A depraved world: FBI agents wage a stressful battle against child pornography

[jbm]

73. people aren't really familiar with the justice system in this country

I hear what you're saying, and it breaks my heart to see the responses you've received. I understand it though. Several years ago my son received a ten year distribution sentence for what amounted to some pocket lint marijuana and a scale. He was guilty. He and some friends had bought 2 pounds of marijuana,(their first time at buying a quantity) split it among each other, and he had sold a half ounce to a friend. The friend got caught and gave my sons name. My son refused to give up other names, he fit the profile (i.e. working class and owned a skateboard), we live in a red state/rural county area, soooo...at 19 he was off to prison--even though he had never been in any trouble, had been employed at the same place since he was 16, was a threat to no one, and was going to college and on track to be a good citizen. Now he is out, but scarred in nuanced ways that take to long to explain. There is no path back to being whole again. He faces thousands of collateral consequences and obstacles to employment that fly far beneath the radar of the average american. I remember going to visit him when he finally reached his 'home prison', and my mind couldn't wrap itself around the fact that I was looking at my son. Finally, I realized that his blond hair was black and the texture had changed, His eyelids were oddly changed--weird stuff. After the visit, I asked some of the other prison moms about it, and they asked how long he had been without sun. It had been 14 months. It is as though the state takes your child and buries him alive. They are hungry, locked in 6' by 10' foot cells, sometimes scared, deprived of sunlight until their features change--because of who they are and where they live.

Because of my son, I serve on our states criminal justice task force. I work with reentry and restorative justice programs, run a family support group, and rage at the evil that comes from the system. One of the moms I met is the parent of a young man who at 17 downloaded child porn. A year later, he was off at college when the FBI raided their home, took the computer, arrested the son, and he received a three year sentence. There is no evidence that his venture into child porn was anything more than a temporary teen-age venture, but his life is over. Unless we get smarter, he'll always be a sex offender, and anyone who has spent time faces a lifetime of consequences most of us can't even imagine.

One of the things that makes me most angry, is the generational and society damage that comes from 40 years of the legal system living in its own bubble, and the public being totally oblivious until it directly impacts them. Jury trials in this country used to provide some balance, but now the penalty for asking for a jury trial is so high, people who understand the system take a plea even if they are innocent. Police practices are never challenged, over prosecution never recognized, and ridiculous laws never questioned. When someone is sent to prison, the damage is generational, usually staying with the descendants for at least 100 years. Communities with high incarceration rates can expect increases in poverty, crime, and all the other social ills.

It works like this--I have been working with one young man who has essentially been homeless all of his life. His mother spent time in prison for various drug charges, and he grew up wherever he could live, His educational background is sketchy, his work history is practically non-existent, and he has some minor drug issues. On the plus side, he's inherently a nice guy who wants to succeed--although he doesn't know how--or believe that he can. A few years ago the police caught him with a small amount of marijuana. For most, a marijuana possession charge wouldn't be a jail sentence, but we incarcerate social problems, and "Chris" fit the criteria. At the time, he owned a car that ran, and had a part time job. He was given a 90 day sentence and a misdemeanor, released, but now had no car, no part-time job, and had lost ties with his 'places to live'. It was January. "Chris" is no thief by nature, but he saw some jewelry in an unlocked car (the jewelry turned out to be worthless) and stole it. The owner of the vehicle saw him, shot at him (no charges filed for attempted murder of a petty theft, of course) and "Chris" wound up with a low level felony and a short prison sentence. But now he has a felony. Job corps, the military, and the other programs that might have provided him an option are off the table. What made Chris angry about the whole thing, was that our state has a law that the prison must require people incarcerated to get a GED while they're in, so Chris was actually excited about a chance to get his GED. But the prison waived their requirement to give him the opportunity, because his time there was so short (only because he should never have been sent there in the first place).

Chris will be O.K. What I've learned over the years is that the antedote to our legal system is awareness. Lots of caring people in my community now understand that there is great harm that has to be countered, and one of them managed to find Chris a great job opportunity a mentor, and some hope. And lest anyone think there is anything even remotely equal in our system, I can give you endless cases of middle and upper class kids in my town who really were engaged in major distribution or other legal issues--and received drug court which means no lasting record. Ironically, if the system were truly interested in accurate profiling, their target would be the middle and upper class white males.

I could go on for hours, because I believe our legal system is our current human atrocity, but it hides behind a total lack of awareness--even in the legal system itself. We're the liberals. We can't afford to be oblivious.

Just as an added thought--many people reading this may think that people like Chris would rather be in prison than homeless. I'm not going to presume it's never true--but it's never been true of anyone I've met. Having said that the days of 'three hots and a cot' are gone. We serve 'calorie based' meals which vary from location to location but often leave the prisoner close to starving. And most places only give one hot meal. The menu at our county jail is 18 apple jacks or cheerios, a helf cup milk, and a single slice of fruit for breakfast, a hot lunch equivalant to what they would serve in a grade school lunch program, and four pieces of bread and two thin slices of meat for dinner. And it's not free. When my son was released, he was sent a bill from the county for 7,385.00 , and 72,000 from the state. They call it 'room and board'. He will likely not haveto pay the state, but the county will confiscate any state tax refunds he receives until the debt is paid.