So the Supreme Court, the Court of all Courts, the Law of the Land has ruled that the death penalty is not permissable in a child rape case.

Well Why Not Your Honor? Do you only think it is necessary and proper for someone to be killed by our JUSTICE System when they too have murdered someone. How do we tell people not to murder by murdering them. Is that a misunderstanding because I don’t understand it.

A child who is raped is murdered in different ways. Their spirit is murdered in many instances, their bodies and mind never forget the horrific pain of being forced to have sex and brutally raped by adults. Often their belief systems are killed because they ask themselves what kind of God would allow such a heinous crime?

So if your reasoning is based on an eye for an eye, well that system is long gone. In fact the reasoning behind why we keep the Death Penalty in this country is flawed. Gregg v. Georgia outlines it, if I am correct. Here are the following reasons why the United States feels it is legally just to kill people to show them that they should not kill people!

In reaching this conclusion, the Court emphasized three factors: (i) that the “imposition of the death penalty for the crime of murder has a long history of acceptance both in the United States AND England”; (ii) that it was “now evident that a large proportion of American society continues to regard it as an appropriate and necessary criminal sanction”; and (iii) that the death penalty serves “two principal social purposes: retribution and deterrence of capital crimes by prospective offenders.”

So let me understand this:

because the death penalty has long been accepted in both the United States and England it is alright to kill people. Couldn’t the same have been said to uphold slavery and other inhumane acts. It is reasonings like this, that seem logical to a selected few that killed off millions of Jewish people in the Holocaust.

2. Americans regard it as an appropriate and necessary criminal sanction. Hmm 100 years ago many Americans believed it was ok to lynch negroes for looking at white women. This was no small group of individuals, this was common practice here in America. Does that make it right? Many blue eyed, blond haired Germans felt it was an appropriate sanction to exterminate Jewish people, does that make it right, and or just. A young Indian girl was almost killed a few months ago because she is from a lower caste system. A young man in his twenties threw her onto a burning fire, does that make it right. His peers and old traditions in his country thought these types of actions were ok, does that make it right and legally sound?

3. The death penalty serves as retribution and deterrence. Well the easier one is deterence. It must not serve such a great job when people in this country are being killed every day. How are we deterring them, they are not deterred, they are not phased. In fact you encourage them to kill by being a leading example that says it is ok to kill someone.

Retribution, do we really want to go back to the old theory an eye for an eye. In that case we will all be blind which is what this system offers. Blind Justice, 10% or more of the people on Death Row currently are innocent yet they have been found guilty. Will we continue to kill innocent people in the name of our Constitution?

America, Land of the free, home of the brave do you really have the authority to play God. Are we that holy as a country that we dare look down upon others and “attempt” to bring democracy to them when are lacking fundamental freedoms at home. When you challenge America you are quickly reminded that you could live somewhere else where things are worst off. When did we begin comparing ourselves to countries and situations that are less favorable than our own. How does that allow us to prosper and grow when we make backwards comparisons rather than marching forward as I would believe the Forefathers of this country wanted us to.

The Supreme Court Says No to the Death Penalty for child rapists, I pray I see the day when WHEN WE SAY NO TO THE DEATH PENALTY COMPLETELY. Otherwise we are just as barbaric as the countries we claim to civilize!

here is the link to the story that prompted this discussion.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/scotus.child.rape/index.html

I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And in as much as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.– Abraham Lincoln 1858

I remember sitting at my cramped desk at Deauville Gardens Elementary School more than 15 years ago. I was no more than 10 years old but I remember learning of “THE GREAT EMANCIPATOR” Abraham Lincoln. It was taught that Lincoln freed the slaves and being a young black child I should be forever grateful because if it were not for his actions many of my people would still be in chains. Those formidable years of education were filled with large fabrications. A growing amount of Americans never make it to college and thus are forced to mull around the lies and propaganda that our history books sell us, between them and these false history channels we are inundated with the winners version of history which can often be extremely flawed.

