rapidly as they should and many in their leadership are practicing throwback
era politics. We need change that reflects inclusion in all aspects of
politics. I support a progressive platform which also includes a broad
coalition of people that will introduce policies which reflect this vision.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">CV: Efren, thank you for answering my questions. I look
forward to sharing the rest of our interview with our readers in the weeks to
come.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">EPJ: Thank you.</span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">(Efren Paredes, Jr. is a Michigan prisoner and subject of a new multi-channel documentary film installation, "Half Truths and Full Lies." He is also a blogger, social justice activist, and youth advocate. You can learn more about Efren by visiting <a href="http://www.fb.com/Free.Efren">www.fb.com/Free.Efren</a> and <a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016">www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016</a>.)</span></span>Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-53691232474446777772018-11-17T16:07:00.000-05:002018-12-10T16:16:40.407-05:00Ambassadors of Light (Part 3 of 3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHDPfmuR3nAIs70WQU0YZlPa_ZPFsXAB9459aTioztMKvfPlvu0oOgxExYbZ4ZrT9Dr-gUHlkTrMUy1IaFfwfFFb6Ew1UDBHRmy_Y31VY1ijRa2qhIhjocgrN0hzyHvGMR5QdDTA6TRbM/s1600/one-day-with-God-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHDPfmuR3nAIs70WQU0YZlPa_ZPFsXAB9459aTioztMKvfPlvu0oOgxExYbZ4ZrT9Dr-gUHlkTrMUy1IaFfwfFFb6Ew1UDBHRmy_Y31VY1ijRa2qhIhjocgrN0hzyHvGMR5QdDTA6TRbM/s320/one-day-with-God-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white;">by Efren Paredes, Jr.</span><br />
<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Unpacking the Day</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After the conclusion of the camp I returned to
my housing unit and called my wife to tell her about the day. When we spoke she
told me my daughter was really excited when she left being with me and rejoined
her in the parking lot. She pointed out, however, that shortly after they got
into the car and began exiting the parking lot my daughter began crying.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">When my wife asked her if she was alright she
silently nodded in the affirmative. My wife then asked her if she had a lot of
emotions that had accrued throughout the day and my daughter again nodded up
and down, indicating that she did. She was clearly overwhelmed and trying to
process the storm of emotions she was experiencing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I understood what my daughter was feeling
because I, too, was feeling engulfed by the day. After speaking to my wife on
the phone I went to my cell and briefly spoke to my cellmate. He was excited
for me and asked how the day went. I told him it went really well but kept my
remarks brief. I added that I would share more </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">details</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> with him later on. Shortly thereafter he
left the cell to give me some space.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Once I was completely alone in the cell I was
able to reflect more on the day and how emotionally exhausting it was absent
any distractions. I hadn't had another experience like it in three decades of
incarceration. I knew it was all positive though and that was what I remained
focused on. It was a series of special moments I would be able to share with my
daughter for years to come.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Visits from family and friends are always a mix
of happiness and sadness for prisoners. It is a time when prisoners drop their
guard and allow themselves to experience some semblance of normalcy with people
who not only genuinely love and care about them, but also miss them
tremendously.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It is also a time when prisoners and their loved
ones know that as each second on the clock slowly ticks away they grow
increasingly closer to the moment their precious time together will be
terminated until they have the good fortune of visiting again. For some people
that opportunity may not arrive again for weeks. For others it could be months
or even years depending on a broad range of unpredictable variables beyond
their control.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Most prisoners spend their days expending
exhaustive energy suppressing and masking their emotions around their peers as
a way to survive and cope with their isolation and painful separation from
loved ones. It also helps them battle against the debilitating feeling of
loneliness that seemingly seeks to incessantly suffocate their hopes and aspirations.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It is akin to being held captive in a
self-imposed mental and emotional prison. It is also an unproductive way of
processing thoughts and emotions. Internalizing corrosive thoughts is
antithetical to growth and can result in long-term damage to a prisoner's life
and relationships.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">This day was different though. It was a day
filled with many firsts I had never experienced with my daughter before and
there was nothing for me to juxtapose it with. As one prisoner who participated
in a previous camp told me ahead of this year's event, "It will be better
than the best visit you've ever had."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Over the years I have learned the importance of
finding ways to process my thoughts and emotions in prosocial ways through a
culmination of extensive research, experience, and guidance from therapists.
Though it has taken a great deal of introspective work it has equipped me with
the necessary skills to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">create</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> and maintain healthy relationships, as well
as help others.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I concluded the day knowing I made good choices
for my daughter, family, and myself. I shared experiences with my daughter that
will have an enduring impact on her life and shape her </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">future</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> in myriad ways. Few incarcerated fathers
will be fortunate enough to experience such an amazing life-changing day behind
the merciless walls of prison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the books we
received the previous day was titled "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young.
It is a beautifully bound book of daily devotional readings. An excerpt for
October 5, the first day the "1 Day With God" camp began states,
"True Joy is a by-product of living in [Jesus'] Presence. Therefore you
can experience it in palaces, in prisons ... anywhere."</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">This passage encapsulates the sentiments shared
by many fathers who participated in the camp. Several characterized it as the
best day they had ever experienced in prison. A number of them felt they were
not even in prison for six hours, and many said it marked a new beginning for
them and their child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">One of the fathers was able to meet his
6-year-old daughter for the first time ever during the camp. Another father met
his 10-year-old son for the first time, and one father told the story about
only being able to see his 12-year-old son four times during the past seven
years because of the camp.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Circumstances with their families prevented them
from previously seeing their children. Some are financially unable to travel,
some have not had good relations with the child's mother, some are not approved
to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">visit
the</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> prison because of
outstanding unpaid tickets, some fathers only recently learned they had a
child, among a host of other issues.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Two of the children traveled a considerable
distance to participate in the camp that day. One child flew from Kentucky to
Detroit and then had to coordinate with other family members to make the
four-hour drive from Detroit to Manistee. The other child traveled 17 hours by
car from Georgia to be there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Each of the fathers was
consumed with emotion by the end of the camp and their hearts and minds were
indelibly seared by the memories that were created. At the conclusion of the
balloon ceremony one volunteer with tears in his eyes who observed the open
displays of affection and joy between fathers and their children said,
"This is exactly why we do these camps. It is worth all the hard work and
preparation that goes into every single one. It changes lives forever."</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The family members or caregivers who traveled to
bring a child to participate in the camp were heroes that day. Without their
willingness to contribute their time, energy, and financial resources the
children could not have experienced the camp with their father. They put the
children before themselves and demonstrated a selfless act of service and
concern for the future of each child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Several families, including mine, traveled to
Manistee the previous day and stayed </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in
a hotel</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> to
ensure the child they brought would arrive at the church Saturday morning at 8
am. My wife and daughter stayed in a </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.jpay.com/IncomingMailView.aspx?encLetterID=FlCnWFEQ_JHOrm6L8zM2iYbuUAORhrDXMTDX5M11M990iHWuB_8I-A7x0&IsArchived=False">hotel</a></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Saturday evening as well so they could
visit me the following day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The volunteers who hosted the event were
incredibly organized, dedicated, and committed to making the camp a success.
