20 Years To Life… And Innocent

As we have highlighted in past posts, the prison system in America is huge, incredibly flawed and extremely industrialized. However, there is a note we haven’t touched on yet: what about people who have been imprisoned for crimes they have not committed?

Take, for instance, the case highlighted above: Herman Adkins was sentenced to 42 years in prison, and served 12 before he was proven innocent by retrial. Allow me to reiterate this: He spent 12 years behind bars, away from his family, friends and loved ones for NO REASON other than witness misidentification.

What can we do to stop this? The people at the Innocence Project, as well as other organizations in the Innocence Network, dedicate their lives and resources to ensuring a fair trial for all, by bringing new technologies such as DNA testing to older cases. The work that these organizations are doing is unparalleled and extremely necessary in modern America. We must do our best work to ensure that no voice – no matter how frail – is unnecessarily silenced.

Posted by:

Steve Romain

What Up Kid? I Heard It’s Rough Doing Your Bid!

You got people in jail?  I do.  Ever since I can remember my friends, family and neighbors have been spending time locked up. I am not alone.  Today, there are nearly 7 million Americans behind bars.

And while bad people definitely need to be in prison, the truth is that for the last 30 years young people and people of color have suffered disproportionately in the American judicial system.  People don’t like to talk about it, but the War on Drugs and the over policing of inner city communities has created a generation of incarcerated scar-faces.

One of the sad realities of prison life is that you are disconnected from your people.  And it doesn’t matter how many letters you write or how many times you visit, the distance is most times unbearable.  That’s why AppalShop, a media justice organization in Whitesburg Ky, came up with a project called Thousand Kites. Every week this unique radio program brings the voices of prisoners’ families to the airwaves and gives them an opportunity to communicate to their loved ones via FM radio waves.

Check out today’s action video, I bet you’ll be inspired to do something for your people behind bars.

Got a story to tell? Drop it on our wall to the right, or email us at 99problems.org@gmail.com

Today’s Artist: Johnny Cash

We’re bringing ya back a few decades on this one. Johnny Cash was a revolutionary, rebellious figure who famously empathized with the imprisoned population when it was considered extremely taboo to do so. Prison destroys men and women, and in this song, San Quentin, Cash defines the disdain that men have for that famous prison.

Posted by:

Biko Baker