For years if you asked me who was my favorite President I would proudly state that Abraham Lincoln was the greatest President that ever lived. I was taught that he liberated blacks out of the chains and physical captivity of chattel slavery in these United States of America, that this man saw blacks as his equals and valiantly battled racist southerners and their disturbing opinions of people of color in this country and drove us to freedom. However as I read his quote above, it seems that Abraham Lincoln was quite the opposite, quite the racist, and very much an oppressor of people of color. He believed that people of color were inferior to whites, why was this quote omitted from my education, why is history painted in such a viciously false manner?

In law school the question to every answer is “maybe”. The teachers say maybe because there are always multiple different ways of looking at things thus giving us various outcomes, nothing is absolute. Did Abraham Lincoln free the slaves? Maybe!

As I look at several photos taken by up and coming Photographer Young District, who has a great eye for capturing the feeling of a moment. While shooting in the Abraham Lincoln Projects on 132nd and Madison in Harlem he manages to capture this historical relationship between people of color and Lincoln. A picture is worth a thousand words and when I look at this series so much comes to mind.

Look at how the sculptor chose to dress the young black man. Lincoln is fully dressed, bow tie included while the young man wears torn clothes with no shoes. He is visibly supposed to be portraying an enslaved young man, dressed in rags praising Lincoln and his fully suited self. The young boy is looking up to Lincoln, admiring him for his courage, his oh so noble character. The young man is forever in debt to Abraham Lincoln for without Lincoln this boy would still be a slave. Now he’s become a new slave, a slave to a warped view of history.

Look at Lincoln, his face is emotionless, in fact he stares past the young man, not even making eye contact with him. Lincoln is comparable to the Santa Clause who sits in our shopping malls during the holidays, it’s just a job and he really could care less about the wishes that the young man whispers to him because he has no intention of making those dreams come true. But that’s just it! Young District has captured the real intention of Lincoln. He’s looking past blacks but using them as a tool to preserve the Union, to preserve the United States of America. And where does this statute sit, it sits right in the heart of a housing development which is the home to many people of color.

Everyday there’s a kid just like me who walks by this statute and is proud. Proud that in a country who bears the dirty stain of slavery, that there was one man who defied the odds. One man who fought to make sure that blacks and whites were equal. The above quote is not found in history books, it’s not found near this statute. However it is found in the emotionless expression on Lincoln’s face. It’s found in the archives of his speeches that let us know that he had no intention on freeing the slaves. In fact Lincoln is quoted as saying “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.”

Another deleted quote from the legacy of Lincoln, another example of how we were used as pawns and firepower to defeat the Confederate States of America. Nowhere in this quote is this Great Emancipator championing our rights, speaking out against the destructive and oppressive system of racial inequality, yet he gets this great title in our history. He is known as one of the leaders of the Abolitionist movement, yet he did not believe in our abilities, intellect or right to be treated as his equals. So did Lincoln free the slaves, why of course he did, the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment tells us so. However, it was a mere accident. Thanks to Young District for allowing his lens to capture one of Lincoln’s greatest misnomers, that he actually cared.

These are the days we are living in. It’s a sick world and what this clip doesn’t show you is that this man brutally mugged this woman and ran from the scene of the crime. Then came back while the cops were investigating and stole her car. I pray for this young man because he knows not what he does. You reap what you sow and right now he is sowing himself up some real destruction.

Oh an by the way thanks for reinforcing stereotypes, JERK!

More sickness reported to us on a daily basis by our local news channels. This one is a little different though because it exposes how some laws operate and how men can be victims of such strict liabilities.

Now I for one do not surf the net, myspace or facebook looking to pick up 8th or 9th graders. However some men do, the two gentlemen in particular claim that they did not know the girl was so young, her myspace page mislead them. I wonder how you can be mislead by a 13 year old, I know that the hormones they are  injecting our food with have the tendency to make these little girls look like grown women but often their minds are far from mature. So I just wonder how a man who is 22, can be mislead by such a  young girl after they had a few conversations. I mean what is she talking about at 13, flavor of love and sequential math homework.