They were very kind and respectful people of faith who modeled Christian values
in both their words and actions. Many of them have hosted several camps in the
past and expressed eagerness to host many more in the future.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The day also would not have been possible
without the cooperation and support of Chaplain Paul Duby who helped coordinate
the event along with members of Warden Lester Parish's administration and
custody staff who oversaw the security aspect of the event. The prison staff
present that day were helpful and courteous.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The camp gave me an even deeper appreciation for
fatherhood than I previously had. While I have been doing my best to fulfill my
role as a father to my daughter despite my physical absence, the camp provided
me an opportunity to interact with my daughter and for us to see each other
through a lens never before possible.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Despite my physical absence I do my best to stay
involved in my daughter's life daily and make my presence felt. I call my wife
daily to see how they are doing and speak to my daughter nearly every time I
call if she isn't doing homework or busy with other productive activities. I
also write her letters and send her greeting cards.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">My daughter and I work on her homework together,
talk about her day at school, and I have her read me her daily affirmation when
we talk on the phone. Before her soccer games I call and offer her words of
encouragement. I tell her even if she doesn't win I am proud of her because I
know she did her best. I also remind her that we have to fail or lose in life
in order to learn or get better at things sometimes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">My wife brings my daughter to visit as often as
she can. When we visit we play board games, read books, and talk as much as we
can. It's always frustrating because visiting room rules do not allow prisoners
to get up from their chairs once they are seated. They are only permitted to
leave their chair to greet their visitors, for </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">photos</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">, and when leaving the visiting room.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">These inordinate rules severely restrict
interactions between prisoners and their children during visits. It is also
often very demoralizing for children and something incarcerated parents must
expend a great deal of energy and creativity combating to prevent. If they
don't it can result in irreparable harm to their relationship and to the child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Children are too young to understand why a
parent can not hold them or play with them during prison visits when their
other parent does it at home daily. It can cause some children to begin feeling
rejected or a sense of abandonment by their incarcerated parent and develop
resentment toward them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I did not realize the full impact it would have
on my daughter to see me do simple things like run, dribble a basketball, lay
on the ground, do pull-ups, give her a piggyback ride, cheer her on during
competitions we partnered in together, dance with her, give her gifts in
person, or </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">create</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> a craft with her. Though I could assume how
she may interpret these things for the first time I had no previous way of
contrasting them with previous experiences with her to know with certainty.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">At best all I had was hope and conjecture which
cannot be equated or juxtaposed with experience. Once we experienced these
things together I discovered how much deeper our father/daughter bond evolved.
It also demonstrated firsthand how much of an impact I can have on my daughter
when physically present and reinforced why it is so important for me to be a
positive role model for her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In many ways the camp allowed my daughter to see
me as a fully functional father for the first time ever, not just a man saying
things fathers do. I was actually humanized in her eyes. Not only was she able
to hear words of inspiration she was able to observe the corresponding actions.
She was able to see both symbol and substance in motion.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">My daughter has taught me myriad valuable
lessons about life since her birth. She has taught me to be more compassionate,
empathetic, understanding, patient, tolerant, respectful, and the amount of
work and dedication it takes to properly raise a child. She also singlehandedly
dismantled previously held distorted views and stereotypes I regrettably
adopted about the limitations and roles of women and girls I learned growing
up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The birth of a child
changes a parent and alters the trajectory of their lives forever. The new
family member becomes the heartbeat of their sphere and center of their orbit.
A child creates a tectonic shift in their thinking, redefines their identity,
and introduces them to a new concept of love.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Having a daughter has taught me that the refrain
women and girls "should stay in their </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">place</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">" is flawed and offensive. Instead, I now
recognize and know that a woman or girl's place is everywhere. It took her
birth for me to truly recognize the importance of gender equality and fierce
urgency of combating female objectification and misogyny.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I am now the first to admit I have made mistakes
in the past when it comes to some of the shameful views about gender roles, the
myths of male privilege, and corrosiveness of pernicious patriarchy that I
learned growing up in a morally challenged society. My daughter has created
paradigm shifts in my life that would not have occurred absent her enormous
presence in my life.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Gone from my life are the distorted views of
power imbalances and limitations which previously mislead me to regrettably
believe it was acceptable for women to be subjected to in relationships. My
daughter deconstructed the false notion that women are subordinate to men in
relationships, and replaced it with the wisdom that men and women must always
be equals.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The birth of my daughter has also provided me
myriad didactic lessons in humanity, and the need to assiduously strive to
fulfill the most important role and responsibility I will ever have in life: to
become the best father I can ever be, empower my daughter to accomplish
anything her male counterparts can in life, and relentlessly foster her genius.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">My wife and I are reminded about the caring and
empathetic qualities of our daughter as she channels these characteristics in
her daily life. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Last year she became the first second-grader in
her school to be awarded the "Kind Hero Award" for helping a little
boy from her class find his lost lunch </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">money</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> in the cafeteria. She even reminds my wife
and I during conversations we are having that she senses tension in that we
aren't using empathy.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Within recent weeks my daughter brought the
presence of a knife she discovered in the school bathroom to the attention of
her teacher which likely averted a potentially harmful situation. She
constantly reflects the lessons my wife and I instill in her about treating
others the way we want to be treated and valuing the lives and wellbeing of
others.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I believe we can be the catalyst for change in
prison and beyond its walls by offering incarcerated men healthy alternative
narratives to consider about women and girls so they can learn, change, and
grow. It is one way to help them reshape the contours of their consciousness
and make our communities safer since 90% of them will return to society one
day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I can't think of many better places than prisons
to foster the eradication of </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">toxic</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> masculinity and transform adult males into
men of integrity. Men who remain dysfunctional and mentally incarcerated will
return to society as liabilities instead of assets. It is imperative that we
encourage them to become their best and leave a legacy of responsible manhood
for the next generation.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As incarcerated fathers learn the skills to
serve and support our children they will become equipped to reduce the risk of
children developing ungovernable behaviors or becoming susceptible to
maladaptive reactions in one or more areas of functioning. They will also
recognize we collectively have an obligation to help children thrive, maximize
their potential, and fulfill their dreams. In so doing they can become a
driving force to strengthen and stabilize families and communities.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Efforts like "One Day With God" camps
can help vanquish the miasma of paralyzing fear and despair that has held
incarcerated fathers captive far too long. They may not be a panacea, but they
are certainly a worthy enterprise producing compelling results which deserve
widespread public support.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Previous to the camp I have avoided discussing
my daughter in writings I share in the public domain to shield her from the
public eye. The treasured experience of our day together at the "One Day
With God" camp was so important, however, that I felt I should share it in
hopes that others can learn and benefit from its lessons and insight.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">One of the biggest takeaways from the camp is
how much children need their fathers in their lives. If I was able to impact my
daughter's life the way I did in a single day during the camp it is a testament
to the profound impact I will be able to have on her life daily when I am
fortunate enough to be released. Being a constant presence in her life will
