Hotep,
Casey Marie Anthony was found NOT Guilty of murdering her
two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony.
Casey opted to remain silent and not take the witness stand. Her right to remain silent prevailed. Her trial took place in Florida and her
jurors were sequestered. Now, allow me
to show you how the gavel drops in the glorious state of North Carolina.
There was another high profile case in the 1990s where an
African American male was accused of murdering a white female. His face was omnipresent in the newspapers
and nightly news everyday in the Raleigh metropolitan area. In this environment, the jury was allowed to
go home every single day of the trial.
For some strange reason, the judge believed the jurors
would not be subjected to any media outlets.
If they were, he trusted that the jurors would cover their eyes and plug
their ears, if any opinions about the case were presented in their presence. Real talk.
One of the hardest things about doing time is watching
the free world progress while society sees your life as stagnant inside the box.
- For the past 15 summers, I’ve watched Allen Iverson go from a misunderstood youngster to one of the greatest ballers ever, to don a Sixers’ uniform.
- Within these 15 summers, I’ve witnessed the tragedy of 9/11 and felt the impact through the millions of Americans that lived in fear throughout the decade that followed.
- I’ve even felt a strong sense of pride when this country concluded that Barack Obama was the remedy for our plummeting economy and our hope for real change.
- This in turn, granted him the opportunity to give many Americans a reason to vigorously display their sense of triumph, upon the news of Osama bin Laden’s apprehension and execution. Feel me?
- I wasn’t permitted to attend a Sixer’s game during Allen Iverson’s tenure, as my city’s b-ball messiah.
- I was preoccupied with concrete under my feet and steel beneath my back, during the 2008 presidential election. So I couldn’t submit a ballot for the eventual 44th president. Na mean?
To keep things in proper perspective, I’m in prison because
I made the wrong choice, the choice to exercise my right to remain silent
during my trail. “You have the right to
remain silent. Anything you say or do, can
and will be held against you in a court of law.”
This is a law people!
It worked for Casey Anthony, but some people have been convicted because
of it. The law may as well have
read: “If you do exercise this right,
you will automatically be presumed guilty.
If you choose not to cooperate with the arresting
authorities, we shall proceed to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the
law.” In my case, the fullest extent of
the law is death.
The right to remain silent is a “catch-22.” You can
freely exercise this right, but the price of exercising it may be costly. Not only will you remain silent in a court of
law, you will be silenced to society for decades to come. Case closed!
Keep it 100,
Copyright © 2011 by Leroy Elwood Mann
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