Her father is a shame of a man, he still allows her to keep this myspace page that misleads young gentlemen and still allows her to stay out late. Then cries foul when he finds out that she is sleeping around with older men. This sounds like some nonsense on Maury, the parents should be jailed for allowing this to continuously happen and not taking any precautions to keep their daughter from attempting to mislead men on the internet. 2 Gentlemen have had their lives ruined because of these lies, they will be labeled as sex offenders, and probably raped in prison once the correction officers spread the word on the block what these brothers are in for. I think the father should be arrested and the girl should be monitored or taken away from these careless parents of hers.

As a message to the brothers, please use your head and be more careful when meeting people off of the internet. This man is now spending time in prison and has had his life ruined because he hastily went to bed with this young manipulative girl. Statutory rape cases are strict liabilities which means the court does not care that you did not know that she was a certain age. Because you committed the crime, you will do the time and claiming ignorance is not a viable defense in these scenarios.

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 17-19

Ok, Im coming to you live from the Fordham Law Atrium, there are a lot of boring conversations going on around me so bare with me. I’ll be in court all day so I am writing this message at 9:14am but I am sure it will not get to you until after 12pm. Maybe even 1, they are actually calling me now boooo! Ok I’m back, had to find a starbucks while on this quick break. But I am glad I was interrupted because shortly after I stopped writing I got a text from a close friend who is in the hospital. He is dealing with high blood pressure and kidney failure. A young man might I add and at that moment this scripture made a little bit more sense to me. I ask that we all keep him in our prayers.

I told him that by allowing Jesus to dwell in our hearts though our faith we are strengthening our belief, we are strengthening the legacy which he has shown us. I am not sure if I am even wording my thoughts clearly but what I was trying to convey is that by us believing in our hearts through our faith that Christ will pull him through we are strengthening the legacy of Christ, strengthening our belief in the spirit and allowing the Lord to know that we know that he will prevail. The scripture say that our love for Christ, for our Savior surpasses knowledge and allows us to be filled to the measure of all of the fullness of God. I just took it like through my belief and my faith, that God has better days for me and loves me as I love him, I will peak! I will reach my destiny, our dreams and prayers will be granted because of our faithfulness. No matter what a person is dealing with, we can find comfort in two things. One is that we have God and he will never leave us and secondly we have friends and family who engulf us with love even when we reject it. And it is through these two types of love that we conquer our fears, accept our dreams and prosper. I gotta go back to court. Peace and Grace be unto you!

If the glove does not fit, you must acquit!

Misunderstood: A Hustler’s Tale

Driven by dreams of material things
Cant blame em; on TV that’s all he seen
Takes more than a reckless spirit
To build a crack empire
Learn the ways of the street fast
Or your life will soon expire
Fiends is clickin’ to what they got on 43rd
So you set up shop next to the woods on 45th
House in the cut you don’t want no shit

Takes more than a reckless spirit
To do what your doing
More like economics and trade agreements
In that language you’re fluent
If only Columbia or Harvard came to the hood
Maybe this young man wouldn’t be misunderstood
With these practices
You’d be a top CEO
But instead we’re relegated to the streets
It ain’t fun out here
Everybody’s packing heat

So you wholesale your product
So all the abusers come to you
Now their consumers
Are your customers
And everybody knows you
Business is good, assets and such
Be careful brother, don’t press ya luck
You got big dreams
To get ya family out the hood
Never was too flashy
But now your rims are what make you look good
Just some more attention
Before they wave ya ass goodbye
Coppers watching, enemies plottin’, snitches will end ya life

He coulda been bigger than John Rockefeller
Coulda taken his charisma
And used it for something better
The world judges you
For serving with hope with despair
The streets is watching
You cant sleep
This lovely crack house
Is surrounded by fiends
Your enemies creep with guns
With ambitions to blow holes in your dreams
Yet the cops pick you up
Putting football numbers behind this big dream
Too many keys to count
You’re on your way to the bing

Don’t get me wrong, they crooked too
You ain’t got no boats
To get all these drugs through
All them drugs they caught you with
Didn’t even make it to the precinct
They supply your competition
And our communities are still bleeding
Only if Penn State and Temple
Came to the hood
Maybe this young mans life
Wouldn’t be so misunderstood

Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. Psalm 119: 5-9

You ever look at a train yard while passing through a major station. It looks sorta desolate, almost like an abandoned piece of space. Ironically this piece of space is used everyday to transform someone’s dreams, put food on the table for small children and a host of other things through its power to transport people to and from a variety of places. Our minds have that same ability, while sometimes they feel dark, look abandoned it is still the only key we have towards reaching our goals.