allow me to inspire her to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">continue</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> being confident, brilliant, and be her best
self each day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In the meantime I look forward to my daughter
receiving the video of camp photographs from event organizers so she can
revisit the memories of that day whenever she desires. It will also serve as a
frequent reminder to her about how much her father loves her and how proud I am
she is my daughter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">(Efren Paredes, Jr. is a Michigan prisoner and
subject of a new multi-channel documentary film installation, "Half Truths
and Full Lies." He is also a blogger, social justice activist, and youth
advocate. You can learn more about Efren by visiting <a href="http://www.fb.com/Free.Efren">www.fb.com/Free.Efren</a> and
<a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016">www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-14444183497541994482018-11-07T15:58:00.000-05:002018-12-10T16:16:25.266-05:00Ambassadors of Light (Part 2 of 3)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHDPfmuR3nAIs70WQU0YZlPa_ZPFsXAB9459aTioztMKvfPlvu0oOgxExYbZ4ZrT9Dr-gUHlkTrMUy1IaFfwfFFb6Ew1UDBHRmy_Y31VY1ijRa2qhIhjocgrN0hzyHvGMR5QdDTA6TRbM/s1600/one-day-with-God-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHDPfmuR3nAIs70WQU0YZlPa_ZPFsXAB9459aTioztMKvfPlvu0oOgxExYbZ4ZrT9Dr-gUHlkTrMUy1IaFfwfFFb6Ew1UDBHRmy_Y31VY1ijRa2qhIhjocgrN0hzyHvGMR5QdDTA6TRbM/s320/one-day-with-God-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">by Efren Paredes, Jr.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Day Two</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30 am and could
not return to sleep. I had a difficult time getting to sleep the previous night
eagerly anticipating what the following day would be like. My mind raced as I
tried hard not to forget everything I wanted to tell my daughter that day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I knew there would be no do over; no second
chance to make a first impression to my daughter on this day. We would be
together seven hours and it would be the first time we spent time together
apart from her mother. I wanted to make her proud and it was my fervent hope
that I wouldn't disappoint her in any way.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It would be the first time my daughter
would </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">enter</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> the prison beyond the visiting room. We
would be able to do a range of fun activities fathers and daughters normally do
in society daily for the first time ever; activities we were previously
prevented from doing in the visiting room since her birth eight-and-a-half
years ago due to inordinate visiting room restrictions.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">That morning I brushed my teeth, took a hot
shower, shaved, and began the day. I combed my hair and put gel in it to hold
it in place, knowing we would be having a busy day packed with fun activities.
I wanted my hair to look nice for my daughter because there would be
photographers capturing images of the event all day long.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After getting ready I listened to a relaxing
song named "Slow Burn" by Richard Elliot. I needed to relax and
dissolve some of the excitement that was relentlessly vying to consume me. I
picked up the letter I wrote my daughter the previous night, a </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">certificate</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> of commitment to raise her with Christian
principles I received during the seminar the previous day, and proceeded to the
educational building where day two of the camp would begin at 7:30 am.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It was raining and I worried that it might
complicate bringing the children in to the prison later that morning. I was
determined to remain optimistic though and not allow the weather to eclipse the
illumination of our special day. We had prepared for this day for weeks now and
the part of the camp that would include our children was only a couple hours
away.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After arriving at the school building the
prisoners in the camp gathered with volunteers in a classroom where we ate a
breakfast provided by the volunteers similar to the one the previous day. We
were each given green T-shirts with the "1 Day With God" logo
silk-screened on them to wear instead of the state blue issued shirts we normally
wear daily. We were also provided lanyards and name tags.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We were then allowed to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">select</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> a blanket for our child(ren) from among
dozens of beautiful blankets made by camp volunteers. After looking at several
of them I decided on a pink and white satin blanket that felt really soft. I
wrapped myself in the blanket for a little while as I sat in my chair thinking
about my daughter before placing it inside the backpack I packed with toys for
my daughter the previous day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As all the incarcerated fathers waited to see
their child(ren) we sang songs lead by award-winning gospel recording artist
Sonnie Day. A lifelong resident of Detroit, she has appeared on major stages,
television networks, and radio stations across the country. She is also founder
and executive director of the organization Ruby Girl, an Angel Tree advocate,
vision coach, and entrepreneur.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Sonnie offered testimony about her travels to
over 70 different prisons in seven different states with Prison Fellowship and
Forgiven Ministry. She shared how God has used the gift of her voice to inspire
social change, how the former incarceration of her daughter's father impacted
their lives, and asked the prisoner fathers in the camp about the experiences
and events which lead to their incarceration.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During her message Sonnie stated that the prison
industrial complex experiment has woefully failed our communities, masked the
true causes of crime (i.e., poverty, addiction, absence of fathers in the home,
etc.), and described how it has disproportionately impacted the poor and
communities of color.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">She espouses the belief that crime reduction can
only occur by understanding the root of the problem rather than blindly
spending taxpayer dollars on the </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">symptoms</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">. During her presentation she was accompanied by
her mother who was also there to support the incarcerated fathers and the camp.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Sonnie's presentation was followed by testimony
from Sherelle Hogan, author of "The Prisoner's Kid: My Journey to
Freedom." She is also founder and president of Pure Heart Foundation, a
community-based nonprofit organization in Detroit.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Sherelle shared her turbulent story about
growing up between the ages of six and 14-years-old as the daughter of two
incarcerated parents. During that time she suffered beatings, sexual assault,
attempted suicide multiple times, and experienced a series of devastating
setbacks. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges she encountered
Sherelle managed to overcome them through her journey of healing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">She eventually found a faith-based mentor,
became involved in the church, and began transforming her life. She went on to
graduate from the University of Michigan, Dearborn, with a degree in psychology
and created Pure Heart Foundation to help prevent other youth of an
incarcerated parent from enduring a painful childhood that resembled her own.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The foundation provides counseling, tutoring,
mental wellness sessions, after school programs, </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">scholarships</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">, Christmas gifts, and more to children who have
an incarcerated parent. It also offers a safe space for children where they can
learn and grow together with others who share their struggles so they don't
feel abandoned or alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The children of the
incarcerated fathers began arriving at a local church at 8 am to be registered
and treated to a large array of breakfast choices. The children were also
paired with two Forgiven Ministry mentors who would escort each child into the
prison later that morning. The objective of arriving early was also so the
volunteers could spend time interacting with the children and mothers or
caregivers so they would become more familiar and comfortable together in
advance of traveling to the prison.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Family members or other caregivers who brought
the children were allowed to remain at the church for the day to hear
presentations from various speakers, </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">watch</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> a movie, eat lunch, and interact with other
family members of incarcerated fathers. Presenters discussed the importance of
the camp with the family members and shared some of the lessons the
incarcerated fathers learned the previous day.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During the presentations and singing the fathers
were hearing at the prison volunteers were simultaneously transporting children
from the local church to the prison's gymnasium. The children played games,
could choose to have face painting, interacted with other children, ate snacks,
and were kept occupied by their mentors as they waited for the remaining
children to arrive.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As the volunteers traveled between the church
and prison we received continued updates about their progress. Among the
updates we received was that some of the families and caregivers bringing the
children to the church were encountering weather and travel delays as a result
of detours. The stream of updates continued to fuel our excitement as several
fathers kept glancing at the clock on the wall, myself included.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During that time we also learned there were a
few fathers whose children would be unable to participate for various reasons.
