1. Graterfriends ― A Publication of The Pennsylvania Prison Society ― December 2011
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THE LAST WORD
Signs of Racial Injustice are Everywhere, Even on Vanity Plates
by William M. DiMascio
Executive Director, The Pennsylvania Prison Society
So I was driving north on Interstate 95, returning from certainly provide a clear indication that a serious prob-
an early fall vacation on Hilton Head Island. A late lem exists.
model sedan passed. I took notice because the otherwise
nondescript car seemed especially shiny and well kept. A Unfortunately, the occasional racist policeman or bi-
youngish black man was driving. When he was clear of ased judge will always be with us, but the impact of their
me, he signaled and pulled over into the right lane. actions pales when compared with institutional racism.
The reluctance of policymakers for years to correct the
That’s when I saw the Virginia license plate: “NT disparity in sentencing for crack versus powdered co-
STOLN.” caine was one example of deliberate insensitivity.
At first, I laughed. Then, it occurred to me just how More recently mandatory sentence enhancements for
serious racial profiling has become. It has been talked drug sales within specified distances of schools dispropor-
about for years. It has even been a staple of late-night tionately affect minorities who live in crowded inner-cities.
comedy routines. Putting it on vanity plates, however,
seemed to take the issue to a new level. This raises an old In her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in
question about just how deeply all this racial hatred goes. the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander compares
the overuse of prisons as a method for subjugation of
And where better to examine this than the prison sys- blacks with the post-Reconstruction effort to roll back
tem. The U.S. now has 5 percent of the world’s popula- gains by African Americans after the repeal of slavery.
tion and 25 percent of its prisoners. We have the highest
overall incarceration rate in the world. She even criticizes President Obama for a Father’s Day
speech that excoriated black fathers for being “AWOL”
Nationally, according to the Bureau of Justice Statis- without mentioning the huge number of blacks in pris-
tics, the incarceration rate – the number of individuals ons. She adds:
imprisoned for every 100,000 in the population, is 412 for
whites, 2290 for blacks and 742 for Hispanics. “Hundreds of thousands of black men are unable to be
good fathers for their children, not because of a lack of
In Pennsylvania, the rates are 305 for whites, 2792 for commitment or desire, but because they are warehoused
blacks and 1714 for Hispanics. Aside from the embar- in prisons, locked in cages. They did not walk out on
rassment of sending proportionately fewer whites and their families voluntarily; they were taken away in hand-
more blacks to prison than the national average, the cuffs, often due to a massive federal program known as
Commonwealth’s rate for Hispanics is the highest in the the War on Drugs.”
U.S. Idaho is second with a rate of 1654 for Hispanics
and Massachusetts is third at 1229. Ms. Alexander, a law professor at The Ohio State Uni-
Numbers don’t tell the whole story, of course. But they (see Racial Justice, continued on page 11)
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The opinions expressed are of the authors and not necessarily those of Graterfriends or The Pennsylvania Prison Society.

2. Graterfriends ― A Publication of The Pennsylvania Prison Society ― December 2011
Racial Justice, continued from page 12
Literary versity Law School, gets to the heart of the issue where race
and incarceration intersect. She writes: “Imprisonment,
Corner they say, now creates far more crime than it prevents, by
ripping apart fragile social networks, destroying families,
and creating a permanent class of unemployables.”
In medicine the term iatrogenics describes a medical
treatment that inadvertently causes more problems than
WHEN LIFE IS DEATH
it solves.
by Paul Perry, AF-7966, SCI Graterford
Our prison system is iatrogenic! What makes it that
way is that it is not just about a racist cop or biased
Like Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Tombs, judge, nor is it about insensitive policymakers or fretful
Prison is death, despair, and gloom. administrators.
You're socially dead, buried alive,
Emotionally starved, ‘cause love is deprived. It is about a fundamental lack of morality – not religi-
osity but a sense of fairness — in our system. It is about
Devoured by the beast and now on your own, all of us who know better and refuse to do anything, as
You learn that you care about love never shown. well as those who refuse to take time to see the signs of
Discovered your gifts that they won't let you use. injustice all around them. Even those that race by on the
Found out that your fate is just what you choose. Interstate at 80 miles an hour.
When freedom is lost, how precious life seems.
Now freedom for you resides in your dreams.
A tiny snowflake you now appreciate
And realize the joy you've missed holding hate. Legal Chat, continued from page 7
For most, resurrection comes later or soon.
Court captures a particular dilemma that I’ve seen on
For some freedom comes when the cow jumps the moon.
more than a few occasions. See “Lawyer: Deadline
'Cause in Pennsylvania, life is till death
shouldn’t prevent death row appeal,” by Joan Biskupic,
And hope is a liar; so don't hold your breath.
USA Today, Wed., Oct 5., 2011 (5A).
Theories of crime by great intellects
An Alabama death-row inmate missed an important
Divorced from the truth about cause and effect.
filing deadline. He had 42 days, required by a rule of
When you've taken a life out of anger or greed
Alabama Appellate Procedure, to file a notice of appeal
You won't be redeemed with a million good deeds.
on a denial of his petition for collateral relief. See Maples
Criminal justice is wickedly cold, v. Allen, 586 F.3d 879 (11th Cir. 2009).
The public is blind to the truth that's untold.
The trial clerk sent copies of the order to Maples’ two
As He said on the cross while dying for you,
attorneys with a law firm in New York. His local counsel
Forgive them my Lord; they know not what they do.
was also sent a copy of the order. Neither Maples, nor
Though "Life is for Life" may sound lyrical, any of his lawyers, filed the required notice of appeal
We work and we pray for some miracle. within the 42 days pursuant to state procedures.
To wake up compassion and mercy in thee
The U.S. Supreme Court has now been asked to decide
So somehow, someway, one day we'll be free.
whose fault it was for the failure to file the notice of ap-
peal. Was it the death-row inmate’s fault; his lawyers’
fault; or does it even matter?
We have recently received letters from
prisoners who wish to again watch the PCN An appellate court once stated that litigants, all too
frequently, neglect an old proverb that says “sooner be-
(Pennsylvania Cable Network) channel so that
gun, sooner done.” The court went on to state, “When
they may follow coverage of the Pennsylvania parties wait until the last minute to comply with a dead-
General Assembly and court proceedings. line, they are playing with fire.” See Spears v. City of
Indianapolis, 74 F.3d 153, 157 (7th Cir. 1996).
After checking with the Pennsylvania
Department of Corrections, we found that How the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in this
case is anyone’s guess. But, don’t be surprised if they
PCN is not part of the satellite system cur- affirm the 11th Circuit Appeals Court. By not carefully
rently offered. Unfortunately, there are heavy adhering to state procedures, you risk having your
costs involved with adding the required claims (no matter how meritorious they seem) deemed
additional satellite antenna to each facility, procedurally defaulted.
and increased monthly charges. Kenny B. Davenport
AF-7921, SCI Dallas
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The opinions expressed are of the authors and not necessarily those of Graterfriends or The Pennsylvania Prison Society.