Our mind coupled with God’s word can and will take us to another level, an idea of success that we have yet to fathom. When I first started reading the above scripture I was more dis-satisfied with myself than anything. The word shame resonated with me then I began to think of all the principles and nobility I had been raised with in understanding God’s word, myself and how I have often strayed from that path. But then I looked at the train yard and I thought of all its potential, I wondered where would people get if they just sat in the wreckage of the train yard and never ventured onto the tracks, or if they got off at one stop, all they had to do was get on the next moving train. How can a young man keep his way; by living according to the word. In order to live according to the word we must see our mistakes and use them as a guide of what not to do but we can not dwell on them because then we have just done two unproductive things and that definitely does not lead to a productive move. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Copying everyone else all the time, the monkey one day cut his throat.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. I Corinthians 13: 1-3

I never really talk to much about love, yet my heart is filled with love. Sometimes I try to ignore the heart, I remember reading in the bible somewhere that the heart can deceive you. Please, I might have read and experienced that in some form or fashion (LOL). However the love verse in the bible is one of my favorites, it follows right after the above verse and it speaks volumes to what love really is rather than the superficial love we see on television or possibly chase in our own relationships. Today’s verse to me more so resonates with love as it relates to your passions. How love relates to the driving forces in your life.

Love is the basis for creation, when you love something you nurture it. You care for it, and do anything in your power to see it grow. This may be a person, this may be an idea, or this can be one of your favorite pastimes or hobbies. The scripture tells us we can do all things but without love we have nothing. Look at rich people who have the world at their feet but they still commit suicide, use drugs and destroy their bodies; for what. Listen to some of their interviews and you will hear that they lack love in their heart. Not love in the sense of a significant other but the love that you feel when you are trying to achieve a great feat. In order to grow something, anything, we need love; our love is the passion that drives us past our fears and towards our goals. Peace and Grace be unto you.

Time’s a wasting, don’t you waste your time young man!

I have been following this story on the blogs and I just finished reading an article on CNN about it. The gentleman Joshua Packwood had this to say about some of his peers “They approached me and said, ‘Yeah, I have a problem with you being valedictorian. I know you’ve earned it and even though I know you on a personal level - I like you a lot - but it disturbs me that out of roughly 3,000 black men - there’s not one that’s done as well as or better than you academically,’ ” says Packwood.

I think that’s the wrong way to look at this situation. The young man comes from an impoverished family and if there is one thing I know America hates just as much as Black people, it’s poor whites. I remember being a kid and watching Roots, there’s a scene in there, it escapes me now. But it alluded to poor whites and black folks banding together in the south.

I’m indifferent about this gentleman, I think his success is something to be marveled at no matter what his race is. Typically when there is a comparison about black and white children and their academic success we look to the failed school systems in urban areas that produce young black children and the well equipped schools of the suburbs that produce young white children. There is a learning gap, not because black children are not smarter but because there is a lack of quality teachers and access to resources in said public schools.

Packwood’s story is interesting though because he grew up poor, lacking privilege and it was actually a black middle class family who helped him get to where he is today. I don’t like the idea of brothers diminishing their own efforts because a white man is the valedictorian of their school. As someone else said later on in the article, the gentleman of Morehouse need to work harder. Not because white boys are taking their spots but because the work ethic that they create for themselves makes them want to work harder! Congratulations to Joshua Packwood on his accomplishment.

I spoke about drug abuse in a former post titled “Our Forgotten Family”, and this video reminds me of that piece. I’m worried about Lil Wayne, his actions as of late have been spiraling downward and I am worried about where this lifestyle will lead him. He says “not to worry” about him, but how can one not when his interviews are filled with incoherent sentences as we watch him sip from his cup of death. An artist with this much reaching capability can not be ignored and left to die from his own vices. We have watched too many greats pass because as a community of listeners we just sat by idly watching someone’s demise. I think it’s time that his fans start to reach out to him and let the young man know that people care about him enough to not watch him throw his life away.