The fathers were still encouraged to participate in the camp, however. They
would be able to assist with activities, interact with the other fathers and
children, and the backpack of gifts they selected for their children would be
mailed to the children by camp organizers. Though the fathers were terribly
disappointed by the unfortunate news they all went forward with the camp for
themselves and their children.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">At 11 am the moment finally arrived. After all
the children arrived in the gymnasium it was time for the fathers to see their
children. Some of the fathers were nervous, some were experiencing anxiety, but
all were very excited. They had all been on their best behavior all year long
hoping to qualify to participate in the camp.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Some of the children traveled from as far away
as Georgia and Kentucky to be there that day. Their families understood the
importance of the camp and were grateful to have the opportunity to have the
fathers and children enjoy this special day together. Time and distance would
not keep these children and the fathers apart this day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As the fathers walked down two short hallways
from the classroom we were in I felt a surge of </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">energy</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> coursing through my body. Even though I had
seen my daughter on dozens of visits before this day would be completely
different. It was the first time I would spend hours alone with my daughter for
the first time since her birth. All our previous contact was in the visiting
room, on the phone, and through letters. This day was going to be very special.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Entering the gymnasium through a small corridor
I could see dozens of people who had packed the room. All the children were
lined up horizontally on the opposite side of the corridor we entered with
their volunteers. They were all clapping for the fathers and the children were
anxiously trying to see their fathers who were in a single </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">file</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> line waiting to enter the gymnasium one at
a time. The energy in the room was palpable.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I immediately spotted my daughter in the crowd.
She was wearing a green T-shirt that matched the one I was wearing; pants
covered in large, bold, colorful butterfly </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">print</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">; pink running shoes; and her hair was pulled
back in a white cloth ponytail holder. She appeared nervous from all the noise,
large crowd, and electricity in the air until she saw me.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In ancient indigenous Mexican culture it was
believed that fallen warriors who died in battle returned to this life in the
form of butterflies. Little did this miniature image of me know that the
butterflies she wore represented enduring symbols of transformation,
resilience, and migration. And on this day they would be collective icons of a
new beginning for my daughter and I.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A smile quickly beamed
across our faces and my daughter immediately began waving and jumping up and
down with excitement. A volunteer holding a microphone introduced each father's
family name over the speaker system and then each father and his child(ren)
would run to meet each other in the middle of the gym.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It was the first time I was able to ever run to
see my daughter. Because visiting rules prohibit a prisoner from holding their
child after age two I had also not been able to hold her or pick her up in
several years. This day was different though. The visiting room restrictions
didn't </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">apply</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> to the camp. An atmosphere for fathers and
their child(ren) to bond and strengthen their relationship would be fostered in
the camp, unlike in visiting rooms which are designed to keep parents and their
children apart.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">For years I felt bad because my daughter would
ask me to pick her up or carry her and I wasn't allowed to do it. I feared she
felt I didn't want to do it or couldn't lift her anymore because she had grown
older. As these thoughts vacillated in the recesses of my mind my daughter and
I ran out to meet in the center of the gymnasium. I immediately wrapped my arms
around her, picked her up, and held her in the air. With tears of joy running
down my face I told her I loved her and I was very happy to see her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In a small voice full of excitement she said,
"I love you and I'm happy to see you too. Daddy, you can still pick me
up!" It reinforced my thinking that she still yearned to have her father
pick her up even after all this time. As I looked at her beautiful little face
I quickly noticed the "#1 Dad" face painting she proudly wore on her
left cheek. When I told her how nice it looked she thanked me and told me she
had it done by a volunteer while she waited to see me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I also met the two volunteer mentors named Deb
and Arthur who were assigned to assist my daughter and I throughout the day.
They were both very nice people who had quickly bonded with my daughter that
morning. I would later learn that Deb was the wife of Mike, a church pastor and
one of the presenters the previous day who taught us lessons about fatherhood.
Arthur was also a mentor the previous day. I recalled him being one of the men
who prayed for us.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Two photographers remained present all day long.
They captured dozens of treasured moments of each activity -- hundreds
throughout the day -- to be used in a video that camp organizers </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">create</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> after the event. Camp organizers mail a
video to each child who participated in the camp to cherish the memories of
that special day. The first image photographers captured of my daughter and I
that day was the moment we first ran out to each other for the first time when
I picked her up and held her in the air.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Soon after exchanging pleasantries with our
mentors John Spencley, Assistant Deputy Warden/Operations, expressed his hopes
for a productive day on behalf of Warden Lester Parish's office. ADW Spencley
remained present for a couple hours on the Warden's behalf because he was out
of state and unable to be present himself.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As I held my daughter during ADW Spencley's
remarks she took one of her small hands and began waving it through my hair and
said, "Gel, huh?" I nodded up and down, laughed, and silently thought
to myself, "So much for waking up early and working hard to look good
for </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">photos</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> today." I quickly reminded myself that
my hair looked nice for my daughter when she first saw me that day and that's
what mattered. It was a minor problem I could fix later.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The first round of activities included fathers and
their children participating in various games involving running, dribbling a
basketball, jumping through a large hoop, running toward a chair with a balloon
in it and popping the balloon by sitting on it; and running toward a small
basket with a tennis ball, placing the ball in the basket, grabbing a different
ball in the basket, and running to give it to the next person in line to repeat
the process.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">All the fathers and children were divided into
four lines/teams to compete against each other during the games. Volunteers
were on the sidelines cheering for the teams clapping and yelling </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">words
of encouragement</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">. It was
a joy to see all the children ranging from ages five to teenagers running,
playing, laughing, and having a wonderful time.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">For my daughter and I it would be creating
memories of numerous firsts in our father/daughter experience. In this instance
it was the first time we were able to compete together as a team in a fun
physical activity. I was also able to cheer her on and encourage her as we
competed. I am unable to do that for her with her mother, sister, and
grandparents during her soccer games so it meant a lot me that I could do it
for her this day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Neither of us had ever seen the other run before
or dribble a basketball. We were both almost amazed to see the other person
running and dribbling. It was a proud moment to see my little girl exhibiting
athletic skills I hadn't seen before. In fact, it made me consider encouraging
her to play on a basketball team considering how well she could dribble.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">One funny moment that occurred happened after my
daughter ran during one of the competitions we participated in. Speaking
through giggles as she held a hand over her mouth she said, "I just
swallowed my mocos! Has that ever happened to you before Daddy?" I laughed
and responded, "Yes ma, it happened when I was a little kid before too. Don't
worry it won't hurt you." ("Mocos" are Spanish for nasal
drainage.)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Next it was time for fathers and their children
to showcase their dance moves. Fathers and their children formed a Soul Train
line and danced between two rows of fathers and their children as singer Sonnie
Day M.C.'d the event. It was only the second event and my daughter was nervous
and shy about dancing in the large crowd of people because we were the first
group to dance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After all the fathers and
children danced the first time it was time for my daughter and I to give it one
more try. The second time we went down the line she did a couple moves as I
turned toward her, danced so she could see me in front of her, and encouraged
her to follow me. After we finished I hugged her and told her she did a great
job which helped ease her nervousness.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Next it was time for lunch. My daughter directed
me to where our table was on the other side of the gym where our mentors waited
for us. We talked with the volunteers while we ate hamburgers, potato chips,
dessert, and drank iced tea. I drank several cups of iced tea the previous day
and wasn't surprised my daughter would want to drink it as well. We had a
choice between iced tea, lemonade, coffee and/or water.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">One pleasant surprise was volunteers presenting
a large birthday cake that was taken to each table for everyone to see. It
symbolized a birthday that year for every child present and was an opportunity
for the fathers to sing Happy Birthday to their child(ren) and share a piece of
cake with them since they are physically unable to do so on their actual
birthday unless they are on a visit together.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">For some mysterious reason my daughter decided
she was no longer going to eat cake or chocolate anymore about two years ago.
