Enter the Penitentary (Part 1)

I would like to shed some light onto the dark underbelly of this country from raw experience, beyond the common narrow view of what's seen thru monitors and TV's. For the sake of the souls of the brothers, fathers, sisters, and mothers that are held captive by the state, for the falsely accused and the rightfully contained. The way people are humiliated and subjugated to subtle tortures and the levels of injustice that saturate our ‘justice’ system have gone widely unknown and/or disregarded for too long.

At the age of 21 I was setup in a Federal sting operation in 2008 and convicted for a Felony 1 possession and distribution of 2000 Ecstasy tablets. My car was seized along with any and all cash that could be found, with no regard as to whether it all could be proven to have been obtained by ill-gained capital or not. This is a crucial and immediate action they take to cripple your defense from day one. They leave you immobile and broke to face thousands in attorney fees, a huge burden to bear especially to those that come from an impoverished demographic.

I was able to use the last of what I had stashed to bail myself out. It took $1500, with out this saving grace I would have had to sit in county jail in agonizing uncertainty for a sentencing that would have not taken place for another 13 months with my fate lying most likely in the hands of a public defender not of my choosing, with lack luster talent, unknown motives, and possibly conflicting alliances. I’ve met many men in this position that had spent 1 to 3 years waiting for a trial. The VI and VIII Amendment were designed to protect us from such Tyranny but tragically it has been rendered null and void with out a peep of protest from the masses.
The year before my sentencing was the most emotionally excruciating. My charge carried a minimum of 5 years to Life. At the time I didn’t know that 90 to 97% of cases never see a trial due to the overwhelming methods of intimidation used to co-hearse defendants into signing plea deals.
On my first visit to court I was offered a plea of 12 years. My lawyer advised against a jury trial because in the particular rural county I was caught in they were notorious for dealing out large sentences of 20 plus years for drug offenders of similar cases. The next 5 summons, thru out the year, the plea was eventually reduced to 6 years and the prosecutor would not budge from that point on. Each of these court dates were daunting, the sensations of the morning air and sun will for ever be ingrained in me, every time felt like it was my last walk to the gallows. The repetitive back and forth month after month seemed so excessive and wasteful that it occurred to me that it had to be intentional. I questioned my lawyer about it and he smiled and said “Yea its called tennis shoeing and they do it to break you down psychologically. They want to wear you out so you’ll fold into the plea deal and not take it to trial.” The system and its prosecutors have devised a sinister yet ingenious method here of ensnaring the disenfranchised. Thru the use of an unrealistic bail they trap you leaving you in an anxious and distressed state then threaten you with grotesque spans of sentencing using laws written vaguely and riddled with Latin terms. Its hard to blame the people that fold from this pressure. I have two friends that have taken 10 years of probation for alleged crimes that they did not commit because they were afraid to fight back because one had no money for a decent defense and the other didn't want to risk leaving his children and wife.
In March of 2009 I became another statistic and signed for my 6 year plea deal and my Initiation into the Texas Penitentiary was under way. . . .

To be continued