Consequently, she passed on eating a piece of the birthday cake. When one of
the volunteers told us there were also chocolate chip cookies, M&M cookies,
and peanut butter protein bars my daughter opted for a protein bar. When it
arrived she opened it, saw chocolate chips on top, and told me she didn't want
it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We managed to locate some trail mix that was
acceptable to her. Even that proved to be challenging though. She separated the
raisins and M&Ms from the peanuts in the trail mix, ate the peanuts, and
gave me the rest. Needless to say, I ate M&Ms, raisins, and the protein
bar, which was fine with me because I like them all. As long as she was happy
that's all that counted to me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During lunch my daughter and I were called over
to an area of the gymnasium to have our photo taken in front of a "1 Day
With God" backdrop. We took a photo and then we were asked by a volunteer
to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">select</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> from among several cut outs of leaves to be
glued onto a painting of a tree. The tree was labeled "1 Day With God 2018
Camp" and will remain on display in the Chaplain's office. Some facilities
display the paintings in the visiting room.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I told my daughter to pick whichever leaf she
wanted and she was then allowed to write her name on the leaf with a marker and
point anywhere on the tree she wanted to have it glued to. When she pointed to
an area above the trunk of the tree I told her that the trunk was the strongest
part of the tree. She smiled as the volunteer glued her leaf on the tree.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A stickler for detail just like her father,
before we returned back to our table as my daughter saw her leaf get glued on
the tree she noticed the leaf's stem was not glued down all the way with the
rest of the leaf. She walked over to the painting, took her small index finger,
and pressed down on the stem for a few seconds until it remained glued in </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">place</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">. I smiled at my daughter, told her I was glad
she saw it, and assured her it was perfect now. In that moment my mind flashed
back to an image of my younger self.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The next activity involved fathers and their
child(ren) creating a small </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">lampshade</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> together for a small candle-style lamp. We
had to use safety pins, different sizes of plastic crystal beads, and wire to
construct the craft project. At first my daughter was insistent on opening and
closing the safety pins herself. I was afraid she might poke herself -- and she
came close to doing it one time -- so I was able to convince her we should
compromise.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We agreed that one of our assigned volunteers
named Arthur would hand us the beads to put on the safety pins, I would open
the safety pins, my daughter and I would both put the beads on the pins, and
then I would hold each pin in place while I guided the pointed end to the part
of the pin it closes at so she just had to push it into place.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It was the first time we tackled a tedious task
like this together. The closest we ever came to this in the visiting room was
doing a large puzzle together but we couldn't get poked by that. Afterwards we
walked over to a wall with our finished lamp. I unraveled the power cord and I
told my daughter to plug it into the wall to ensure it worked. We took a
photograph together with our lamp and returned the lamp to our table before
being called to our next activity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next fathers and their
child(ren) were called back to the open area of the gymnasium and handed two
activity workbooks titled "Sowing Seeds of Connection: Cultivating the
Parent/Child Relationship Workbook" by Justin Danforth.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The workbook is comprised of several pages of
questions and activities the father and child(ren) can ask each other to learn
more about one another. My daughter and I stretched out on the floor on our
side, across from one another as we faced each other, and asked each other
questions from the workbook. Each time someone answered a question the other
person would write it down in their workbook.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During this activity my daughter said, "Daddy,
I never saw you lay down before until today! I didn't even know you could lay
down." It hadn't really dawned on me that the only things my daughter has
ever seen me do is walk a few steps, stand, and sit during our visits. I was
beginning to realize how little she has seen me do and just assumed she knew I
could do the things I can do. That day I was becoming more of a real, whole
person to her through all our interactions and bonding moments.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A short time later she asked, "Daddy, are
those the shoes you wear in here [meaning inside the prison]?" I
responded, "Yes," and told her I hand-washed them so they would be
clean for her. She smiled and raised her eyebrows with surprise. I was
discovering just how much alike we are when it comes to paying attention to
details. I was really glad I did it now because she learned I went through the
effort of cleaning them and making them mark-free just for her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As we worked through a couple pages of questions
we had fun learning things about each other. I told my daughter when the camp
was over she would take her workbook with her and I would take mine with me so
we can </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">continue</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> working through the workbook together. She
liked that idea and said, "OK Daddy, when I go to the hotel with Mommy
tonight when you call us on the phone we will work on it."</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Surprised by her enthusiasm I told her,
"That sounds great but tonight just relax and get some rest. Spend time
with Mommy and tell her about our day, she has been at the church all day and
she wants to spend time with you. We will work on the workbook again
soon." She agreed and thought that sounded like a good idea. Plus, she was
still looking forward to swimming that evening </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in
the hotel</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> swimming
pool.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Next on the day's agenda was a presentation by a
man named Yago who performs strong man feats for entertainment. This day he
blew up a rubber hot water bottle until it popped, bent a horse-shoe into the
shape of a heart, bent a pole into the shape of a fish, and rolled up a frying
pan into the shape of a burrito. Yago also discussed the importance of
surrendering our lives to God and making important changes in his life through
his faith.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">My daughter and I sat down on the gymnasium
floor during the presentation and she decided to choose this time to take a
break by using me like the back of a chair behind her. As she sat in front of
me she laid her head on my chest for a few minutes as I wrapped my arms around
her and hugged her. She also spent a few minutes using my legs as a pillow to
lay on while facing the presenter so she could take a rest and </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">watch</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> the presentation as I rubbed her back.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Periodically I asked my daughter how she was
feeling or what was on her mind. She said she was feeling fine and just seemed
a bit tired from the pace of the day, not to mention the emotional exhaustion I
knew she had to be feeling. As I looked around several children of other
fathers were napping, laying down, hugging or being hugged by their fathers,
during this time as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I make a point of being a good listener when I
communicate with my daughter so she feels validated and knows her thoughts
matter. I even ask her for advice as a way to begin a dialogue regularly to
learn how she may approach a situation and help her develop critical thinking
skills. Research informs us that the best way to have a good conversation or be
an effective communicator is to be the first person to listen. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After the strong man presentation the next event
was the highly anticipated Daddy/daughter dance followed by the father/son
walk. It was a part of the camp volunteers told fathers the previous day would
be very emotional. We were warned that nearly all the female volunteers and
many of the males present often cry during that time. I would soon learn that
prediction proved true.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Before the dance began each of the fathers were
called to the open area of the gym to receive a rose for their daughter(s).
After receiving the rose I presented it to my daughter, gave her a kiss on the
cheek, picked her up, and we danced during two slow songs that played on the
speakers. Everyone's focus in the room descended on this moment as they looked
on to the fathers dancing with their beautiful princesses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">When my daughter took the rose she smiled big
and thanked me. Shortly after I picked her up I told her I loved her and what a
special daughter she is. Tears streamed down my face as I apologized to her for
being unable to take her to her first two Daddy/daughter dances in First and
Second Grade and having to ask one of my brothers to take her for me. I
promised her when I go home one day that I will never </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">miss</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> any of her Daddy/daughter dances for
anything in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I spoke to my daughter
tears began running down her face as well as she told me she couldn't wait for
me to come </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">home</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> to not just take her to her Daddy/daughter
dances but also attend her soccer games, spend time with her and the family,
and do other fun things with her. She also said, "I wish Mom was here with
us to see all this," and that she wished there was a camp for Moms and
Dads like this too.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A volunteer handed my daughter some tissue which
she used to wipe the tears from our eyes as we continued dancing. It was now
the second time she saw my tears that day, and the first day in her life to
ever see them. Recognizing this she stated, "Daddy you are really
emotional." I told her it was alright and that they were tears of joy. I
also told her it was good for people to let their tears out and not suppress
them because it is healthy for us and will help us feel better.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A short time later my daughter gave me a puzzled
look as she noticed something black on the tip of my nose. It was remnants of
her face paint that had virtually melted away from the sweat generated by the
activities of the day and frequent hugs we had given each other. As she
attempted to wipe the paint off with her finger she discovered it wouldn't wipe
off.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Remaining true to form, and refusing to
acquiesce to the stubborn paint, she quickly recalled an effective Mommy
technique previously used on her from her catalog of memories. She knew it
would do the trick. Without hesitation she put her index finger on her tongue
to moisten it and then used it to wipe the paint off. Satisfied with her
success she nodded her head up and down and said, "You're
good." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After we danced it was time for the father/son
walk, another really special moment. The open area of the gym was now
exclusively available to fathers and sons. The fathers walked around with their
sons, held them, and some gave them piggyback rides. My daughter and I went
over to our table and sat for a while as we watched the fathers interacting
with their sons.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">While seated at the table I asked my daughter if
she was comfortable sharing the daily affirmation I wrote for her with Deb and
Arthur. She reads me the affirmation regularly on the phone but she had never
read it to me face to face and I thought this would be a good time to do it if
she was comfortable. Without hesitation she agreed to share it with Deb and
Arthur as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I also wanted my daughter to share her
affirmation so that others would recognize its value and perhaps consider
encouraging fathers to write daily affirmations for their children as part of
the camp in the future. I have written one for my daughter each year she has
been in school to address her evolving needs and maturity and I am committed
to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">continue</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> doing so until she completes high school.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">During this time I also took the opportunity to
share the origin of my daughter's first and middle name with our mentors to
share the importance of bestowing empowering names on our children. Her first
and middle name have indigenous Mexican origins. Her first name is derived from
a name that means "I love you" and her middle name means "the
seed that can transform into anything."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The mentors praised my daughter about her names
and it was a positive experience for her. It was a proud moment to share with
people in my daughter's presence about how much effort, love, and care went
into selecting the names my wife and I did for her. They are powerful names
that serve as daily reminders to her about her greatness and boundless
potential.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Next the fathers were given time to spend with
their children anywhere in the gymnasium. They could </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">choose</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> to walk around together or have a seat and
talk together. I asked my daughter what she wanted to do and she asked me to
give her a piggyback ride. I gave her a piggyback ride for a few minutes for
the first time during our interaction ever. Piggyback rides are not allowed in
visiting rooms.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After her piggyback ride she wanted to show me
she could do push-ups and she asked me to do some pull-ups on the pull-up bar.
She counted out loud until I completed 10 and then we sat down on a chair and
listened as she told me how much fun we were having that day. I took the
opportunity to also tell her how much her mother loves her and what a great
parent she is. I expressed to her that it was important to never take her
mother for granted and all she does for her each day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Shortly after this part of the camp fathers and
their children were called to the front of the gymnasium along with their
children. The fathers were told this was the part of the day when they would
perform the Father's Blessing which they learned and practiced the previous day
during the "Godly Dads" training. It consisted of fathers standing
directly in front of their child, putting their hands on the child's shoulders,
looking them in the eye, and telling them the following four things followed by
hugging and giving them a kiss:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">"I love you.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">I am so proud of you!</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">You are a wonderful daughter/son.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">I am so glad you are my child."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I did as instructed, however, before hugging and
kissing my daughter I squatted down so we could be eye to eye and, with my
hands still on her shoulders I shared additional things I wanted to tell her. I
told her how smart, beautiful, and brave she is and indexed a number of
specific things she does or has done that I am proud of her for.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I wanted to be specific and not generalize or
gloss over anything so that she recognized how much I pay attention to her life
and remember about the details. I also wanted the blessing to be unique to her
so she would know it was very personal and wanted the moment to be seared into
her memory. As soon as I concluded the blessing my daughter smiled, thanked me,
hugged me, and gave me a kiss. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My daughter loved the
photo and picture frame and asked me right away if I decorated the picture
frame for her. After confirming that I did, she looked closely at all the
things I put on the frame and quickly made the connections I intended her to
make with the things I chose to put on the frame (i.e., images of animals
resembling her pets, her favorite animated movie characters, etc.).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The next to final activity of the day was the
presentation of gifts. When my daughter and I walked back to our table she
found the photo we took earlier in front of the "One Day With God 2018
Camp" backdrop. It had been printed and placed inside the picture frame I
decorated for her the previous day. Volunteers had printed the photos and
inserted them in all the picture frames for each child while we were
participating in other activities.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I then walked over to a table in the back of the
gymnasium where all the backpacks were located that we had placed our gifts
inside for our children. I found my daughter's backpack and carried it over to
the table she was seated at. I began removing each gift from the backpack for
my daughter, one by one, as I briefly told her why I specifically chose each
gift.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As she beamed with joy and excitement she
stated, "Daddy I'm going to save this backpack and these gifts forever so
I never forget this day!" It was the most excited I had ever seen her
before. It felt good to actually physically give my daughter gifts I picked for
her from my hands directly to hers. That, too, was another first in our
interaction since her birth because prisoners are prohibited from giving or
receiving gifts in the visiting room. Doing so would be considered smuggling
and result in a permanent visitor restriction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I presented my daughter with the letter I wrote
her the previous evening which she read to me. I also signed a </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">certificate</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> of commitment in front of her promising to
raise her using spiritual values and presented it to her. I removed my green
"1 Day With God" camp T-shirt, wrote a message on it, and placed it
in her backpack to take </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">home</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> with her. (She told me she would use it
to </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">sleep</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> in.)</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I gave my daughter the camp name tag I wore that
day sans the lanyard which we returned to camp organizers. Our mentors wrote
messages on her camp T-shirt, I wrote a message on it, and my daughter and I wrote
thank you messages on our mentors' camp T-shirts as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">A short time later we prepared for the final
part of the camp. One of our mentors, Deb, retrieved my daughter's pink
Columbia fleece jacket from the room it was kept in during the camp and offer it to my daughter. I reached out to accept the little jacket so I could hold it
for my daughter to put her arms through.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It was the first time I had ever helped my
daughter put a jacket on before because coats and jackets are not allowed in
visiting rooms. Even though it was a small gesture it was one among a series of
memories I wanted to remain in my daughter's mind about that day. We gathered
all my daughter's gifts, her letter, certificate, lamp, and workbook and
carefully packed her backpack to capacity. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Once we were done gathering things all the
fathers, children, and volunteers walked through a hallway of the building the
gymnasium is located in. As we exited the building together we were each given
helium balloons to take outside with us. We walked a short distance away from
the building and gathered in a large grassy area of the prison. The sun was now
out as it peeked out through the pockets of white, fluffy clouds in the sky.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Two large fences laced with razor wire separated
us from the parking lot. Lined up on the other side of the fence and facing us
were family members ready to pick up our children. They were accompanied by
volunteers from the local church who hosted them throughout the day. My
daughter and I recognized her mother right away as we waved to each other and
yelled each other's names.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We sang a song together and shortly thereafter a
volunteer with a bullhorn announced, "Children, if you know your father
loves you release your balloons." My daughter and all the other children present
released their balloons. The next announcement was, "All the fathers who
love their children release your balloons." As all the fathers released
their balloons I picked my daughter up and we watched the sea of balloons being
slowly carried off by the gentle Fall breeze.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We were then given the final opportunity to say
our farewells. I thanked our mentors Deb and Arthur and expressed I was very
grateful for them, their time, and efforts. I then hugged and kissed my
daughter and we both told each other how wonderful our day was together.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As I began walking back to the building that
houses the gymnasium my daughter and I started waving to each other. She ran
towards me for one more hug when I was a short distance away and then quickly
returned to Deb and Arthur. Once all the fathers returned to the building the
children and volunteers were escorted by prison staff through a gate to the
parking lot and the children were reunited with their mothers or caregivers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">(Efren Paredes, Jr. is a Michigan prisoner and
subject of a new multi-channel documentary film installation, "Half Truths
and Full Lies." He is also a blogger, </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">social</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> justice activist, and youth advocate. You
can learn more about Efren by visiting <a href="http://www.fb.com/Free.Efren">www.fb.com/Free.Efren</a> and
<a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016">www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016</a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3651506176819495171.post-39683603180795854692018-10-25T15:50:00.000-05:002018-12-10T15:58:38.257-05:00Ambassadors of Light (Part 1 of 3)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnmfQ-V2_D4d6yNx6l1lOXHai3Gpww3XyRxkwmIMRnkFFyxI4hdF8SbuNhaVpdkaoM5tT_wDRsuzPAia46S3AyZ_8Q7LgqJbeZ0KU3Qbkg7PUAtUbxqfBLzt-J55V1eOoKHyroRglDp3N/s1600/one-day-with-God-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnmfQ-V2_D4d6yNx6l1lOXHai3Gpww3XyRxkwmIMRnkFFyxI4hdF8SbuNhaVpdkaoM5tT_wDRsuzPAia46S3AyZ_8Q7LgqJbeZ0KU3Qbkg7PUAtUbxqfBLzt-J55V1eOoKHyroRglDp3N/s320/one-day-with-God-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">by Efren Paredes, Jr.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">"Our greatest natural resource and most
valuable asset are truly our children." </span><br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">--Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson,
Louisiana Supreme Court--</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Day One</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background: white;">October 5-6, 2018 twenty-two prisoners participated
in the "One Day With God" camp held at the Oaks Correctional Facility
in Manistee, Michigan. The camp is hosted by trained volunteers of Forgiven
Ministry, a North Carolina-based faith-based organization founded by Scottie
Barnes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Forgiven Ministry currently hosts the camp at
prisons in seven different states. During camps incarcerated parents and their
children are guided through a series of structured activities by trained
Christian mentors involving a combination of teaching family values, relationship-building,
and fun. A great deal of time, preparation, and resources are invested into
making each camp possible.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Proponents of accountability and positive inner
change, Forgiven Ministry believes this formula can reduce recidivism, help
break the destructive cycle of crime, and prevent the waste of human capital.
They also hope to help diminish the burden that offenders incur on society. In
2015 the camp received national attention when "<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/children-prisoners-reunite-fathers-bars-day-35729382" target="_blank">ABC Nightline</a>"
featured a story about one of the camps held at a prison in Muskegon, Michigan.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Criteria for incarcerated fathers of children to
participate in the "One Day With God" camp are strict. The
opportunity is only afforded to prisoners who are free of serious misconduct
reports for over a year and who also meet several other conditions. Because the
prison is responsible for the safety of each child who enters the facility the
Warden's office carefully screens the institutional </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">file</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> of every camp applicant before approving
him.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The "One Day With God" camp is a
two-day event. The first day the incarcerated fathers participate in an
eight-and-a-half hour spiritually-based program designed to teach them valuable
lessons and values about fatherhood which include integrity, love, and
leadership. Each prisoner is assigned a mentor to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">guide</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> him throughout the day.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The camp is held in the prison gymnasium which
is located in the educational building. Day one of the camp half the gymnasium
was used by volunteers to make presentations to prisoners replete with
microphones, a large sound system, laptop, digital projector, and projection
screen. The other end of the gymnasium was used to store food, drinks, and
other items used during the camp.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Tables were set up to seat two prisoners and two
volunteer mentors. The mentors were seated on the end of each table and
prisoners were seated between them. On the table in front of each prisoner was
a small stack of faith-based books, a boxed tube of Aim </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">toothpaste</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">, two bars of Dial soap, a pack of Skittles, and
a blue pen.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The mentors seated at my table that day were
Bernice and Jack. They were both very kind people who assisted the other
prisoner seated at my table named De'Von and me throughout the day. They even
provided us with food, snacks, and drinks from the other end of the gymnasium
when we requested something to eat or drink. They did this so we could remain
focused on the presentations as much as possible, and to model the value of
service to others.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The day began with an introduction to the camp,
prayer, and program volunteers offering the prisoners a breakfast provided by
Forgiven Ministry consisting of an assortment of bagels, danishes, granola
bars, and orange juice. The meal was followed by presentations from various
speakers who taught from the book "Godly Dads" by Jeff Rudd. They
also offered testimony about the power of God and forgiveness.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Among the messages presenters shared with us
were that fatherhood is an awesome opportunity to teach, to love, to nurture
and to grow. They also impressed upon us the importance of understanding that
to raise children of integrity fathers must become men of integrity.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">According to Depaul University Professor Susan
Bandes, "Each individual is situated in her own experience. In </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">order</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> to interpret and understand that
experience, each individual must filter it through the lens of her own point of
view. Who we are determines what we notice, what seems important, how we react
to it, what connections we draw, and what meaning we attach to things."</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">This is all the more reason that nurturing
integrity is so important in our lives if we wish to be conduits to convey
edifying lessons to our children. Our values are not static. They are formed
and continually refined by our experiences and the choices we make in our
lives. Just as we are a product of our collective experiences, so too are the
people we influence with our words and the behavior we model.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We heard about the need for fathers to convey
their love for their children and that love is the centerpiece in our
relationship with our children. A list of ten evidence-based ways that fathers
impact their children was also indexed, as well as spiritual characteristics of
love and how to exercise them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">There were also lessons about leadership and
leading our children by example. We heard about the value of modeling service
to our children, developing our children's God-given gifts, and providing our
children with knowledge or skills about relationships, life skills, and and
academic skills.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">After eating a lunch
provided by the volunteers the incarcerated fathers were each given a plain
wooden picture frame by volunteers to decorate and present to our child(ren)
the following day. We were able to choose from various embellishments including
an assortment of stickers, glitter hearts, and shiny small plastic stones to
decorate our frame however we wanted.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I carefully selected my daughter's favorite
colored stones, cartoon characters, hearts, and stickers that resembled her
dogs and cats. I also traded stickers with other fathers who had stickers I
wanted to use if they didn't use them. I went to different tables looking at
any stickers that weren't being used to see if I could discover some I could
use. That effort paid off. I managed to locate some I knew she would like,
including the letter of her first name, some emojis, and characters from the
animated movie "Frozen."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We were also given a green backpack with a large
"One Day With God" logo on it and allowed to choose five age
appropriate gifts from an array of items for our child(ren) to place inside the
backpack to give them the following day. One of the mentors told me her
8-year-old daughter helped her pick the gift options for the gifts in my
daughter's age range and said, "I know whoever receives these things will
like them."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">From among the wonderful gifts available I
selected a kit my daughter could use to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">create</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> Max the dog from the movie "The Secret
Life of Pets," a Trolls bath bomb, stickers, a 3-D coloring book of dogs
and cats, and a bucket of sidewalk chalk in assorted colors. My daughter has
two Chihuahua dogs and two cats as pets at </span><span class="MsoHyperlink">home</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> so I knew she would like my choices. She
also likes the "Trolls" movie characters and bath bombs so that would
be a good choice as well.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">That afternoon we also heard a presentation by
Lorraine Whoberry, author of, "Heal My Wounds, Leave My Scars: A Mother's
Story of Loss, Despair, and Her Journey Back to Hope." She is also a
victim advocate, executive director of the S.T.A.C.I.E. Foundation, and
committee member for the Department of Youth Services, Interstate Compact for
Juveniles State Council.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Lorraine shared her heart-wrenching story about
being the mother and survivor of two teenage daughters who were viciously
attacked in 1999 by a 20-year-old male in Virginia. One of her daughters was
murdered in the attack and the other miraculously survived potentially
life-ending wounds to multiple areas of her body.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After several years of grappling with immense
pain, despair, and intense anger toward her daughter's killer she turned her
life and struggles over to God and began the process of healing. She also found
freedom from the bondage of unforgiveness by learning to forgive herself and
ultimately the offender who committed the violent crime against her family.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">It wasn't an endorsement of the injury the
offender caused but rather an act of mercy and self-empowerment. It allowed
Lorraine to reclaim her life and migrate from a position of strength from
victim to survivor. She also discovered that forgiveness is a moral virtue that
we exercise in alignment with the teachings of Jesus who stated:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">"If you forgive men their trespasses, your
Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Holy
Bible, Matthew 6:14-15)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">According to Lorraine, "We have the power
to heal. When we give in to defeat we give power to darkness. Forgiveness is a
process. It's also a choice. Unforgiveness is bondage. Forgiveness is
freedom." Her message reflected the adage that bitterness does more damage
to the vessel in which it is stored than to the vessel on which it is poured.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Today Lorraine travels the country bravely
sharing her story of perseverance, faith, and healing as an impact speaker. She
and her daughter Kristie have been featured on television programs like
"America's Most Wanted," "The Montel Williams Show,"
"I Survived," and "Discovery Health." Lorraine has also
appeared on various radio talk shows and been the keynote speaker at
conferences across the nation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Her riveting testimony was a profound lesson in
forgiveness that evoked tears and touched the heart of every person in the
room, myself included. Lorraine's willingness to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">continue</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> speaking to an audience of prisoners and
teaching them about forgiveness despite the painful psychological and emotional
scars her family has suffered was powerful and compelling.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">After Lorraine's presentation we watched a movie
titled, "I Can Only Imagine." The film was based on the true story
about an aspiring music artist who grew up in a troubled home with an abusive
father. He moves away from home and returns later to discover his father has
changed after </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">giving</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> his life to God.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The son forgives his father and they begin to
rebuild their lives together. The father later dies from an illness and the son
continues pursuing his dream as a musician. After a number of struggles he goes
on to become a multiplatinum selling gospel music artist. The movie was another
example about the transformative power of forgiveness and redemption.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;">After the conclusion of
the film camp volunteers recapped the day with the incarcerated fathers and
discussed what the following day would be like when their child(ren). We were
told they would be brought into the prison gymnasium each accompanied by two Forgiven
Ministry mentors and they described the wide range of activities we would be
participating in together.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">We were also given an assignment to write a
one-page letter to our child(ren) telling them how much we love them, how proud
we are of them, how wonderful they are, and how glad we are they are our child.
That night I spent two hours composing the best letter I could write my
daughter that she would be proud of and able to </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">read</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> on her own.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">I wanted my letter to be special and something
my daughter would keep and always cherish. In </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">order</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> to accomplish this my words had to be
selective, impactful, and enduring. After composing a few iterations of the
letter I managed to distill everything I wanted to say down to a single typed
page and finally settled on the final version. I was now ready to present it to
her the following day.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Before laying down for the night I also ironed
the clothing I would be wearing the following day. I hand-washed the clothes the
previous evening along with the white athletic </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink">shoes</span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"> I would be wearing so they would be clean.
It would be the first time my daughter saw me wearing athletic shoes because
prisoners must wear state-issued black oxford shoes during visits.</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 107%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">(Efren Paredes, Jr. is a Michigan prisoner and
subject of a new multi-channel documentary film installation, "Half Truths
and Full Lies." He is also a blogger, social justice activist, and youth
advocate. You can learn more about Efren by visiting <a href="http://www.fb.com/Free.Efren">www.fb.com/Free.Efren</a> and </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016">www.tinyurl.com/Efren1016</a></span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">.)</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Necalli Ollinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15670862709722856268noreply@blogger.com